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PD Ports CEO, Frans Calje, has been appointed Patron of the Tees Rivers Trust, as the port operator and charity join forces to deliver on shared ambitions to improve and conserve the water quality and habitat of the River Tees.

Owner and operator of Teesport, the fifth largest port in the UK, and Statutory Harbour Authority for the River Tees, PD Ports has partnered with the Tees Rivers Trust as the company accelerates its bold plans to make the River Tees the UK’s most successful port region by 2050.

In achieving its ambitious plans to further boost trade, create high-quality jobs and build on its proven track record of attracting private investment, PD Ports is firmly committed to playing its full role in supporting the communities and environment that surround the River; a priority which the Company sees as vitally important to the long-term success of the Tees region.

Frans Calje, PD Ports CEO, said:

“It is a great privilege to be appointed as Patron for the Tees Rivers Trust and I very much look forward to working together on a number of exciting projects.

“At PD Ports, showing consideration and empathy for people and our surroundings is central to our culture. It is absolutely essential that as we focus on delivering economic prosperity, we must also deliver a better place to live, conserving and improving the ecosystem that surrounds us and increasing biodiversity, to create a vibrant environment for future generations.

“Along the River Tees, we see some incredible natural habitats and wildlife, including Salmon, Porpoises and Seals that thrive as a result of well-maintained waters; we must do all that we can to sustain a harmonious environment between industry and nature.”

The Tees Rivers Trust was established in 2008 and is the only conservation body committed solely to the management and improvement of the whole of the Tees Catchment.

Having successfully achieved charitable status in 2009, the Tees Rivers Trust raises funds from a broad range of sources to deliver its services, which include farm advisory visits, Riverlab school education programme and tackling Giant Hogweed; an invasive species which can pose a serious risk to health upon contact.

Ben Lamb, a trustee of the Tees Rivers Trust, said: “We are at a challenging yet exciting and pivotal point in our approach to how we manage and balance our needs with the natural environment. This collaboration with PD Ports will help the Trust to develop its work, especially in the Tees Estuary.”

As PD Ports works towards achieving net zero carbon emissions across the company’s Tees-based port operations by 2027, working with organisations like Tees Rivers Trust will go a long way in helping to achieve its future ambitions for the greater good of the Tees Valley and the UK as a whole.