The British Ports Association (BPA) and the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) join forces to address sustainability in ports as IAPH establishes a firm base in London.
As London is awakened to the buzz of London International Shipping Week (LISW), the voices of UK and international ports, BPA and IAPH, came together with the support of TT Club to host a sustainability workshop on developing the sustainable and resilient ports of the future.
LISW is a major event held every two years in London, offering over 300 industry functions and unique networking opportunities to stakeholders across all sectors of the international maritime industry.
This joint workshop welcomed representatives from port authorities, trade associations, government officials and other maritime and logistics stakeholders to play the Port Endeavor Sustainability Game. Created by IAPH and developed in partnership with APEC and UNCTAD TrainforTrade, the game enables participants to gain a practical understanding of how ports apply the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) to their businesses.
Featuring highlighted projects and best practices from the IAPH World Ports Sustainability Program online database, players enjoyed taking decisions on how to adapt to sustainability challenges that echo real life events and problems that ports must tackle today.
To continue to build ties between the UK ports sector and its international counterparts, this workshop was an opportunity to solidify the strong partnership between BPA and IAPH as they come together on key issues which are impacting ports the world over.
Richard Ballantyne, Chief Executive at the BPA commented : “In recent years BPA and IAPH have been working more closely together on a wide range of issues, including sustainability. In 2021, we appointed Rhona Macdonald as the Sustainability Advisor for BPA and she also represents IAPH at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as their Policy and IMO Liaison Officer. We welcome IAPH to London, who join our fellow maritime organisations the UK Chamber Of Shipping and UK Major Ports Group at our offices in Park Street, on the South Bank.”
Patrick Verhoeven, IAPH Managing Director added : “We truly appreciate the BPA’s support in helping us to establish an IAPH office in London, which will further deepen our working relationship and ties with the UK-based international maritime community. This notably includes the IMO, the International Chamber of Shipping, BIMCO and other organisations with representation in London. It also of course includes our colleagues at Maritime UK, UK Chamber of Shipping, UK Major Ports Group and Port Skills and Safety.”
The IAPH London office comes in addition to the headquarters in Tokyo where IAPH has been established since 1955.
News release contacts :
Mark Simmonds, Director of Policy & External Affairs - BPA
Email : mark.simmonds@britishports.org.uk
Victor Shieh, Communications Director - IAPH
Email : victor.shieh@iaphworldports.org
About the British Ports Association
The UK ports industry plays a key role in the country’s economy as 95% of the UK’s international trade – imports and exports – is carried through British ports, handling 500 million tonnes of freight and 60 million passengers each year. The British Ports Association represents the interests of over 100 port members, covering more than 400 ports, terminal operators and port facilities - www.britishports.org.uk
About IAPH
Founded in 1955, the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) has developed into a global alliance of 177 port authorities as well as 148 port-related businesses. Comprised of 86 different nationalities across the world’s continents, member ports handle approximately one third of the world’s sea-borne trade and well over 60% of the world container traffic. IAPH leads global port industry initiatives on decarbonization and energy transition, risk and resilience management, and accelerating digitalization in the maritime transport chain. The IAPH’s World Ports Sustainability Program has grown into the reference database of best practices of ports applying the UN Sustainable Development Goals and integrating them into their businesses – www.iaphworldports.org.