26.1.2026 | Ports

One of the UK’s biggest trust ports is setting its sights on generating record-breaking social value for the communities and environment in which it operates.

Harwich Haven Authority (HHA), responsible for the waters surrounding major ports like Felixstowe and Harwich, aims to generate £ 40 million in social value by 2030.

The announcement comes as the organisation finalises its calculations for social value output in 2025, which it hopes will have exceeded 2024’s record of £5.1m.   In total, it has delivered £13.3m in social value since 2022 – and is now looking to accelerate that progress and strengthen its commitment to achieving its long-term goal.

Linzi Jobber, Sustainability Manager at HHA, said:

“We have already made history as the first trust port to put social value at the very heart of our operations. Now we’re setting our sights on something bigger. We want our work to have a positive, tangible impact on communities and the local environment, whether that’s investing in community projects, creating more jobs for local people, opening more apprenticeship positions or reducing our carbon footprint. This target would require us to break records again and again – but we are confident in our abilities to make a genuine difference and inspire others to do the same.”

HHA partners with the Social Value Portal, using its TOMs (Themes, Outcomes, and Measures) framework, to attribute monetary value to the activities it undertakes. This can include initiatives such as hiring local people and reducing carbon emissions.

HHA targets five categories of social value: Jobs, Growth, Social, Environment, and Innovation.

The two main areas it operates in, Tendring and East Suffolk, both have higher levels of deprivation than the East of England average of 17.8%, at 42.7% and 20.5% respectively.

Highlights of their work so far include spending more than £1.3m in the local economy in 2024 alone, and creating 108 full-time jobs for local people in the same year. It also reduced its Co2 emissions by more than 4,865 tonnes – worth £1.2m alone.

Helen Rudd, Strategy & Partnerships Director at HHA, added:

“The benefit of being a trust port is that we reinvest all of our profits back into our local area. The results of our earlier Local Needs Analysis have shown us the places and communities that need our support the most – and we look forward to increasing our efforts to reach them year on year. Together, we want to ensure all those living in and around the haven feel the impacts of our work.”

More information on HHA and its social value impact can be found at www.hha.co.uk.