The European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) presented the key components of the 2021 Green Guide.
The Guide comes as ports are increasingly undertaking greening efforts, and provides guidance and advice for ports involved in greening their own activities.
It also outlines how port authorities can help facilitate greening in the wider port area and the local community.
The development of the Green Guide, together with the bottom-up work realised in the EcoPorts Network, provides the cornerstone of ESPO’s efforts to assist its members in excelling further in environmental management and performance
ESPO commented.
In addition, ESPO Secretary General Isabelle Ryckbost, noted that with this 2021 Green Guide, the aim is to respond to these changes and guide ports on their journey towards a greener future.
Ports will increasingly be asked to address unfamiliar and novel issues as part of the transition to a greener future. Exchanging experiences, identifying good practices, and learning from each other is more important to ports than it has ever before. The ESPO 2021 Green Guide was created to help address these issues, and provides a handbook developed by ports, for ports towards a green future.
The Guide also gives policymakers, local communities and stakeholders insight into the ambitions of ports. In addition to the guide, a dedicated database of good green practices in European ports has been developed.
Commenting on the Green Good Practices database, ESPO Senior Policy advisor Valter Selén states:
The database demonstrates the ongoing greening efforts undertaken by port authorities, and provides another tool whereby ports can encourage and promote further greening efforts through sharing experiences and good practices
The ESPO Green Guide is divided into three parts:
Part I explains the approach of the ESPO Green Guide 2021 by outlining the competences of port authorities and the scope of the greening activities. Understanding the governance and competence of port managing bodies is essential for ports when preparing their pathway to a green future, and when assessing which tools to use. It also helps other port stakeholders and policy makers better understand the port’s greening pathway.
Part II provides a “manual” for greening the port. The ESPO Green Guide 2021 outlines a common vision of the role of port authorities in contributing to a European green future. It puts forward ambitions on how port authorities will move forward to 2050 and beyond, leaving it up to each individual port authority to define, through their roadmap, the steps needed to achieve their defined objectives. It also identifies a series of tools at the disposal of port authorities. Finally, this Guide comes with an extensive dedicated database of green practices provided by European ports (available here).
Part III showcases how ports engage not only in the mitigation of pollution, but also strive to positively contribute to greening the European economy, acting as an important partner in achieving the energy and green transition.
