Entries accepted between now and 31st March 2021 with simple online submission
The International Association of Ports and Harbors is pleased to announce its call for entries to the third edition of the World Ports Sustainability Awards, with winners to be declared in five categories at a Gala Dinner at the IAPH 2021 World Ports Conference in Antwerp between 23rd and 25th June next year.
IAPH Managing Director Patrick Verhoeven commented : "We were delighted by the response of the world’s ports for the 2020 WPSP Awards which resulted in six winning port projects being selected by our expert jury from a long list of eighteen and voted for by thousands of voting members of the public. We would have loved to have handed over the trophies in person at the IAPH 2021 Conference Gala Dinner in Antwerp in March, but following the event cancellation due to COVID we celebrated with the winners online instead last June which was a great success.”
With a wider viewing social media audience of over 180,000 followers of the 2020 winners and their partners all sharing and celebrating the Award wins, the intention is for next year’s Gala Dinner to be held live with a virtual component to ensure everyone has access to the evening’s celebrations.
WPSP Award online submissions now available
IAPH regular port members and associate members acting on behalf of IAPH member port(s) as client, partner or collaborator can enter a project, submitting a simple online form. Once accepted , the project will automatically qualify as a potential award candidate.
IAPH’s Technical Director of the World Ports Sustainability Program Dr. Antonis Michail explains the selection process: "Entries have been coming in since late January and we will continue accepting project submissions between now until 31st March 2020. A long list per category that best meet the selection criteria will be submitted to an international jury for scrutiny, after which 3 selected finalists for each Award will be offered to an online vote by the public who will have 30% of the final say on winners and runners up."
Ports are aiming to meet the challenges of the COVID19 pandemic as well as targeting medium- to long-term sustainability objectives and addressing relevant UN SDGs with various initiatives. Each project submitted for an Award accepted onto the database of the World Ports Sustainability Program will be showcased as part of the global project portfolio on the WPSP website to inspire other ports.
Dr Antonis Michail concluded : “During the COVID19 pandemic, we have seen ports making measurable impacts on their sustainability and environment. Many have changed their security procedures, improved digital infrastructure resilience, reduced human contact through innovation and take community initiatives to relieve and assist the people they serve. All of these projects are welcome as potential Award candidates.”
For regular and associate IAPH members, project submissions are accepted here:
https://sustainableworldports.org/submit-your-project/
For those organisations who are interested in participating who would like more information about how to apply, please contact :
Dr. Antonis Michail - Technical Director, World Ports Sustainability Program
Email : antonis.michail@sustainableworldports.org
For updates on the IAPH 2021 World Ports Conference when the Awards ceremony will take place, please subscribe here.
The summary of long-listed projects for 2020 were:
About IAPH (iaphworldports.org)
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. 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, encouraging international cooperation between all partners involved in the maritime supply chain. WPSP (sustainableworldports.org) covers five main areas of collaboration: energy transition, resilient infrastructure, safety and security, community outreach and governance.