Ports air quality strategy

Challenge

Following the publication of Defra’s Clean Air Strategy in 2019, the UK Government set out a number of commitments to make emissions reductions from domestic shipping and port activities. In response to this, major UK ports were asked to develop a Port Air Quality Strategy to demonstrate the steps the port is taking to reduce emissions. The goals of the strategy are twofold:

• To establish a level of understanding of air quality at ports
• To reflect actions that the port is taking to address emissions under their control

The long-term goal is to encourage UK ports to understand the air quality impact of their activities and seek opportunities to mitigate these.

Solution

SLR undertook extensive quantification of site emissions to provide a robust evidence base for the action plan. Emissions were calculated based upon a range of activities, and spatially distributed via mapping to increase understanding and effectiveness of proposed measures.

Impact

Upon completion, SLR delivered a series of workshops with relevant port operators and stakeholders to discuss potential measures in line with the emissions inventory outputs. Cost, safety, economic viability, impact, effort, and timescales were all considered and evaluated for each measure via a scoring system.

A bespoke monitoring and reporting framework was designed for each circumstance, so operators could evaluate the progress and effectiveness of the Port Air Quality Strategy.