Chris has worked on Research & Development and Training with the port sector since 1982 specializing in the environmental management of port and shipping operations. He contributed to the development of the EcoPorts tools and methodologies, and is active in their implementation internationally supported by the cooperation between ECOSLC (www.ecoslc.eu), the European Sea ports Organization (ESPO, www.espo.be) and the American Association of Port Authorities (www.aapa-ports.org). He acts as Reviewer of the EcoPorts’ Self-Diagnosis Methodology (SDM). Chris has delivered training courses and research presentations on a range of environmental management issues throughout Europe and in India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Taiwan, Malaysia, Kuwait and Colombia. He was Director of Studies, Marine Geography in the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University, UK until 2011.

Title: Views and initiatives on Greener Ports and Sustainability

The topics and issues concerning Port Environmental Management continue to grow in significance as an ever-widening range of stakeholders voice their views and expectations on environmental protection, sustainability – and accountability. To many observers, the same challenges, and indeed difficulties, still exist in terms of bridging that fundamental gap between policy and actual practice. It is recognized that strategically, small ports are a special case socially and economically – and also when it comes to developing, implementing and operating an effective Environmental Management System (EMS). The presentation reviews the benefits and options for small ports in terms of developing an appropriate EMS, focusing on practicable methodologies and signaling the advantages of a collaborative approach – locally and as a sector. (This overview also sets the scene for a Workshop scheduled as a parallel session within the conference programme specifically designed to assist small port representatives in implementation of an EMS, and to develop appropriate guidelines).

Also Coordinator at the Conference Workshop: “Guide to the Management of Small & Island Ports”