Corporate Citizenship
The Port of Rotterdam Authority is a socially engaged organisation that wants to make a constructive contribution to the city of Rotterdam across the full spectrum of its activity. Both in the port and industrial area itself, but also very much in terms of a liveable city and its inhabitants.
Our purpose – Connecting the world, building tomorrow’s sustainable port – is what guides us in choosing sponsoring, subsidies and personnel deployment for projects related to education and employment, connection between city and port, sports, recreation and culture.
Policy
The Port of Rotterdam Authority invests heavily in the city of Rotterdam and its connection with its port. The Port of Rotterdam Authority’s purpose is what guides new partnerships. We acknowledge the importance of the SDGs and select projects that are relevant to the Port of Rotterdam Authority. The Port of Rotterdam Authority takes the initiative for sponsoring as much as possible. We also like to keep a focus in our sponsoring activities. We sponsor Rotterdam icons where the themes of leadership, working on a world class port and caring about the environment play a role.
Jeugdeducatiefonds
Since 1 January, 2025, Port of Rotterdam Authority has been a partner of the Jeugdeducatiefonds (Youth Education Fund). The Youth Education Fund helps increase development opportunities for children growing up in relative poverty. The Port Authority has deliberately decided to enter into further partnerships in order to ensure a greater social impact in South Rotterdam. An integral part of the partnership with the Youth Education Fund is that our employees also volunteer at schools in South Rotterdam, helping with the King’s Day games, reading to children, and doing odd jobs in the school yard.
Maritime Museum Rotterdam: Bestemming Havenstad
On the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Port of Rotterdam Authority, in 2022 it is sponsoring the Destination Port City exhibition which is running for several years. Visitors here will discover the past, present and future of Rotterdam. The exhibition is a journey through time that showcases how the city and port have influenced one another and are inextricably linked. There is an audio tour for children. (Photo: Marco de Swart / Maritime Museum Rotterdam)
World Port Days
The Port of Rotterdam Authority, along with the Municipality of Rotterdam and the Royal Netherlands Navy, is a founding father of the World Port Days that are held in the first full weekend each September. With unusual vessels, thrilling excursions and spectacular sights on the water, but also online, the general public gets to see the importance of the port for the Dutch and European economies – for almost 50 years now. In the last few years, there have been increasingly more activities specifically aimed at young people to help them experience the port, and also for Education and Employment Market reasons.
Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
This internationally renowned orchestra travels all over the world and is based in Rotterdam. The Port Authority has been sponsoring the orchestra for decades. Since September 2024, the focus has been on expanding the RPhO’s musical offerings for children in South Rotterdam, either through lessons at school or visits to concerts at Theater Zuidplein or De Doelen. The collaboration has also resulted in a special port tune that is used on various occasions and during various activities organized by the Port Authority.
Diergaarde Blijdorp (Rotterdam Zoo)
This zoo is iconic in Rotterdam and beyond. The Port Authority has been donating port materials to Blijdorp Zoo for many years, which are then reused. That’s how the monkeys get their trees and ropes. Port of Rotterdam Authority also gave Blijdorp the old inland vessel ‘De Haaibaai’, which brings in clean sea water for the animals in the Oceanium. The project organisation behind Maasvlakte 2 previously donated solar panels to the zoo. A few years ago, an initial contribution was made towards the exhibition called ‘ZOO veel plastic’ (ZOO much plastic) in the Oceanium.
Biodiversity in the port is very important to Port of Rotterdam Authority. The Rotterdam port area is home to a wide variety of plants and animals, including more than 200 unique plant and animal species. We would like to add the sturgeon, potentially the largest freshwater fish in Western Europe, to this list. Together with numerous other parties, Blijdorp Zoo and Port of Rotterdam Authority are now working hard to bring sturgeon back to the port and to Dutch rivers.
DeltaPORT Donation Fund
The DeltaPORT Donation Fund is the “neighbourhood fund” for Rotterdam’s port. With the fund, the port’s business community and the Port of Rotterdam Authority together are demonstrating their social engagement by making financial donations to non-profit organisations that operate in the fields of culture, welfare, sports and recreation in the immediate area surrounding Rotterdam’s port and industrial area.
Rotterdam Port Welfare Committee
The Rotterdam Port Welfare Committee supports projects and initiatives for the benefit of the welfare of seafarers in Rotterdam. Volunteer organisations, churches and entrepreneurs that want to do something for seafarers can access this support. The Rotterdam Port Welfare Committee is a joint initiative of Deltalinqs, Association of Rotterdam Shipbrokers and Agents (VRC) and the Port of Rotterdam Authority.
Rotterdam Port Fund
The Rotterdam Port Fund is used to promote projects aiming to improve the quality of the living environment. Municipalities in the Rotterdam area can submit projects to the fund if they make some contribution towards improving the quality of the environment or the area. The quality of the environment relates in practice to matters such as air quality, noise pollution, smell, soil and water quality. The quality of the area relates to matters such as liveability (social or otherwise), landscape, nature and biodiversity and health in the Rotterdam region. A contribution from the Rotterdam Port Fund is limited to a maximum of 40% of the total project costs.