Meet Andrew, Green Ports Consultant
What makes working on the topic of Green Ports really exciting is that it has the attention of industry leaders.
A unique role in an emerging market
Ports around the world are under increasing pressure to be more sustainable. They face a wide range of challenges, including the shift towards Net-Zero emissions, optimising operational efficiency to cater to rising public and industrial demands, and addressing social concerns like the strain on local infrastructure and adverse effects on human health. In his role as Green Ports Consultant, Andrew plays a crucial part in addressing these challenges. “At my previous employer, my role was focused on engineering, and after a few years, I came to realise that I wanted to focus more on sustainable development., That’s when I came across the opportunity to become a Green Ports Consultant at Royal HaskoningDHV. This was a unique role in an emerging market where a lot of exciting work is going on and a role that perfectly intersects my experience, my interests, and the post-graduate diploma in Urban Design that I was about to receive.”
“The maritime sector represents about 3% of the global carbon emissions, and while the Green Port concept isn’t purely focused on decarbonisation and environmental aspects, it does place you in the unique position to contribute changes to an industry that requires transformation and play a vital role in global efforts to combat climate change.”
A Green Port study that spans the whole of Asia
Since joining our organisation, Andrew has supported on smart and green port projects in the UK and across the continents of Africa and Asia for the World Bank, African Development Bank and Asian Development Bank. “One of the projects I’ve been involved in is the Asian Development Bank Green Ports Financing Initiative project. A multidisciplinary project with the primary objective of developing a financing structure for green port projects across Asia, our team was there to provide expertise on green ports.”
“In this project, I was responsible for policy review for the entire Asia-Pacific region, with a specific emphasis on four representative ports involved in the study. I interviewed senior leaders from major ports in the region to identify the constraints and opportunities they face in funding and implementing their green port agenda. The insights gathered from this research shaped the development of a funding initiative to be set up by the Asian Development Bank.”
A big player in the field
We actively collaborate with each other, clients, partners, and stakeholders, driving positive change. This is also something Andrew experiences. “What makes working on this really exciting is that the topic of Green Ports has the attention of industry leaders. The ABD project is an excellent example of this. We directly engaged with the directors and CEOs of these ports. For them, it wasn’t just some small side project to hand off to someone else; it is high on their priority list.”A project close to home
Andrew also contributes to projects closer to home, such as a project for PD Ports, one of the biggest port operators in the UK. “PD Ports asked us to conduct a study called a Green Port Health Check, one of our core offerings. With this study, we aim to assess the maturity of their green port operations. We go through all the documentation that they can provide, and we have conversations with port operatives and senior management to understand what they’re doing in terms of reporting and meeting legislation, so we can score how mature they are in certain topics, such as decarbonisation, biodiversity, and climate resilience. Based on these insights, we developed a draft Green Port Policy for their organisation.” “The PD Ports project is one of the first projects I’ve project managed, and it was nice to be exposed to this kind of responsibility early on. The scope and scale of our projects, combined with our small team of Green Port experts, allow you to be a core team member and have those types of opportunities early on.”
What makes the work challenging
We work on a diverse range of projects, consistently at the forefront of new innovative solutions. This brings challenging and exciting work that encourages a growth mindset. “Coming from a quite mature industry and working in a large team with a lot of fixed processes and systems in place and then changing to this new role in an emerging market, working in a relatively new team, is what brings an extra challenge this role. Here, things are more dynamic, and I am part of the process of shaping our Green Ports team. This means I can contribute to defining the direction we want to go to and what we want to focus on. Engaging in this kind of strategic thinking adds an extra dimension to this role.”
“Our team's development is significantly influenced by our close collaboration with the Smart Ports team. The Smart Ports team is more established than ours, and there is a lot of cross-sharing regarding how to grow the team. We also share resources, which makes it possible to engage in other types of projects. This exchange of knowledge and resource makes our team much more resilient.”
Do you also want to work for a global leader in maritime services?
Then, join our fast-growing team. We are always looking for talent that wants to enhance society together. Talent that likes to be challenged to keep up with the latest innovations in our work domain. Are you the talent we are looking for?
