Join us for a day of reflecting on lessons learned, considering current challenges, and contemplating the path forward for the governance of green shipping. The day's events will include four panels and time for discussion in small groups, with a reception to follow. Bios of panellists and discussion questions are provided below.

Workshop schedule

Morning

8:30–9:00 Check-in and coffee

9:00–9:15 Welcome and introductions

9:15–10:15 The state we're in: decarbonization, sustainability, international shipping and ports (panel discussion)

10:15–10:30 Break

10:30–12:15 Transforming the life-cycles of shipping, fuel and infrastructure (panel and group discussion)

Afternoon

12:15-1:15 Lunch (provided)

1:15-3:00 Building and governing marine trading corridors(panel and group discussion)

3:00–3:15 Break

3:15-4:15 The paths ahead: governance options for transforming ports and shipping (panel discussion)

4:15–6:00 Reception

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Welcome and introductions

Peter V. Hall, Professor of Urban Studies, Simon Fraser University

Prior to joining academia, Peter worked in local government in the port city of Durban, South Africa. His research areas include the connections between cities, seaports and logistics. He is an associate editor of the Journal of Transport Geography.

Opening panel: The state we're in: decarbonization, sustainability, international shipping, and ports

Are we making sufficient progress towards zero carbon? What have we learned from recent experiences with Covid-19 and IMO Sulphur 2020, as well as from current climate and economic challenges? Are we on the right track?

Chair: Jette Steen Knudsen, Professor of Sustainability, Tufts University

Jette holds the Shelby Collum Davis Chair in Sustainability at Tufts and is a part-time Otto-Mønsted professor at Copenhagen Business School. Her research centers on the interface between government regulation and business actions, with a particular focus on corporate social responsibility.

Panellists

Peter Amat, General Manager, Pacific Basin Shipping (Canada)

Peter is general manager of Pacific Basin Shipping (Canada), where he has worked since 2008. Before that, he worked in various shipping industry roles in the UK, Indonesia, China, New Zealand and Australia. He is a board member of the British Columbia Maritime Employers Agency and the Chamber of Shipping, and previously served as president of the Canadian branch of the International Chamber of Shipping. He holds an M.Sc in international transport from the University of Wales

Robert Lewis-Manning, CEO, Greater Victoria Harbour Authority

Robert has been a leader in the global marine transportation sector for more than 20 years. During his time with the Chamber of Shipping, he was responsible for developing and implementing a new strategic direction, which included prioritizing partnerships with First Nations communities and facilitating substantial changes to vessel operations in Canadian waters. He also advocated for and negotiated the first marine conservation agreement in Canada to protect endangered whales.

Tony Walker, Associate Professor, School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University

Tony’s research interests include monitoring, impacts and mitigation of industrial pollution. Most of his recent research has been Canadian-focused and carried out in partnership with industry. Prior to his academic career, he worked as a consultant specializing in the monitoring and management of contaminants in marine and terrestrial environments.

Panel 2: Transforming the life cycles of shipping, fuel, and infrastructure

What are the main challenges to making the life cycles of shipping more sustainable? What opportunities exist, and what questions remain?

Chair: Henrik Sornn-Friese, Associate Professor in Strategy and Innovation, Copenhagen Business School

In addition to his work at the Copenhagen Business School, Henrik is an MPA professor of maritime business at Singapore Management University. He is also the director of CBS Maritime and academic director of CBS’ M.Sc. program in Economics and Business Administration. He co-founded and serves as co-director of the Green Shipping Project. He also co-founded and serves as a member of the steering committee for the Maritime Research Alliance.

Panellists

Andreea Miu, Head of Decarbonisation, Sustainable Shipping Initiative

Andreea joined the Sustainable Shipping Initiative, a UK-based NGO, in October 2020. Her career has focused on renewable energy, including working on codes of practice and certification schemes in biogas and bioenergy. She has also worked on issues such as emissions reduction in heavy industry, low-carbon technology transfer and environmental management in private organizations. She holds a master’s of science in environmental management and policy from Sweden’s Lund University.

Nicholas Schneider, Director of Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance & Projects, Teekay

Nick has worked for Teekay for 15 years, currently as director of ESG & projects and previously as the company’s manager of research projects and its environmental and social manager. He holds a master’s in science in natural resource and environmental economics from the University of Guelph.

Eleanor Kirtley, Senior Program Manager, Green Marine

Eleanor joined Green Marine, North America’s leading environmental certification for the maritime industry, in 2014 and opened its West Coast office. Before that, she worked at Glosten as an ocean engineer, a project manager and principal investigator for vessel traffic and risk assessment studies. In 2008, Eleanor completed her PhD in naval architecture and marine engineering from the University of Michigan.

Panel 3: Building and governing marine trading corridors

What are the main challenges to implementing sustainable practices along marine trading corridors? What opportunities exist, and what questions remain?

Chair: David Gillen, Director, Green Shipping Project, Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia

David is the YVR professor of transportation policy at UBC’s Sauder School of Business, as well as a research economist at the Institute of Transportation Studies (University of California, Berkeley). He has published more than 100 books, technical reports, journal articles, and conference presentations on the subjects of transportation economics and policy. David also co-founded and co-directs the Green Shipping Project.

Panellists

Ronan Chester, Director of Climate Action and Sustainability Leadership, Vancouver Fraser Port Authority

Ronan is responsible for leading a portfolio of initiatives and programs to help advance the port authority’s vision to be the world’s most sustainable port. He has 20 years’ experience in the sustainability field in various project management positions, as well as a master’s degree in sustainability. He is a Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Energy Manager (CEM), Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional (LEED AP), and Envision Infrastructure Sustainability Professional (ENV SP).

Paul Blomerus, Executive Director, Clear Seas Centre for Responsible Marine Shipping

Paul leads the team at Clear Seas as they work to advance the safety and sustainability of marine shipping. Before joining the organization in 2020, he worked in a variety of industry roles including supply chain, product development and strategy positions for Westport Innovations and Rolls Royce. Through his consulting work, he has specialized in the impact of technology on the transportation sector and building innovation clusters through university research. He holds a PhD in engineering science from the University of Oxford.

Tim Moore, Program Manager, Decarbonization, Teck Metals Corp.

Tim's work with the Teck Decarbonization Team focuses on developing and implementing decarbonization plans with the logistics group and the metallurgical refining complex in Trail, BC. In his 18 years with Teck, Tim has had various roles in research, project management and operations. He currently leads the effort to pilot a carbon capture process at Trail Operations. Early in his career, he also managed tow-tank evaluations of ships and floating structures with Oceanic Consulting in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Closing panel: The paths ahead: governance options for transforming ports and shipping

What are the realistic pathways to zero carbon for ports and shipping? What kind of action is needed, at what scale, and what are the implications for governance?

Chair: Michele Acciaro, Associate Professor, Department of Strategy and Innovation, Copenhagen Business School

Prior to joining CBS in January 2022, Michele was an associate professor of Maritime Logistics at Kühne Logistics University in Hamburg and director of its Hapag-Lloyd Center for Shipping and Global Logistics. His research interests range from environmental policy in shipping and ports, to energy transition and the business implications of climate change mitigation and adaptation. He is a member of the European Sustainable Shipping Forum and has acted as an advisor to the OECD International Transport Forum, the Port of Rotterdam, and the UN Global Compact among others.

Panellists

Thomas O’Brien, Executive Director, Center for International Trade and Transportation

Tom’s teaching and research focus on logistics, supply chain management, and goods movement policy. He serves on several industry and academic committees related to transportation and supply chain management, including the Transportation Research Board’s Intermodal Freight Transport Committee and its Urban Freight Committee. He has a Ph.D. in policy, planning, and development from the University of Southern California.

Aly Shaw, Research Fellow in Energy and Transport Policy, Energy Institute, University College London

Aly's work involves providing policy analysis to Member State governments in the International Maritime Organization. Her research concerns the development of global policy to regulate shipping’s energy transition and in particular she is focused on the potential for policy to ensure a just and equitable transition and the evolving narratives in connection to this. She holds a PhD from the University of St. Andrews, which focused on the development of regulations to reduce CO2 emissions from shipping.

Juvarya Veltkamp, Senior Advisor, C40 Cities Green Ports Forum

Juvarya is senior advisor for the Green Ports Forum, where she is responsible for convening cities, port authorities, and other actors to reduce port and supply chain-related emissions and promote positive health and economic resilience across these sectors. She has extensive experience working at the intersection of green buildings, cleantech, climate risk and governance, sustainable finance, and economic development.

About the venue: Simon Fraser University, Vancouver campus, Harbour Centre

About the Green Shipping Project

The UBC Centre for Transportation Studies together with 20 university partners and 19 non-academic industry and government partners lead an international maritime research network on governing environmental improvements in the maritime supply chain. The project is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and includes economists, business management scholars and political scientists.

While there is well-developed technical literature on ship design and the economics of efficient operation, sea transport is relatively under-­‐investigated in the business management, political economy and global governance literatures. There is consequently a major gap when it comes to understanding the implications of the accelerating “green shipping” trend, which calls for greater environmental accountability and reduction of the air, land and water impacts of the sector along the maritime supply chain.

The Green Shipping research network aims to address this knowledge gap. The overall goal is to advance knowledge and understanding towards the progressive governance of sustainable maritime transport.

UBC Centre for Transportation Studies (Sauder School of Business)

SFU Urban Studies Program

Copenhagen Business School