Brussels – 24.06.20. The European project LOOP-PORTS, financed by EIT Climate-KIC and coordinated by the Fundación Valenciaport has been awarded in the World Ports Sustainability Awards 2020 of the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) – in the category of “Climate and Energy”.
The award ceremony, initially planned to be held in Antwerp in March as part of the IAPH’s World Ports Conference 2020, and subsequently cancelled due to COVID-19, was finally held this morning virtually through a webinar attended by the IAPH Managing Director, Patrick Verhoeven, and by representatives of the Fundación Valenciaport and the PAV, as well as the other award-winning entities.
Federico Torres, Director of Safety, Environment and Facilities of the Port Authority of Valencia, has received, on behalf of the project consortium, the award for the LOOP-Ports project. Torres highlighted the great relevance of this award for the ports participating in the project because “it means the recognition of the work carried out in relation to the promotion of the circular economy as a future strategy in the ports”, and specifically in the port of Valencia, Torres added that this initiative “has helped us, among other things, to establish new objectives to be fulfilled within the framework of our internal strategy of sustainability”.
LOOP-Ports (https://www.loop-ports.eu/) is a project financed by EIT Climate-KIC whose objective is to facilitate the transition to a more circular economy in the port sector by creating a Network of Ports in this area that will provide an ecosystem of innovation around port activity and stimulate the dissemination of circular economy initiatives. A total of 44 entities from 14 countries, mainly Port Authorities and port associations at European level are part of this Ports Network. https://sustainableworldports.org/project/port-of-valencia-the-loop-ports-project/
The project will be run for just over 2 years (26 months), ending next December 2020
LOOP-Ports involves 13 partners from 6 EU Member States (Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Denmark and Netherlands): Fundación Valenciaport (coordinator); EIT Climate-KIC S.L.; Climate-KIC S.r.l.; Climate-KIC GmbH; Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU); NTU International A/S; Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek (TNO); Università di Bologna; Universität Hamburg; Universidad Politécnica de Madrid; Universitat de València; Eco Environnement Ingenièrie (2EI) and Veolia Innove.
Patrick Verhoeven, who has regretted “having to announce the winners virtually rather than in person at the wonderful Antwerp Bourse”, has launched the following message to the winners: “you set the bar in applying the UN Sustainable Development Goals in practice in ports. May many other ports in the world be inspired by your initiatives. From all of us at IAPH and the World Ports Sustainability Program: warm wishes, be safe and we look forward to celebrating your successes in the future.”
World Ports Sustainability Awards y World Ports Sustainability Program
The World Port Sustainability Awards were created to recognize the best projects registered in the IAPH World Port Sustainability Program (WPSP), created in May 2017 with the aim of coordinating the future sustainability efforts of ports around the world and foster international cooperation with supply chain partners, always guided by the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), the European Organization of Sea Ports (ESPO), the International Association of Cities and Ports (AIVP) and the World Association for River Transport Infrastructure (PIANC) are part of this program as strategic partners.
The international initiatives presented to these awards and specifically the winners will undoubtedly serve as inspiration for ports seeking to integrate the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals into their strategy, in their daily activities and in their clusters.
About EIT Climate-KIC
EIT Climate-KIC is the EU’s largest public private partnership addressing climate change through innovation to build a zero carbon economy. EIT Climate-KIC is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union.
We address climate change across four priority themes: urban areas, land use, production systems, climate metrics and finance. Education is at the heart of these themes to inspire and empower the next generation of climate leaders.
We run programmes for students, start-ups and innovators across Europe via centres in major cities, convening a community of the best people and organisations.
Our approach starts with improving the way people live in cities. Our focus on industry creates the products required for a better living environment, and we look to optimise land use to produce the food people need.
