The Ministry of Ports and Airports of Brazil is laying the groundwork for a new stage of modernization in both the port and airport sectors.
The Minister, Tomé Franca, signed three ordinances that strengthen strategic areas for the future of Brazilian logistics, focusing on sustainability, research and innovation, and the governance of state-owned companies linked to the agency.
The measures update the Sustainability Policy, create the National Policy for Port Research, Development, and Innovation (PD&I-Portos), and establish the Impulsiona Program, aimed at integrating and improving ministerial oversight of state-owned companies.
These initiatives establish permanent mechanisms for planning, monitoring results, fostering innovation, and aligning public companies with the priorities of public policies for ports and airports.
"With the decrees signed this Monday, we have structured a much more robust management system in several vital areas for our logistics. With PD&I-Portos, for example, we are laying the groundwork for innovation to become an increasingly permanent capability of the Brazilian port sector," highlighted Tomé Franca.
The three ordinances are part of a broader strategy to modernize the Ministry of Ports and Airports (MPo), focusing on preparing the port and airport sectors for technological, environmental, and management changes.
The updated Sustainability Policy creates a permanent framework for planning and monitoring the sector's environmental actions. From now on, the Ministry of Planning, Budget, and Management (MPo) will be able to establish annual commitments on priority topics such as decarbonization, ballast water, air quality, and noise pollution.
The Sustainability Pact, the main voluntary instrument that organizations can adhere to, has also been improved. In the airport sector, the international standard of Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) is now recognized as a benchmark for demonstrating progress in managing greenhouse gas emissions.
This change increases the predictability of processes and creates a more solid basis for monitoring the evolution of environmental practices in the sectors regulated by the Ministry. "This new agenda will foster important discussions in the sector, and we will address ESG issues in the best possible way," explained Rafaela Gomes, Director of Sustainability at the Ministry of Planning.
The creation of PD&I-Portos establishes, for the first time, a national benchmark to guide, promote, and coordinate research, development, and innovation initiatives in the port sector.
The policy includes instruments such as the InovaPortos Program and the Port Innovation Centers. The proposal seeks to bring ports closer to universities, startups, technology companies, and research institutions, transforming knowledge and technology into solutions for concrete challenges in port operations.
This initiative emerged from discussions within the Navigate Simple program and seeks to expand and ensure the continuity of projects currently developed in isolation.
"This ordinance covers a need for innovation in the port sector. It provides definitions, governance guidelines, and a timeline for establishing a sectoral innovation program. It is the main result of the 'Navegue Simples' program, and its scope will be continuous," noted Tetsu Koike, Director of the Sectoral Policy, Planning, and Innovation Program at MPor.
"Preparing our ports for the future also means creating the conditions for research, development, experimentation, knowledge exchange, cooperation, and innovation," emphasized Minister Tomé Franca.
