How people green the port: Sustainability in Canadian ports

Canadian Port Authorities (CPAs) annually move $162 billion in international trade and in recent years have been faced with significant pressures to become environmentally sustainable. In response, CPAs have introduced numerous greening strategies with important implications for the dock labour force. This thesis focuses on the greening strategies undertaken by CPAs and their interplay with dockworkers; it identifies these greening strategies and assesses their implications for dockworkers. The thesis adopts a two-part methodology. First, greening measures undertaken by CPAs are categorized and compared. Second, a case study of Vancouver’s port is undertaken through interviews with a broad set of port actors in order to examine the links between labour and sustainability in the port. It is concluded that greening strategies have been an important, albeit uneven trend across CPAs and that dockworkers play an influential role in the greening of the port.