Public to have their say on winning projects in seven categories
Voting by the general public has opened today for the IAPH 2021 Sustainability Awards, with votes being collected online via the WPSP website portal.
With a jury of independent experts having selected twenty-one finalists from a long list of sixty four projects in seven categories, the public will now vote on the 2021 IAPH Sustainability Awards, with their choice accounting for thirty percent of the overall result.
The winners will be announced exclusively at the virtual gala ceremony planned for the IAPH2021 World Ports Conference on 24 June, hosted once more by Belgian news anchor and journalist Franscesa Vanthielen.
IAPH Managing Director Patrick Verhoeven commented : "The finalists themselves are very diverse, from ports of different sizes, locations around the world, and with greatly differing business models. This speaks volumes of how ESG (environmental, social, and governance criteria for investment) is now also rising to the top of ports’ agendas. If you look at the content of the finalists, their projects offer many different innovative ways that ports can integrate the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the way they operate."
The speed of accelerating digitalization in ports and the numbers of submissions has meant that two IAPH Awards for #ResilientInfrastructure will be offered, one for digital and another for physical port infrastructure projects. The #ClimateandEnergy Award has the highest number of submissions this year with ports increasingly focusing on energy transition, emissions reductions, decarbonization and electrification. Two sub-categories for #CommunityOutreach and Port-City Dialogue remain in place, with an even split between projects received aimed at achieving positive social or environmental impacts on their port communities. A rise in submissions came in this year in the #GovernanceandEthics category and notably for the Health #SafetyandSecurity Award, with several ports submitting innovative projects responding to the COVID19 pandemic.
In order to take part in the public vote, please firstly review the list of projects here before submitting your choice for each category.
Voting will close at midnight Central Europe Time on Friday, 28 May 2021.
The winners will be announced during the virtual gala awards ceremony of the upcoming #IAPH2021 World Ports Conference
News story contact :
Victor Shieh, IAPH Communications Director : victor.shieh@iaphworldports.org
About IAPH
Founded in 1955, the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) is a non-profit-making global alliance of 170 ports and 140 port-related organisations covering 90 countries. Its member ports handle more than 60 percent of global maritime trade and around 80 percent of world container traffic. IAPH has consultative NGO status with several United Nations agencies, including the IMO. Through its knowledge base and access to regulatory bodies, IAPH aims to facilitate energy transition, accelerate digitalization and assist in improving overall resilience of its member ports in a constantly changing world. In 2018, IAPH established the World Ports Sustainability Program (WPSP). Guided by the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, it aims to unite sustainability efforts of ports worldwide by sharing best practices through its project portfolio and collaborative partnerships.