Green Marine-WOC partnership targets maritime sustainability

Voluntary environmental certification program Green Marine and international cross-sectoral alliance World Ocean Council (WOC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to improve maritime sustainability.

The MoU formalizes the parties’ efforts to explore opportunities and identify synergies and collaborate on the mutual goal of advancing environmental sustainability and ocean health.

Through this partnership Green Marine and WOC will also increase awareness of their respective programs to the relevant networks, sharing information with potential members to further strengthen both organizations and their shared missions.

Furthermore, the partnership will see the two organizations collaborate on marine environment protection and preservation initiatives through the exchange of technical expertise, best environmental practices and other relevant information.

“WOC’s mission as the global business leadership alliance for Corporate Ocean Responsibility is based on partnerships with organizations”, said Paul Holthus, CEO at WOC. “This agreement is a solid step forward in developing the network of organizations with the shared goal of protecting the marine environment and addressing climate change through more responsible ocean industry operations”.

Green Marine’s executive director, David Bolduc, added that the MoU is timely with the establishment of the Green Marine Europe label. “It will allow us to investigate strategic opportunities to expand Green Marine’s presence beyond North America and Europe in collaboration with the WOC’s global presence and platform”, explained Bolduc.

Launched in 2020 through the Green Marine and Surfrider Foundation Europe partnership, the Green Marine Europe label aims to help maritime companies identify and reduce their environmental footprint while informing consumers of the impact of their goods.