CLEAN BERTH: signing of a cooperation protocol @ Green and Smart Ports Conference in Trieste

On 8 June 2022, the Protocol for Permanent Cross-Border Cooperation between the CLEAN BERTH partners was signed in Trieste.

"Green and Smart Ports in the Adriatic-Ionian Region. The contribution of European territorial cooperation between Italy, Croatia and Slovenia", this was the title of the conference organised by the Port Network Authority System of the Eastern Adriatic Sea in cooperation with the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region and under the auspices of the European Macro-Strategy for the Adriatic-Ionian Region (EUSAIR), which was held on 8 June 2022 at the MIB - Trieste School of Management.

The objective of the meeting was to systemise best practices among the partners of the three countries in the environmental sphere and foster an integrated and sustainable approach to solving shared problems. In recent years, the ports of Italy, Slovenia and Croatia have been working together to improve their decarbonisation and digitalisation capabilities through a number of EU-funded projects.

Today, ports play an essential role in the transport logistics system, constituting an important factor for economic and employment growth. However, it should be noted that while maritime transport is the most sustainable way to transport goods, port operations have an impact on air quality and greenhouse gas emissions. Another aspect to consider is the fragmentation of the supply chain, which can hinder the realisation of the full economic potential of the territories involved. On this point, digitisation can facilitate cooperation between actors in the supply chain, helping to achieve environmental sustainability goals.

Other speakers included Michiel Nijboer from Royal HaskoningDHV, who presented the results of a recent study on the options that ports have to improve their environmental performance, Mikael Lind from the Research Institute of Sweden and author of the handbook Maritime Informatics, who illustrated how the digitisation of ports can facilitate energy transition, and Alain Baron from the European Commission, who discussed EU strategies and policies in this field.

In this context of fruitful exchange of experiences and cross-fertilization between EU-funded projects SUSPORT, PROMARES and DIGSEA, the Port Network Authority System of the Eastern Adriatic Sea, Lead Partner of CLEAN BERTH, presented the main contents and outputs of the project, with the simultaneous signing by the project partners of the "Protocol for the establishment of a permanent cross-border cooperation system in the field of environmental sustainability and port energy efficiency", aimed at further strengthening of the fruitful cooperation started during the project implementation.