

(Posted on 25/06/20)
The Dutch seaports of Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Terneuzen/Vlissingen, Moerdijk, and Groningen have jointly won the ‘World Ports Sustainability Award’. They received the award for a joint project aimed at the application of OECD guidelines for seaports. These government guidelines concern corporate social responsibility in international business. The seaports examined how they could contribute to making occasionally risky cargo flows more sustainable.
The Seaports Trade Organisation (Brancheorganisatie Zeehavens, BOZ) has examined how seaports can influence — from their position in the supply chain — the process of making cargo flows sustainable. These cargo flows sometimes involve risks such as environmental damage, human rights violations or exploitation. Such risks are also referred to as International CSR risks: International Corporate Social Responsibility.
On the basis of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, the BOZ has examined the role and responsibility of seaports as one of the many links in the supply chain. It has also examined how seaports can contribute to reducing the international CSR risks for cargo flows processed in or transiting through the ports. The seaports have used the results of this study to identify the international CSR risks and to list the arsenal of measures available to seaports. The project exemplifies how the port community can make a positive contribution to making cargo flows more sustainable.
The study was part of the Work Programme Seaports in which the BOZ, consisting of Port of Rotterdam, Port of Amsterdam, North Sea Port, Port of Moerdijk, and Groningen Seaports, worked together with the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy and the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.
Koen Overtoom, CEO of Port of Amsterdam, responded with great pleasure on behalf of the Dutch seaports: “The Sustainability Award represents an important recognition of the efforts of the Dutch seaports by the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH). This award therefore constitutes a significant honour for us. The project has strengthened the cooperation between the seaports in the area of sustainability. This cooperation will strengthen us permanently in our shared ambitions to achieve progress in making a number of international supply chains more sustainable. We will also continue talks with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Dutch Social and Economic Council on the topic of International CSR and the further elaboration of this theme.”
The International Association for Ports and Harbours (IAPH), the alliance for the global port community, launched the World Ports Sustainability Program in 2018. The ports collaborate internationally within the IAPH by exchanging knowledge and experience concerning sustainable development in the international port community. Since 2018, the World Ports Sustainability Awards have been awarded annually for best practices. The Dutch seaports received the Award in the category of Governance and Ethics.
Fluxys, ArcelorMittal Belgium and North Sea Port have started a feasibility study for the Ghent Carbon... Read more
Etihad Rail, the developer and operator of the UAE National Rail Network, has achieved a new milestone... Read more
T. Parker Host has announced the largest amount of cargo ever loaded on the Mississippi River on 6th... Read more
An MoU signed by Ms. Quah Ley Hoon, Chief Executive of MPA, and Mr Allard Castelein, CEO of the Port... Read more
The government of the Republic of Guinea, Winning Consortium Simandou (WCS) and Rio Tinto Simfer has... Read more
The Ministry of Transport of the Government of Angola has announced the award of the concession tender... Read more
Castaloop USA, Inc., a subsidiary of Logistec Stevedoring Inc., have announced the opening of a new... Read more
TBA Group is pleased to announce that Peel Ports Group have signed a framework agreement that will see... Read more
In the first quarter of 2022, the businesses in North Sea Port recorded 37.5 million tons of seaborne... Read more
Port of Amsterdam and duisport will expand their long-lasting cooperation, as Markus Bangen, CEO at... Read more