The Port of Sevilla, Spain has received the ESPO Award 2024 for its contributions to the circular economy, benefiting both the city and the surrounding community.
Magda Kopczynska, Director General of DG MOVE at the European Commission, presented the award during an especially festive edition of the ceremony. On the 6 November, the ceremony and the dinner were held at the Albert Hall in Brussels and brought together over 200 guests.
Looking back at the selection process in this 16th edition of the ESPO Award, the Chairman of the Jury, Eamonn O’Reilly, said: "The ESPO Award continues to showcase best practices in the sector and provide a valuable resource to inspire other ports in developing their own plans and strategies. We saw sustainable and port-specific approaches to the ever-present challenges of dredging, alongside leadership by port authorities in facilitating circular initiatives in port industries. Some ports focused on specific technologies to facilitate the energy transition, showing a broadened perspective that looks beyond traditional cargo-handling activities."
The President of the Port Authority of Sevilla, Rafael Carmona, has emphasized that "We are very proud of the recognition from ESPO for our Circular Economy projects, a prestigious award for the port sector that encourages us to continue on the path of Working with Nature for the benefit of local communities. For years, we have been working to valorise dredging sediments as a resource, not as waste; and we use them to create new habitats and improve ecosystems, as well as to enhance agriculture and the ceramic industry, advancing the production of Guadalquivir bricks," said Rafael Carmona. "With the collaboration of research groups and key stakeholders in the estuary, we have identified the beneficial uses of sediments, and for this, we are inspired by the concept of Circular Economy" added the president.
Port of Sevilla won the ESPO Award 2024 for its project “Circular Economy for Valorising Maintenance Dredging Sediments”. The project was developed to address the need for sustainable management, while adhering to the principles of the circular economy, of the sediments extracted during the maintenance campaigns of the Eurovía del Guadalquivir, used as a maritime access route. As such, the Port Authority of Sevilla (APS) leads the Navigation Optimization Project on the Eurovía del Guadalquivir (E.60.02) to improve navigability and increase ship cargo capacity without altering the channel's gradient. This initiative, based on the 'Working with Nature' model, promotes sustainable dredging practices, sediment revaluation, and environmental improvement. Previously used only for civil works, uncontaminated fine sediments extracted during maintenance are now repurposed to boost biodiversity, restore coastlines, and support the ceramics and construction industries. The project fosters social, economic, and environmental development through collaboration with stakeholders in the Guadalquivir estuary.
Out of the nine submissions received this year, the projects of Port of Antwerp-Bruges (Belgium), Port of Gothenburg (Sweden), Port of Huelva (Spain) and Port of Sevilla (Spain) had been shortlisted for this 16th edition. All the submissions are summarised in the ESPO Award Brochure 2024.
On 6 November, ESPO also published its Annual Report 2023-2024, which outlines the activities of the organisation over the past year. The Annual Report can be downloaded here.
