North Sea Port brings sustainability onto the board with new executive Maarten den Dekker
Sustainability occupies a central place at North Sea Port and is a crucial pillar of the port authority's strategy. With the appointment of Maarten den Dekker, the full scope and importance of sustainability is now represented at board level.
On 1 June, Maarten den Dekker will replace current board member Dick Engelhardt, Chief Development & Nautical Operations, who is retiring. With the appointment of Maarten den Dekker, the port authority has chosen an internal candidate for this new role on the executive board. The prominent addition of sustainability to the board reflects the additional efforts being made by the port authority to realise and accelerate projects on energy, climate and circularity and so make the port much more sustainable.
Rejuvenation
With the appointment of 31-year-old Maarten den Dekker as Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), the port authority is acting to rejuvenate the boardroom. Maarten has been with the port authority for nearly six years and has been partly responsible for the strategic strides made at North Sea Port as a sustainable port in recent years. He also served for just under a year as director of the Dutch arm of Smart Delta Resources (SDR) – a role he will continue to perform, because SDR is the regional partnership of industry, port, research institutions and government aimed at achieving future-proof, sustainable industry.
Daan Schalck, CEO, North Sea Port: "Maarten den Dekker represents a new generation ready to serve on the board of North Sea Port. The energy transition calls for significant investments and choices. Maarten's knowledge will help us continue to take these ambitious steps. In recent years, Maarten has proved to be an important asset in delivering increased sustainability in the port. With his understanding of the social mission around sustainability, climate goals and energy transition, in this new role at North Sea Port he will be responsible for delivering our sustainability ambitions and help us lead the port into the next phase of sustainable development. I would like to conclude by explicitly thanking Dick Engelhardt for his hard work and commitment to North Sea Port." That included the construction of port infrastructure, promoting maritime access via the Wielingen channel in the Westerschelde, area development, biodiversity, energy and climate, the modal shift towards inland navigation, the Strategic Plan and his executive role. Plus rail development, and the Rail Ghent Terneuzen project in particular.Dick was also named 'Rail Person of the year' by Railcargo.
Maarten den Dekker: "I am extremely excited to start work as Chief Sustainability Officer. In this role, I will get the chance to make North Sea Port a little more sustainable every day and, together with my colleagues, provide direction for our sustainable ambitions as a top European port. A super exciting task in an equally exciting organisation. I look forward to working with the companies, government agencies and all our partners to further accelerate the implementation of our forward-looking strategy for the benefit of the port and our environment."
