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International shipping is a vital industry, facilitating global trade and transporting people around the world. At the same time, it produces greenhouse gas emissions – comparable in scale to industrialised nations such as Germany or Japan – and is a significant source of air pollution. Urgent action is required to reduce emissions in a sustainable manner. The production, supply, and use of alternative fuels – many of which are linked to the hydrogen economy – are essential to this aim.
This study by Arup, Lloyd’s Register (LR) and The Resilience Shift has outlined the critical role of ports in driving and supporting the case for investment in energy infrastructure. It focuses on the integration of fuel demand for early adopters in green corridors, ports, and energy systems.
This report explores the opportunities and challenges associated with developing infrastructure for alternative fuels, through a case study of a green shipping triangle in the Atlantic. We do this by considering this global challenge at an initial project scale, considering how demand for alternative fuels could grow at a port level to realise ambitious climate action. We explore the infrastructure required for low carbon fuel supply, demonstrating the significant scale required even for initial projects, highlighting the need for an integrated approach to their development. We frame how a Total Value approach to these initial projects can unlock significant co-benefits, strengthening their case for investment. Download the full report.
Resilience4Ports explores resilience through key drivers – including decarbonisation, technology and climate change – that are affecting global supply chains today and will continue to affect the entire maritime shipping industry in the future.
Over two distinct phases, Resilience4Ports is bringing together the value chain of ports – from financers to operators and policy makers to shippers – to develop a programme of resilience enhancements. This programme will aim to influence policy, shape practice and share learning.
See the headlines of the report in the Reslience4Ports Digital Headlines or download the full report.


Communities globally depend on resilient, low carbon ports to prosper. With our partners, we are exploring opportunities for resilient, system-wide, transformation through the lenses of decarbonisation, technology and port cities.
Exploring resilience through change
Disruptors present both opportunities for improving resilience of port systems and the risk of new vulnerabilities. By exploring resilience enhancements through key disruptive lenses, we can encourage an holistic approach to change that enables positive outcomes for society and the environment – as well as business.
Decarbonisation
Capitalising on low carbon investments, managing changing trade dynamics and accelerating city decarbonisation.
Technological change
The future of shipping, Industry 4.0 and global supply chains, cyber crime, smart ports. Facilitating innovation whilst limiting new vulnerabilities.
Port communities and the environment
Creating good jobs, improving health outcomes, enhancing the coastal environment and preparing for a changing climate.
Our approach
- We have adopted a rigorous, evidence-based collaborative, multi-stakeholder methodology to define the port system and its interdependencies, and consider resilience challenges and enhancements.
- Throughout phase one the Resilience4Ports project convened workshops, undertook research, and worked with sector-experts to achieve this.
- Our focus is on action-planning, ensuring that actions are robust, and have the collective support of public and private stakeholders building on the valuable work developed by existing port sustainability initiatives.
Stage 1 – Scoping Study. In July 2020, we started our scoping study, the outcome of which was published in March 2021. The report identified the main drivers of change impacting ports, the findings from the stakeholder workshops and recommended actions to enhance the resilience of ports.
Stage 2 – Global initiative. The key outcome from the scoping study will be the creation framework for an ambitious, multi-year, multi-partner initiative. We want to frame an approach, and the relevant partnerships, that will align resilience goals across stakeholders and allow collaborative actions, from policy to implementation, to achieve these.


Partners and engagement
The Resilience Shift is working closely with sector experts from our two founding partners Arup and the Lloyd’s Register Foundation, as well as Lloyd’s Register Group who are highly influential in the port and shipping sector.
In addition, are engaging with the value chain of ports - from financiers to operators and policy makers to shippers - to shape cross-cutting actions of relevance to the whole life of infrastructure.




Prospective outcomes
To enhance the resilience of global supply chains, we seek to:
- Build resilience across the value chain by bringing stakeholders and a community of practitioners together
- Create a global beacon of whole systems thinking as a model of ‘what good looks like’ for building resilience within other complex, integrated critical infrastructure systems
- Produce outputs that allow action that all major stakeholders need to undertake to build resilience across the ports value chain.
Project leaders
Mark Button
Project leader
Mark is a Maritime Engineer for Arup based in London, leading the design of coastal and port projects, with experience working in UK, Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Amy Leitch
Head of Partnerships
Amy focuses on the strategic and policy aspects of sustainable and resilience planning within the built environment. She works collaboratively with clients and partners to deliver innovative, technically robust solutions.
Publications
Port energy supply for green shipping corridors
17 March, 2022
Resilience Shift Round-table: Ports and logistics
8 February, 2019
Resilience of global food supply chains
25 June, 2019
Articles
Useful posts from our blog archive
Read the Cereal & Grains Association article Resilience and Complex Interdependencies within and between Global Food Supply Networks and Transportation Infrastructure, co-authored by the Resilience Shift's Juliet Mian and Xavier Aldea Borruel.



Key role of ports in unlocking investment in future fuel infrastructure
A study by Arup, Lloyd’s Register (LR) and The Resilience Shift has outlined the critical role of ports in driving and supporting the case for investment in energy infrastructure. It focuses on the integration of fuel demand for early adopters in green corridors, ports, and energy systems.


The Resilience Shift takes the helm of Navigating a Changing Climate
In the context of increasing global supply chain vulnerabilities and the critical need to decarbonise maritime transportation, we are delighted to announce that The Resilience Shift will play a lead role in the Navigating a Changing Climate partnership during its next phase.


Innovate4Cities: Session round-up
The Resilience Shift and our strategic partners, Resilience First and the International Coalition for Sustainable Infrastructure (ICSI), were excited to present a number of sessions at the conference, covering a range of topics relevant to resilience in urban infrastructure. Recordings of each session are available to stream now.


Showcasing Resilience4Ports and a smarter cleaner future
The Resilience Shift has participated in a new film on ports, Gateways to Growth, commissioned by the UK Chamber of Shipping and the British Ports Association, featuring contributions on Resilience4Ports from Tesco, EBRD, Arup, and the Port of London Authority, alongside Dr Juliet Mian.


Embrace ports resilience to advance decarbonisation, says new Resilience Shift report
The multiple drivers of change currently facing ports require a whole-systems approach before low-carbon, resilient ports transformations can be realised says a new report from The Resilience Shift. “This is the right time to catalyse the urgent action that needs to be taken by the whole ports-value chain to transform ports into low-carbon, resilient gateways”.


“Ports as keystones to our future low carbon society” – Mark Button on Resilience4Ports
As the Resilience4Ports phase one report is launched, on the resilience of the ports ecosystem, we talk to project leader and maritime engineer, Mark Button, about the experiences and motivations that led him to create the project and why he believes resilience is the unifying theme that can unite multiple agendas facing ports


Why ports matter for resilience
The interconnectedness of ports to multiple infrastructure systems means they are acutely well suited to the Resilience Shift approach of tackling whole-system resilience.




Resilience4Ports brings industry leaders together to discuss resilience challenges
Resilience4Ports has launched its first industry roundtable, bringing together stakeholders from across the entire ports and maritime shipping value chain for a major scoping study.




The Resilience Shift launches global resilient ports initiative
Our work to date shows an urgent need to build the whole-system resilience of ports and global supply chains to withstand multiple drivers of disruption. We are inviting industry, practitioners and policy makers to work with us to deliver on this ambition.


From field to fork – global food supply and its dependence on resilient infrastructure
The global supply of food is an incredibly complex system, involving multiple actors and a diverse value chain from production through to consumption. Every part of the chain is dependent on infrastructure systems. We share six principles for enhancing the resilience of food transportation systems from our contribution to Cereal Foods World.