SmartPort’s contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals: An exploratory research of the innovation projects in the port of Rotterdam

SmartPort is a knowledge platform that stimulates partnerships, supports scientific research and provides public knowledge dissemination. In addition, it carries out several innovation projects in the Port of Rotterdam. Whilst these projects are directly associated with innovation, the impact on sustainable development in terms of contribution to the SDGs has not yet been examined. The Port of Rotterdam Authority has already made the connection between the SDGs and the business practices by linking the goals and underlying targets to the materiality themes. This paper offers a first attempt to match the outcomes of SmartPort’s projects to the SDGs. The outcomes clearly indicate that the current focus primarily lies on the economic pillar of sustainability, and mere partially on the environmental pillar of sustainability. This is exemplified by the frequency of the contribution to SDGs 7, 8, 9, and 13, in comparison to the other goals. The paper concludes with the recommendation that SmartPort should consider the use of the SDGs as framework for the development of the value cases in order to develop the port area in a more sustainable manner.