Practical questions, practical answers
“Ports need to be looking at developing logistics chains and networks that support inter-modality to stay ahead of the game,” explains Isobel Roberts
Squeezed between sustainability and budget issues, environmental managers need all the help they can get, something that two coming events aim to provide
As ports grow to be the drivers of low carbon transport and energy hubs for the future, a number of issues also climb into the spotlight for environmental managers, who may find themselves battling on more than one front.
Firstly, ports need to find a practicable way into the supply chain, meaning co-operation on carbon measurements as well as the more usual collaboration. “Ports need to be looking at developing logistics chains and networks that support inter-modality to stay ahead of the game,” explains Isobel Roberts, GreenPort Logistic’s event manager. “If ports can work out how to bring the separate links of the supply chain together, they could be the key to new, green transport corridors.”
However, Ms Roberts goes on to say, that environmental developments are complicated by the economic situation that prevails in a number of places. And further, there is the ongoing development of carbon footprinting and the greater need for ports to mitigate their impact on their surroundings.
These challenges are the rationale behind two events coming up early next year, GreenPort Logistics and the related North Adriatic study tour. “At the moment, many people are finding it is not easy to be green while taking into consideration budget concerns, so environmental managers need all the help they can get.”
She also adds that while emissions from ships coming into port and at berth are increasingly under scrutiny – but equally, ports can feel it is difficult to exert any influence. And while onshore power supply or cold ironing is one answer, it is not a straightforward deal.
There are other issues that are covered by new technology, but it also, interestingly, covers the subject of energy generation. Ms Roberts says, “There are a number of renewable energy companies looking to supply port operations: obviously this helps with things like emissions, but there is an unexpected stream of interest from energy companies also wanting help ports actually develop generation facilities themselves.”
It’s an interesting option, as it could mean solar or wind generation possibilities that, even on a small scale, will help reduce energy costs, and if a port is in a tariff feed-in zone where energy is put back into the grid, it might also generate some revenue.
Along with this, social integration is key to getting developing relationships with the local community – and it’s no longer plausible for a port simply to be “that big, dirty thing at the end of the road”, explains Ms Roberts, so this issue too is coming up on the radar of most environmental managers.
Ms Roberts adds that the conference is not going to be just theory, but will have application examples from industry. “It’s important that people can look to real projects. What works in one place might work in another, but you need to see as much of the picture as possible. It’s useful to see the pitfalls and be able to learn from other people’s mistakes as well as seeing the successes – it is much better to get an idea of both the possibilities and the challenges and maybe avoid some of the surprises.”
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