One Planet Port is an independent organisation working to transform the Port of Rotterdam into a port that operates within planetary limits without sacrificing economic strength. Many sustainability strategies focus narrowly on small steps towards greening.
We go further: together with researchers, residents and policymakers we are building a comprehensive, science-based vision for how the port as a whole can change – on climate, nitrogen, biodiversity, plastics and ocean health.
Rotterdam is the logistical heart of Europe. What passes through this gateway shapes what the global economy does to the planet. That provides a position of unique leverage. A One Planet Port uses it, not by withdrawing from world trade, but by changing the conditions under which that trade takes place. Rotterdam would no longer be a transit port for profit and growth at any cost, no matter the harm, but a gateway for trade that is sustainable in the long term.
This can happen without job losses and with benefits for the majority, not a small part of society. And with room for nature and a clean environment. This is not idealism. Rotterdam sits in a delta, vulnerable to rising sea levels, freshwater scarcity and nitrogen excess. A One Planet Port is one of strategic self-interest – and a blueprint for ports worldwide. The knowledge, the scale and the position are there to put the ideas into practice rapidly.
A change of course requires a compass. That is why we developed a concrete, science-based report that shows how the Port of Rotterdam can genuinely transform – not through isolated measures, but through a fundamentally different understanding of what a port is and what it sends out into the world and what it can be.
The One Planet Port Vision Report is our point of departure. A concrete, science-based answer to how one of the world’s largest ports can truly change.
But a report alone changes nothing. The next step is to turn the vision into policy, into collaboration, into action. That requires everyone who understands what is at stake – researchers, businesses, policymakers, residents, and anyone who believes things can be done differently.
Do you have knowledge, a network, or resources to contribute? As an independent NGO, we rely on people and organisations who support our mission. Get in touch, or support our work directly.
