At the Port of Rotterdam, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals are at the heart of what we do. We firmly believe it is our responsibility to contribute to a healthier living and working environment for all. That’s why we have developed and implemented a plan to support the sustainable development and maintenance of infrastructure (SDG 9) and at the same time setting the goal to increase biodiversity in our port with 5% by 2027 (SDG 14 & 15).
As a first step to achieve these goals, the Port of Rotterdam developed its own Nature vision 2030. With this document we envision a sustainable port with an integration of nature into our plans and projects. In order to make this vision concrete, it was translated into a plan consisting of 5 steps:
- First the goal for an increase in biodiversity was set (May 2022): +5% in 5 years (2022 – 2027);
- To measure success, the monitoring network for grasslands was expanded by 67% (May 2022), adding 10 plots in forest edges and 10 plots in waterways;
- Then 9 measures for more biodiverse maintenance were implemented;
- This spring a digital toolkit with 21 nature-inclusive measures for development projects was launched;
- And by the end of 2024 our Nature Vision will be expanded and will become even more ambitious.
Next year we will take an extra step to increase biodiversity in the port. We will consciously provide space for biodiversity on industrial estates and roofs in the port area. We do this by working in a nature-inclusive way with all parties in the port, including companies, (maintenance) contractors, project developers and others. This way we contribute to the conservation and restoration of flora and fauna in the port area.