Antwerp Port in Full Sustainable Transition
The first Sustainability Congress was held on Tuesday 10 October with the launch of the fourth Sustainability Report which fully incorporates the 17 Sustainability Development Goals of the United Nations.
On this occasion the Port of Antwerp community also presented its revamped website with case studies and the latest information on the sustainable transition currently being implemented by companies in the port.
And to cap it all Antwerp Port Authority, the logistics service providers and transport operators in the port jointly signed the Operation Clean Sweep charter. Antwerp leads the way as a sustainable polymer hub, and now with the Zero Pellet Loss program it aims to reduce micropellet pollution to nil.
Antwerp is the first port in Europe to introduce "Zero Pellet Loss": Antwerp is the main hub in Europe for production, handling and distribution of polymers, mostly in the form of tiny pellets. It has now been made a top priority for the entire port community to prevent loss or spillage of these plastic granules, and in particular to prevent them getting into the water and causing pollution.
Sustainability Report 2017 outlines the sustainable transition: Not coincidentally, the port community held its Sustainability Congress just a few hours after the signature of the Operation Clean Sweep charter.
The participants were given practical information on how to implement a sustainable transition within their own company in the fields of People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnership (the "5 Ps" that serve as the basis for the Sustainability Report). Also at this congress the fourth Sustainability Report was presented, based on entirely on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
As international recognition for the many sustainability efforts by the Antwerp port community, the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) has decided to organise the launch of its World Ports Sustainability Program (WPSP) in Antwerp. This two-day international conference will be held on 22 and 23 March 2018. More information on the event will be made available in the near future.
To further encourage companies to engage with the sustainability transition, an invitation was extended at this conference to enter for the Port of Antwerp Sustainability Award for the best sustainability project by a company in the port of Antwerp.
