Sometimes, amazing opportunities come your way when you least expect it. What else can you do, but say "YES!"
So when PTI Conference Producer Ben Heather asked if I would be able to step in at short notice to chair the GreenTech for Ports and Terminals event in Barcelona, I was never going to refuse.
It's a great honour to be invited to take up the task. When it comes to events, Port Technology set a high standard and GreenTech was no exception. The quality of panel discussions, presentations and case studies from some of the worlds leading ports was extremely high.
I was especially impressed at the level of transparency exhibited by many of the participants. At other technology events in the past, I've noticed that there is a reluctance to share detailed information, but at GreenTech it was quite the opposite.
There were many takeaways from the event, but the biggest one for me was this...
Since 2021, the role of international shipping in global trade has come under the spotlight, is now frequently held accountable in mainstream media for 3% of global emissions, and comes under great pressure to address that.
What isn't visible are the tremendous efforts that many unsung heroes in the industry, along with their technology partners, are actually putting into reducing that number on a daily basis - be it in electrification of plant, implementing shore power, fuel transition, intermodal logistics or digitalisation and optimisation.
Of course, its not straightforward, and there are many hurdles to overcome, but the will is there, and I personally think that the industry has a huge amount to be proud of right now.
Conferences like this do a great job of shining a light on those often overlooked efforts, and I'm grateful to have had an opportunity to play a part in that.
And who knows... maybe there's a new career in conferences beckoning. Watch this space.
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