Business Maritime Day, Toulon paves the way for the ports of the future

Organized by the Ports Rade de Toulon of the CCI du Var, the event strengthened the port's positioning as a pioneer and Mediterranean laboratory for the sustainable port. A shared observation: to succeed, the transformation must be systemic and collaborative. ECONOMY AND ECOLOGICAL TRANSITION The day opened with a strong message: "Economic development and ecological transition are not mutually exclusive, quite the contrary.

Business Maritime Day, Toulon trace la voie des ports du futur

They must move forward together," said Hervé Stassinos, vice-president of the Métropole Toulon Provence Méditerranée and regional councillor. A message echoed by Céline Richaud, vice-president of the CCI du Var, who recalled: "The port is at the heart of a territory in full transformation, and the momentum initiated with CENAQ and the Green Bay certification is already laying the foundations for the port of the future." For her part, Christine Rosso, director of Ports and Concessions at the CCI du Var, added: "It is time to go beyond the sole question of decarbonization and integrate the nine planetary boundaries as a new framework for action.

Today, our port is becoming a catalyst for transformation. The course is clear: move forward in stages, innovate, and cooperate." She also welcomed the presence of French companies and ports from other French regions (Alsace, Parisian Region, Rhône-Alpes), recalling the importance of sharing experiences and a collective strategy.

DESIRABLE ECOLOGY Author and speaker, Côme Girschig invited to rethink collective narratives: "Transition cannot be guided solely by fear. It is desire, connection, and collective drive that must become the engines of positive change." Through the metaphor of the Rubik's cube, he showed that the transition requires a global strategy: "We cannot transform one face without taking the others into account.

This strategy calls for profound shifts in economic and cultural paradigms (...) Biodiversity is in great danger; a species disappears every ten minutes. However, it is still possible to act: ozone is a successful example of international cooperation, which makes it possible to restore the atmosphere's protective layer.

At their scale, ports and economic actors can contribute by rethinking their practices and mobilizing the collective imagination to turn ideas into concrete actions. See yourselves as part of the solution," the speaker concluded. PROSPECTIVE SCENARIOS Imagining tomorrow is at the heart of the Infraport study, presented by Frédéric Descombes (CEA) and conducted with Bouygues, EDF, Schneider Electric, Eneria, Vicat, the Union des Ports de France, and CEREMA.

This research explores the challenges facing ports by 2070: rising sea levels, scarcity of fresh water, intensifying storms, extreme heat, and changing economic models. Faced with these challenges, the study identifies opportunities around the water market. Ports can become energy producers and play a key role in the regenerative economy and tomorrow's society, transforming into true living spaces at the gateways of the city.

Three prospective scenarios emerge: the "island" port, autonomous and submersible, integrating a tourism dimension; the "oyster" port, resilient and inspired by nature, protected by dikes; and the "polymorphic" port, floating and multifunctional, built from end-of-life vessels. Thanks to its size and agility, Toulon can experiment with these paths and play a pioneering role in their implementation. "Planetary boundaries are not a fatality, they are a call to the collective imagination.

Toulon must be a place where unprecedented solutions are invented, where the economy serves life, and where the sea becomes once again a promise for the future," Christine Rosso concluded.