Green Port Definition
The term “Green Port” is often misrepresented as a port that handles green products such as an offshore wind support base. More accurately, how green a port is can be defined by their specific operations and the impact of those actions on the environment. A Green Port is one that minimises the impact of the environment from their operations.
The term “Green Port” encompasses ports on many different levels of development and so it can be seen more as a spectrum that all ports are on, rather than a specific definition.
Utilisation of Green Port Initiatives
The utilisation of Green Port initiatives, processes and technology can give great benefit to a port, beyond the sometimes legislative and obvious moral obligational benefits to the planet. Often Green Port initiatives increase efficiency, reduce waste or reduce costs by other means. As such, Green Port initiatives can aid in the reduction of operational expenditure, which in turn can be reinvested into improvements in the business.
The cost and associated benefit of Green Port initiatives and technology can vary significantly and can seem overwhelming, however along with high cost, high benefit initiatives, the journey can begin with simple lower cost alternatives that also bring benefit, such as the replacement of traditional lighting with LED solutions.
Right Use of Investment Capital
Without expert assistance, the development of a port towards becoming greener is at risk of being overly-influenced by the technological curiosities of the port’s staff or the capability of technology provider’s sales teams. This in turn can lead to a technology based progression where investment is based upon the want of a particular system or product, rather than addressing a specific identified need. The result is inefficient use of investment capital and a disorganised approach to development. Furthermore an investment strategy of this type risks acquisitions quickly becoming superseded, or acting as blockers to the acquisition of future initiatives.
