Port Saint John partners with Pond-Deshpande Centre to engage the next generation of leaders in its mandate for a greener and more sustainable future
Saint John, N.B. - University and college students from across New Brunswick are invited to participate in the journey to decarbonize Port Saint John by participating in a business plan competition designed to stimulate ways for the Port to engage Port tenants and customers, to join their journey to collectively reduce GHG emissions.
“We are excited about our inaugural partnership with Port Saint John to come up with climate change solutions and collaboratively tackle one of our deepest global issues,” says Katie Davey, Executive Director of the Pond-Deshpande Centre at the University of New Brunswick. “The Port is growing quickly, and it wants to grow sustainably and encourage its marine traffic customers and partners to do the same. We look forward to helping the most curious and creative minds in the province come to the table with the Port on this important project.”
Applications are due on March 10, 2023. Teams of up to five students have the opportunity to win $1,000 per person. The winning team will also present their solution at Port Days on June 1 and be featured on Port Saint John’s new podcast. Finally, all team members will receive free tickets to the Pond-Deshpande Centre’s GovMaker Conference on June 14 in Fredericton. More information about the competition and how to apply can be found here.
“We want to be challenged to think bigger by the young minds at our local post-secondary institutions. It is an opportunity for us to get new ideas from the leaders of tomorrow on how we can do more for the environment,” says Craig Bell Estabrooks, President and CEO of Port Saint John. “We are embarking on a decarbonization journey for activities and assets within Port Saint John’s corporate care and control and we are choosing to make greener decisions about how we operate as a port community. The solutions that come out of this competition will shine a light on what else we can be thinking about to challenge the status quo.”
Sustainability has been a long-time focus at Port Saint John, but in recent years the emphasis has been made stronger with new initiatives and plans underway. The Port’s cruise terminals, corporate offices and Port-owned terminals will be 100% powered by the wind energy from the Burchill Wind Project once it is operational, drastically decreasing the Port’s carbon footprint. Also underway is a new Decarbonization and Sustainability Master Plan which includes the Port examining its current footprint, setting sustainability targets, and building a forward-looking strategy to reach those targets. Both the cruise and cargo industries are also on a decarbonization journey in which the port hopes to support with incentives and collaborative projects.
About Port Saint John: The vision of Port Saint John is to be a catalyst for growth, recognized for our community leadership. Port Saint John is Atlantic Canada’s largest port by tonnage and has a diverse cargo base, including dry and liquid bulk, break bulk, containers, and cruise.
Media contact: Amanda Morrell, Executive Assistant, (506) 609-2395, amorrell@sjport.com