Green Marine, AAPA collaborate

   Green Marine, a voluntary marine industry environmental improvement initiative, and the American Association of Port Authorities signed a memorandum of understanding underscoring a new collaboration to advance the environmental sustainability of port and terminal operators.
   The MOU, signed today during AAPA’s 102nd Annual Convention in Orlando, Fla., will increase cooperation between the two entities to advance environmental protection at seaports in the Western Hemisphere. AAPA will encourage its members’ participation in the Green Marine environmental program for ports that find it beneficial to their operations and sustainability initiatives.
   “AAPA wants to take a leadership role in regard to port environmental certification,” said Kurt J. Nagel, AAPA’s president and chief executive officer, in a statement. “We want to ensure the association gives the best tools to its members to help them benchmark and improve their environmental performance, and we’ve determined that the Green Marine program is valid, applicable and scalable for port authority and terminal operations.”
   Currently, port authorities and terminals make up the majority of Green Marine’s membership. Participants include the ports of Seattle, Vancouver and Prince Rupert on the West Coast, and Duluth, Cleveland, Montreal and Halifax in the Great Lakes and East.
   “The Green Marine environmental program is tailor-made for all sectors of the marine transportation industry,” said Green Marine Executive Director David Bolduc. “The detailed framework provided by Green Marine can serve as guidelines for ports and terminals of all sizes to, first, measure their environmental footprint, and then take concrete actions to improve their performance.”
   Green Marine’s performance indicators have been developed in consultation with a wide range of industry stakeholders, including environmental groups, legislators and the academic and research community. The goal has been to ensure they address relevant environmental issues and offer concrete actions to be undertaken by the participating companies.