The port system has agreed to lead environmental protection as a strategy for economic growth and employment
- The new Strategic Framework seeks competitive, safe and socially committed ports, advocating digitalization and innovation and acting as a reference in environmental sustainability
- Toledo: "With a full consensus, we have endowed ourselves with the necessary tools to adapt to changes in worldwide logistics, through analysis, rationality and pragmatism"
- "Each one of our 56 general management objectives has performance indicators: no evaluation means no value"
07-23-2020 Santander (Ministry of Transportation, Mobility and Urban Agenda).
Today, in Santander, Spain's general interest port system has given the go-ahead to its Strategic Framework for the next ten years. Amongst other issues, the new Strategic Framework advocates a leading role in environmental protection at all ports as the key to sustainability, in order to encourage economic growth and generate employment with the 2030 horizon.
The president of Puertos del Estado, Francisco Toledo, has highlighted that "we are clear on our wish for competitive and safe ports, which are also socially committed, which advocate digitalization and innovation and, above all, which are at the forefront in global environmental friendliness".
"The resolution adopted today is a mature commitment to the entire port community, which has been able to adopt a full consensus in order to endow the necessary tools to adapt to changes in world logistics and unexpected events (such as the Covid-19 pandemic), through analysis, rationality and pragmatism". The 28 Port Authorities have highlighted the need to collaborate in many different aspects, both to save costs and to increase their competitiveness on the global market.
The president has also referred to the internal history of the Strategic Framework. "Although the path- barely two years long- has been relatively short, it has been very intense and its completion essential; this is well known by those who took its first steps, the former presidents of Puertos del Estado Ornella Chacón and Salvador de la Encina", Toledo has said, "without losing sight of the system's presidents, managers and intermediate positions who have given their very best to include their experience and perspectives in the document, as well as employer companies and trade union representatives at our ports, and our own workers at Puertos del Estado, starting with the Head of Planning & Development".
"I would like to congratulate them all. This conscientious, participative and (unfortunately) often silent work is backing all families, small businesses and large companies whose daily consumer and retail products go through our ports", has affirmed the president of Puertos del Estado, who has pointed out the "obvious importance" of logistics in the strategy followed by the Ministry of Transportation, Mobility and Urban Agenda (MITMA).
The two-day seminar that today ended in Santander, with the participation of Spain's 28 Port Authorities and Puertos del Estado, worked on the premise, voiced by the president Mr. Toledo, that "when deciding what ports, we want by 2030, we are gambling with Spain's economic growth and generated employment".
In this regard, there was great consensus on the document submitted amongst the senior managers of the 28 Port Authorities and the need has been highlighted that Spain's general interest port system be at the global forefront of environmental friendliness. "We want Spain's ports to be the greenest in the world", stated the president of Puertos del Estado.
Furthermore, it was anticipated that this strategic development model must be sustainable in three ways: environmentally, economically and socially. Consequently, all strategic lines will be linked to the 17 SDGs, the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
The president of Puertos del Estado has pointed out that "these next ten years should bear witness to digitalization, synchromodality and environmental commitment". Furthermore, there is a need for port infrastructures to be demand-oriented and reliable, connected and sustainable.
Finally, the presidents and managers who analyzed the draft Strategic Framework drawn up by Puertos del Estado have agreed to expand on the idea of "green ports" in order to become a world reference in the matter. Thus, railway connections, electrified wharfs to supply electricity to berthed vessels, energy self-sufficiency with renewable sources of energy, better energy efficiency and a reduction in the carbon print will all be promoted.
The document entitled "Proposed basic contents for a Strategic Framework of the general interest port system", used as the basis of closing discussions and final conclusions reached between the 28 Port Authorities and Puertos del Estado, was 139 pages long and contained 16 strategic lines and 56 general management objectives.
Each one of these objectives has performance indicators; "no evaluation means no value", president Toledo has stated.
Such objectives of the new Strategic Framework follow seven action criteria: efficiency, connectivity, digitalization, innovation, sustainability, security and transparency. The former Strategic Framework, which came into force in 1998, will thus come to an end.
Discussions held at the "Seminar to analyze a strategic development model", held on 22-23 July in Palacio de la Magdalena (Santander), have been divided into four work units: Results of employer company and trade union surveys; Economic scope; Innovation and environmental scope; Social scope.
