Transport sector Green Forum brought together green transition leaders

The Green Forum for the transport sector, which this time focused on sustainable construction and development, was held at the Cruise Terminal of the Old City Harbour on 4th of  May. During the day, there were presentations, as well as a dialogue and a panel discussion on how the gates of Estonia could become greener and set an example for other sectors.

This year, the green forum was led by Tallinn Airport, Port of Tallinn, Estonian Railway, Rail Baltic Estonia and Green Tiger.

Valdo Kalm, CEO of the Port of Tallinn, said at the start of his presentation that the dream of everyone attending the forum is that we’ll be living in a cleaner environment in the future and they all believe that it’s possible to do business in a sustainable environment. “The Port of Tallinn, together with the Port of Helsinki, is launching a unique green corridor project, so that in the future, both our passengers and shippers will be able to travel in an environmentally friendly and climate neutral way from Estonia to Finland and vice versa. Cooperation with shipping companies in providing sustainable on-board services as well as in finding environmentally friendly marine fuels is essential for the project. The developments in Tallinn and Helsinki in providing green tourism infrastructure and mobility opportunities are equally important.”

Arvo Smiltinš, member of the management board of Estonian Railways, said that electrification is one of the biggest projects in the history of the railway, which covers a very large part of the infrastructure. “We always plan and make decisions based on real reasons and needs, and we don’t do anything to appear green – our goal is to move and make our operations more sustainable.”

Riivo Tuvike, the chairman of the management board of Tallinn Airport, says said that green management and sustainability are the only way to go. “Airports are not big polluters by their nature, but we must do all we can to minimise the impact of our activities. Companies, including us, who have not reduced their environmental impact by 2030, will be out of the game – consumers, banks and partners already prefer companies that work every day to reduce their environmental impact.”

Anvar Salomets, CEO of Rail Baltic Estonia, said that Rail Baltica is an environmental project. “The construction of the Rail Baltica route is a megaproject that cannot be done alone – we need the help and cooperation of a wide range of different institutions to ensure that the project is carried out in a way that minimises environmental nuisances.”

In the second half of the day, Pärtel-Peeter Pere presented the construction roadmap of the Green Tiger and Rene Pärt presented the new transport roadmap. In the subsequent dialogue, moderator Annika Arras and Jaak-Adam Looveer discussed the topics concerning “Tallinn – European Green Capital 2023”. The day was concluded with a discussion session on “The future of the transport sector – new challenges and opportunities”, which was attended by Priit Sauk, Head of the Transport Administration, Ove Oll, representative of the Estonian Hydrogen Valley, Hendrik Puhkim, environmental consultant from Skepast & Puhkim, and Raido Randmaa, Business Development Manager at Verston.

Sustainability and corporate responsibility have not lost their place in the rapidly changing world. Companies in the Estonian transport sector have decided to join forces and work together to make their contribution to the achievement of carbon and climate neutrality.

We’re creating green gates to Estonia together!

See the gallery of the Green Forum here.
Photos by: Marek Metslaid.

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