Port of Rotterdam presents the 'Sustainability Map'
Today, on Sustainability Day, Allard Castelein, CEO of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, presented the Sustainability Map to Mayor Ahmed Aboutaleb. The map shows a selection of 15 sustainable initiatives in the Rotterdam port area, each of which is original and therefore inspirational to other organisations. ‘We strive to visibly improve the liveability around the port,’says Castelein, the company said in its press release.
The selection found on the Sustainability Map is a depiction of the initiatives developed by the Port Authority to make Rotterdam the most sustainable port of its kind.
For all of the initiatives charted for the Sustainability Map, direct or indirect collaboration between the Port Authority and other – public and private – organisations is a priority. An example of an innovative sustainability initiative is the Green Port. In this project, the Port of Rotterdam Authority and the World Wide Fund for Nature work together in close collaboration. By using clean residual materials from construction projects – such as remnants of old quay walls and concrete piles – to make so-called longitudinal dams, a natural, nine-kilometre-long passage is being created in the port of Rotterdam. This passage is protected from ship-induced waves, giving it the chance to develop into a green entryway to the city: the Green Port. It is expected that the first deposit in this project will be made soon.
Deltaplan Energy Infrastructure is another striking project, in which the Port Authority, together with the province, municipality, energy companies and industry, supports the construction of infrastructure that allows residual heat, steam and CO2 from companies in the port area to be better utilised. This offers opportunities for the industry itself, as well as for the surrounding urban areas – for example in terms of district heating – and for the horticultural areas. This infrastructure makes it possible to save substantially on energy consumption. Good examples of this include the two new transport pipelines that earlier this year started bringing 120o water, heated by the residual heat from the waste incineration plant in Rozenburg, to the district heating grid in Rotterdam.
