The planet is facing enormous challenges caused by human activity, increasing the vulnerability of communities and ecosystems to the forces of nature. This is worsened by the effects of climate change, which is threatening the world’s coastal defences. Van Oord has responded to these challenges by developing the Climate Adaptation Action Plan. The plan is designed to encourage meaningful dialogue between stakeholders in order to provide ready-to-scale marine solutions that help increase the resilience of the communities and ecosystems of coastal areas.

As increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions contribute to global warming, it is becoming more important to consider the carbon footprint of hydraulic engineering projects. This carbon footprint is more complex than previously thought however, as it can also include the carbon dynamics of the sediments from which projects are built. The purpose of this study was to provide a first approximation from sediment-related GHG emissions of dredged sediments. Using the case study of the clay ripening pilot project (‘Kleirijperij’) in Groningen, the Netherlands, one phase of sediment processing was examined: the ripening of dredged sediments for use as a clay material in dyke construction.

Over the past decades, there has been a growing interest in exploring innovative ways to minimise the environmental footprint of coastal developments and in nature-based approaches for shoreline protection. At Mubarraz Island near Abu Dhabi (UAE), an international oil company beneficially reused ~12 million m³ of dredged material to protect pipelines, construct a causeway and create mangrove habitat to manage coastal erosion. This ‘Working with Nature’ approach has provided a cost-effective nature-based solution for shoreline protection, with added benefits for biodiversity conservation.

As regular maintenance and relocation of sediment deposits are highly expensive, Port authorities seek more efficient solutions for reducing the costs and CO2 emissions of maintenance dredging. One solution, water injection dredging (WID), is carried out for maintaining the sediment deposits which predominantly consist of clay and silt. WID has been proven to be a cheaper solution by leaving the sediment in place, eliminating substantial costs for relocation of the dredged sediment.

The growing awareness of the need for diversified energy sources has collided with the maritime industry. Research initiative JOULES was created to assess the viability of a vessel being 100 per cent green by increasing efficiency and reducing emissions.

New IMO emissions regulations are being adopted each year. But dredging vessels are more than ships. They are work-boats and legislators must keep that in mind.

No time to wait for policymakers. Dredging contractors need to act now and consider energy efficiency from beginning to end: from ship design to operations to decommissioning.

Since dredging equipment is the source of emissions, shipbuilders and equipment manufacturers must help develop clean technologies that address total energy consumption.

Reducing the carbon footprint of dredging operations is a major industry concern – and the solution starts with the design phase and continues through the whole lifecycle.