Representing some 170 ports in over ninety countries, member ports of the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) handle about 80% of world container traffic and more than 60% of all international maritime trade. Earlier this year the IAPH established the World Ports Sustainability Program (WPSP). The fundamental aim of this program is to demonstrate global leadership of ports in contributing to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
The World Ports Sustainability Program focuses on enabling ports to deliver tangible value to their stakeholders in terms of resilient infrastructure, energy transition, safety and security, community outreach and governance. It is clear that digitisation and how ports embrace technological change will impact how they positively impact each and every one of these 17 UN SDGs. There is not one SDG where technology or digitisation cannot play a pivotal role.