ANTWERP : The Port of Antwerp was presented on 4 December with the Award for the Best Belgian Sustainability Report.

 

The Award is an initiative of the Instituut van de Bedrijfsrevisoren, Business & Society and Kauri, the Belgian network that promotes interaction and collaboration in the field of sustainability.

 

The port was nominated for its very first Sustainability Report in the category “Other organisations.” Eddy Bruyninckx (Antwerp Port Authority), Peter Van de Putte (Left Bank Corporation) and Rudi De Meyer (Alfaport Antwerp) accepted the award from Minister Steven Vanackere, on behalf of the three organisations that collaborated in the report. The port will present its second Sustainability Report in 2013.

 

Jury Chairman Harry Everaerts, representing IBR, stated in the citation that “The report by the Antwerp Port Community, winner in the ‘Other organisations’ category, demonstrates the wisdom of collaborating with various other players in drawing up a report that faithfully illustrates their shared challenges in the area of sustainability.”

 

The Sustainability Report follows the route that goods take in reaching their destinations all over the world via the port of Antwerp. The Port of Antwerp has clear advantages here, as its location deep inland means that transport costs can be reduced and transport-related environmental impact can be minimised. “In an economic world where the emphasis will increasingly be on hinterland transport methods that permit greater time efficiency and less impact on the environment, we in the Port of Antwerp offer key benefits,” declared Eddy Bruyninckx on behalf of the Port Authority.

 

“We are also determined to position our port as the sustainability leader in the Hamburg-Le Havre range, where ‘People, Planet and Profit’ go hand-in-hand. This Sustainability Reports demonstrates the interdependence of the ‘3 Ps.’”

 

Rudy De Meyer, Manager of Alfaport Antwerp, took up the theme: “Now this Award motivates us to further pursue the path we have taken. We therefore commit ourselves to persuading other companies to become even more sustainable, by means of feasible, practical applications.”

 

The Sustainability Report forms part of the “Total Plan for a More Competitive Port” that was launched in 2010 in response to the global financial crisis.

 

To implement the Total Plan it was decided to draw up a joint vision for sustainability, as all the parties involved are keenly aware that sustainability can become the new competitive advantage of the port. Competitive advantage is no longer limited to the economic sphere; increasingly it is being sought in a wider social and indeed international context. This conviction formed the basis for the port’s first

 

Peter Van de Putte, Manager of the Left Bank Corporation, emphasised the close collaboration: “The entire port community, including the manufacturing companies located in the port area, was involved in the Sustainability Report right from the start. Furthermore, all stakeholders were asked to contribute their vision on various occasions.

 

As well as being a challenge, such an exercise sharpens the mind and has an inspiring effect. A key characteristic of sustainability is that it is an ongoing process, one that is never completed. Of course we have to know the starting situation and then measure the progress in terms of conditions, figures and indicators. This is where the value of the report lies, as it provides a framework, presents the measurements and demonstrates the results.”