Green Marine welcomes Port of Redwood City

The only deep-water port in the South San Francisco Bay, the Port of Redwood City, has become the newest participant to join the voluntary environmental certification program, Green Marine.

As disclosed, to complete their certification process, the Port of Redwood City will report to Green Marine its performance indicators.

They include greenhouse gases and air pollutants, spill prevention and stormwater management, waste management, community impacts, and environmental leadership.

“Taking part in Green Marine’s rigorous and transparent environmental program is a natural progression of our vision and ambitions,” said Kristine A. Zortman, the port’s executive director.

The port specializes in dry bulk, liquid bulk, and other cargo, and is seeking further diversification of trade to decrease the region’s road congestion.

Recent infrastructure resilience investments include $17 million in wharf infrastructure that can withstand up to an 8.9 magnitude earthquake as well as up to 1.5 metres of sea-level rise.

“The port already demonstrates a true commitment to sustainability and will be able to share their valuable experience with our membership network, perhaps starting with community relations as they have notably strengthened their ties and trust with local stakeholders through their environmental stewardship,” David Bolduc, Green Marine’s executive director added.

The certification process is said to be rigorous and transparent, with the individual performance of each participant made public annually and the results independently verified every two years.

Founded in 2007, Green Marine offers a step-by-step roadmap for port authorities, terminal operators, shipping lines and shipyard managers to voluntarily and measurably reduce their environmental footprint.

The Green Marine environmental program addresses a number of environmental priority issues through its 14 performance indicators, including greenhouse gases, air emissions, leak and spill prevention, waste management, community relations, and underwater noise. Some indicators apply to landside operations and others to shipping activities.

Earlier this year, Green Marine added the performance indicator assessing community relations.

The new indicator is the result of two years of collaboration among the industry, environmental organizations, social science researchers and government representatives.

There are currently 154 ship owners, port authorities, terminal operators and shipyard managers throughout Canada and the United States as participants.