Wim Stubbe is business development manager at the port of Oostende in Belgium since 2008. The port of Oostende is focusing on the blue growth, circular economy and the implementation of the offshore renewable energy, next to the organization of the regular port activities. Wim Stubbe has studied Law and Communication at the University of Leuven. During the 10 years within the port , he has been working on the development of transnational and cross-border projects between SME ports in the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean Sea and the Aegean Sea. Main topics of these projects are related to sustainable logistics, port management, renewable energy, port security, maritime industry and the innovation within these fields. Wim Stubbe is also leading the Offshore Wind Ports Platform within the European organization Windeurope.

Title: Low Carbon Port Management in SME Ports: a Road for Innovation?

Within Europe there are more than 1250 Small and Medium-sized ports, which are hardly recognized by the European and national authorities and institutions. Nevertheless, they are obliged to implement an avalanche of European regulations and directives, notwithstanding limited staff and limited resources. One of the major threats on the operations at the SME ports, imposed by the EU, is the reduction of CO². The solutions that have been worked out for major ports, are not applicable in SME Ports. Can this threat become an opportunity for innovation in a SME Port? Within the European port cooperation projects “Dual Ports” and “PECS”, the port of Oostende and their partners are trying to develop new hardware and software tools in order to reach a low carbon management of the SME ports.