ENVOCONNECT 2026 has come to an end in front of a packed audience of almost 150 participants, with clear messages about the future of ports and logistics. Under the motto “Transformation needs commitment”, the bremenports conference once again brought together decision-makers, sustainability experts, specialists and young professionals from the port industry, logistics, shipping, industry and academia. At the heart of the discussions was a shared understanding: the transformation of ports and supply chains can only succeed through cooperation, dialogue and concrete action. ENVOCONNECT has now established itself as a key platform for this exchange. Alongside some lively and at times controversial discussions, networking once again played a central role this year.
A particular highlight was the presentation of the Green Focus Awards, the “Oscars of the ports”. Since 2014, bremenports has used the awards to recognize particularly low-emission vessels and shipping companies. The Engagement Award also honors individuals who make an outstanding contribution to the transformation and sustainable development of the Bremen ports.
This year, the Green Focus Award for the cleanest ship went to the container vessel “Stellar”, operated by shipping company CMA CGM. With an Environmental Ship Index (ESI) score of 90.5 points and 14 calls at Bremerhaven, the vessel topped the ranking.
Kristina Vogt, Bremen’s Senator for Economic Affairs and Ports, praised the achievement as an example of how the shipping industry is taking responsibility and consistently reducing air pollutants. Sebastian Bruchhardt accepted the award on behalf of CMA CGM. Alongside her praise, Senator Vogt also gave him a task to take away: “We would very much like to establish a Green Corridor – a sustainable transport route designed to make the movement of goods between the two cities cleaner, more efficient and fit for the future – between Halifax in Canada and the ports of Bremen. You would be the perfect partner for this,” said Vogt. “We will certainly give that some thought,” Bruchhardt promised, while thanking her for the award: “For us, this award is definitely not just recognition, but also encouragement to keep moving forward on our journey to minimize air pollutants and transition our fleet.”
NYK Line remains the benchmark for sustainable fleets
In the “Cleanest Shipping Fleet” category, Japanese shipping company NYK Line defended its title, receiving the award for the second consecutive year. With four vessels regularly calling at Bremerhaven and a total of 26 calls, the fleet once again achieved the best average ESI score in the comparison.
In fact, the company could have had a chance of a “double win”, bremenports Managing Director Robert Howe, who presented the award, explained: “With the Sumire Leader, you almost had the ‘cleanest ship’ as well – the car carrier would simply have needed to call at our ports a few more times.”
Christoph Pauli accepted the award on behalf of NYK and expressed his pleasure at the company being recognized for the second consecutive year. He said the award reinforced the shipping company’s goal of reducing emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 compared with 2021 levels and achieving “Net Zero” by 2050.
In his short speech, Robert Howe acknowledged the company’s consistent efforts on this path and added a tongue-in-cheek invitation: “You are very welcome to call at our ports even more frequently – and with even more ships.”
Engagement Award goes to Dr Martine Marchand
The Green Focus Award in the Engagement category went to Dr rer. nat. Martine Marchand. The biologist has been committed to nature conservation and sustainable port development in the ports of Bremen for decades.
As an expert and consultant, she supports projects involving interventions in nature and the landscape, develops compensation measures and helps reconcile the requirements of port development with those of nature conservation. In particular, her scientific support for the nature conservation measures on Luneplate made an important contribution to the successful implementation of compensation projects.
Marchand reported that she initially ignored the first notification informing her of her nomination. “I initially filed it as spam – after the second email, I was very pleased,” the award winner explained. She praised bremenports for its commitment to compensation measures: “The Bremen port management company really takes this issue seriously and does not simply treat it as a regulatory requirement. Environmental organizations criticizing construction projects that intervene in nature is, to a certain extent, part of their role. But when it comes to the compensation measures implemented by bremenports, everyone agrees on the valuable contribution they make.”
