Improving port performance is a key factor in reducing emissions from shipping. Increased utilisation of port infrastructures by ships provides incentives for shipping companies and ports to take joint actions for reducing their carbon footprint. Ports and ships are still not totally ‘in-sync’ resulting in unnecessary waiting times and/or unnecessary movements. Different initiatives associated to port call coordination/synchronization/optimization do address the potential in aligning the ships arrival and departure with the port’s capabilities to serve the ship for the reduction of waiting times and emissions. The smart port of the future needs to be based on synchronization capabilities to enable sustainable shipping. To achieve substantial environmental effects, it is, however, a need for joining forces among the different initiatives that is brought as tools to be used by maritime transport producers. In this article, numerous initiatives are identified, and an approach for bringing those together, as an enabler for gaining substantial environmental effects putting the smart port of the future at the