Montrose Port Authority (MPA) is delighted to have been awarded the 2025 Driving Sustainability Award at this year’s Northern Star Business Awards, hosted by Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce in association with Brodies LLP. 

The awards ceremony held on Friday 25th April 2025, at P&J Live in Aberdeen, welcomed over 800 guests to celebrate some of the most innovative and impactful businesses across the North East of Scotland. 

This award reflects our ongoing commitment to building a more sustainable, low-carbon future for our port, our industry and our local community. 

At the heart of our sustainability strategy is Plug Montrose, our  £1 million self-funded shore power initiative, delivered in partnership with leading Norwegian shore power company, Plug. The facility allows vessels to connect to the port’s grid and use electricity supplied under Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin (REGO) instead of running diesel generators while berthed. 

As the first port in the UK to offer shore power on an industrial scale, MPA have already made a substantial environmental impact by reducing fuel consumption, noise pollution and emissions around the port. This innovative facility has also saved over 558 tonnes of CO₂, the equivalent of an average UK car driving around the world 105.5 times.   

Other sustainability initiatives that contributed to this award include:

• Switching to Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) fuel across all plant machinery, port vehicles and pilot boats, reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
• Appointing a dedicated Decarbonisation Engineer, Dr. Turgay Köroğlu, through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with the University of Strathclyde, to accelerate our journey toward becoming Scotland’s first carbon-neutral port.
• Repurposing buildings such as Customs House and the Seagreen O&M base into usable spaces, which will support both the port and the local community as well as contributing to the circular economy.
  

Our CEO, Tom Hutchison, proudly accepted the award on behalf of all at Montrose Port Authority. A huge thank you to those who have supported this journey, to our incredible team and to our joint venture partner Plug, who are a major part of the innovation that helped win this award.

Congratulations to all the other winners and finalists; your excellence makes our regional business community thrive.

Read more about Plug Montrose | Our Commitment to Sustainability