Ten ports have submitted their projects to the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) secretariat which is to host their 15th edition of the ESPO Award later this year. 

Under the theme “Nature restoration projects in ports benefiting the local community”, the ESPO Award 2023 will go to the port managing body which has developed innovative ways to develop these new roles and combine port development with successfully protecting and restoring nature in and around the port area to the benefit of the citizens and local community.

The winning project will be a project which can clearly demonstrate how nature protection and restoration efforts can be successfully combined with port development projects.

ESPO members could send their applications until Friday 7 July.

The following 10 applications will be competing for the ESPO Award 2023: North Sea Port (Belgium- Netherlands), Guadeloupe Port Caraïbes (France), Port Network Authority of the Northern Central Tyrrhenian Sea - Port of Civitavecchia (Italy), Klaipėda State Seaport Authority (Lithuania), Port of Gdynia Authority (Poland), Port Authority of Cartagena (Spain), Port Authority of Ceuta (Spain), Port Authority of Sevilla (Spain), Port Authority of Vigo (Spain), and Shoreham Port (United Kingdom) (- listed in alphabetical order by country).

To promote the efforts made by different European ports to enhance the city-port relations through innovative projects, ESPO decided in 2009 to give out an annual ESPO Award on Societal Integration of Ports. After the two first editions, it was decided to focus each year on one different aspect of societal integration.

The ESPO award winning port is selected by an independent jury of international experts, under the Chairmanship of Dimitrios Theologitis, former Head of Unit of Ports and Inland Navigation in DG MOVE at the European Commission.

The winner will be announced at the ESPO Award Ceremony and Dinner taking place on 7 November at the Museum of Arts and History in Brussels. The ESPO award painting 2023 will be the first of a new series of paintings, made exclusively for ESPO by the Dutch port painter Sasja Hagens.

This year, the ESPO award ceremony will also mark the celebration of the 30th anniversary of ESPO.

The European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) Award on Social Integration of Ports is entering its 15th edition, with the theme “Nature restoration projects in ports benefitting the local community”.

Since ports are often located in or near different precious natural areas, they strive to integrate the protection of biodiversity in all port operations, making it part of their license to operate.

Over the years, ports in Europe have gained extensive experience with sustainable port operations and development. These sustainability efforts in ports are based on respecting and working with nature and habitat requirements already set out in European and national legislation, whilst striving to go beyond regulatory requirements. 

Already in 1996, ESPO published a comprehensive Code of practice on the application and the Bird and Habitats Directive. The Code was developed in close cooperation with the European Commission, and sets out specific guidelines for how ports can work with the Birds and Habitats Directive. 

On top of their traditional role as hub in the supply chain ensuring connectivity and linking Europe with the rest of the world, Europe’s ports are nowadays playing an increasingly important role as suppliers, producers, storing locations or importers of new renewable energies. Ports are at the service of Europe’s economy and society and an essential partner in the race to a net-zero and sustainable European economy and society. 

Given all these new roles and responsibilities, it is more important than ever for ports to find ways to ensure that port development and activities, in particular those linked to achieving the net-zero goals and related energy policies, go hand in hand with the protection and enhancement of natural areas in and around ports.

The ESPO Award 2023 will go to the port managing body which has developed innovative ways to develop these new roles and combine port development with successfully protecting and restoring nature in and around the port area to the benefit of the citizens and local community. The winning project will be a project which can clearly demonstrate how nature protection and restoration efforts can be successfully combined with port development projects. 

Project submissions have to reach the ESPO Secretariat by Friday 7 July 2023 at the latest. The application form and the terms of reference are available on the ESPO Website.

The 15th ESPO Award will be officially handed out during an Award Ceremony and Dinner, which will take place in November 2023 in Brussels.

This year's winner of the European Sea Ports Organisation's EPSO Award went to the Barcelona Port Authority in recognition of the role of maritime passenger transport in enhancing the city connectivity and bringing added value to the local community.

The ESPO Award was handed out by Magda Kopczynska, Director for Innovative and Sustainable Mobility in the European Commission’s department for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE), during the traditional ceremony and dinner at the Bozar in Brussels, which gathered more than 170 guests.

Barcelona Port Authority won the ESPO Award 2022 for its project “Your Port Opens Up Again”. The project involves the deeper integration of the old port of Barcelona and the city through the completion of the reorganization of passenger traffic. It includes transferring one ferry and two cruise terminals from the old port area to a wharf located in the commercial port exclusively dedicated to passengers and relocating a multipurpose terminal in the commercial port.

Dimitrios Theologitis, Chairman of the ESPO award jury said about the winning project: “One of the major current European port investment projects, it is admirable in that it faithfully follows a plan since the Olympic Games of 1992. It draws together numerous public and private actors, it invests in green technologies to minimise externalities, it responds to the wishes of its host city by giving back valuable waterfront space and solving major congestion problems.”

Santiago Garcia Milà, deputy Director General of the Port of Barcelona said: "We are very honoured with this award, especially since it is an award coming from ESPO. We consider winning this award as an appreciation and support for our strategy which aims at combining sustainability with taking care of the passengers that come and leave from our port."

Out of the seven submissions received this year, the projects of Barcelona Port Authority (Spain), Tallinn Port Authority (Estonia), Ceuta Port Authority (Spain) and ADRIJO Network - Adriatic Ports Cultural Network (Croatia, Italia) had been shortlisted for this 14th edition. All the submissions are summarised in the ESPO Award Brochure 2022.

Yesterday, ESPO also published its Annual Report 2021-2022, which outlines the activities of the organisation over the past year. The Annual Report can be downloaded here.