Ports are strategic infrastructures for international trade, playing a key role in freight traffic as modal interchanges between maritime and land environments. As added value centres, ports support the creation of a productive and logistical environment in the areas in which they are located. Therefore, ports can play a key role in the development and application of circular economy initiatives, which can lead to new technological developments, innovative processes, products and services that contribute to the competitiveness of companies linked to port activity, while generating new business opportunities and creating new value chains.
In this sense, this task will identify which system drivers can be addressed and which are the main barriers (legislative, administrative, technological, etc.) to implement circular economy initiatives in the port sector. The analysis is focused on:
- Policies and instruments – analysis of policies and instruments linked to the port sector that can boost or hinder the circular economy implementation in the sector
- Technologies – identification of new technologies, innovative processes or services suited to enhance circular economy implementation in the port sector
- Training and awareness – identification of training needs in the port sector in relation to circular economy. These needs will be considered during the preparation of the training contents in Activity 3
- Financing – Identification of the barriers and opportunities for CE through a combination of literature reviews and structure interviews with a number of key stakeholders, including port authorities, manufacturing and distribution companies, government agencies, etc.
The most relevant opportunities identified will be selected and developed in detail to propose innovation recommendations for their implementation in the port sector. They will be determined based on the evaluation of their potential for circular economy, the potential competitiveness gains for the key stakeholders and their implementation feasibility. Finally, a detailed analysis will be carried out to come up with innovation recommendations based on system drivers.
