Nova Scotia supply chain analytics specialists BlueNode and the Port of Halifax are finalists for the International Association of Ports and Harbors’ Sustainability Awards, to be presented at the World Ports Conference in Abu Dhabi on Nov. 1.

Founded in 2018 by CEO Louis Beaubien and COO Grant Wells, BlueNode has developed a supply chain analytics SaaS product for shipping companies. The system can be used to gather quick, reliable data from industry players ranging from ports to railways. In April, Beaubien and Wells sold the company to San Marcos, California’s Everstream Analytics for an undisclosed price in what Beaubien described as a bid to more quickly diversify into the railroad and aviation industries.

BlueNode has been working with the Port of Halifax for several years and is behind the port’s Data Enhancement Framework 2, of DEF2, which is a system for nearly real-time monitoring of carbon emissions from logistics operations.

“The approach designed by BlueNode and HPA has great potential as a carbon reduction tool and can play an important role in achieving shared decarbonization goals as well as UN SDGs (United Nations Sustainable Development Goals) 9, 11, 12, and 13,” said the Port of Halifax in a statement. Those goals relate to building sustainable infrastructure, making cities more resilient in the face of climate change, sustainable production and consumption practices and climate change mitigation.

Also involved in the project are Singapore logistics giant PSA International, Australian IT company Sentient Hubs, Port Saint John in New Brunswick and federal research funding group Canada’s Ocean Supercluster.

BlueNode, meanwhile, is also the leader of a machine learning-focused Ocean Supercluster project with Swedish defence contractor Saab Technologies, which was announced in 2021 with a $3.2 million funding package and renewed earlier this year to the tune of another $11.1 million. At the time of the Everstream buyout, BlueNode had nine employees, all of whom were slated to keep their jobs.

The Sustainability Award winners will be chosen via a public vote, and you can cast your ballot here. DEF2 can be found in the digitalization category, while the other divisions are infrastructure, climate and energy, environmental care, community building and health, safety and security.