ESPO congratulates Port of Barcelona, Port of Vigo and Port of Baku for achieving EcoPorts’ environmental management standard (PERS). Isabelle Ryckbost, ESPO’s Secretary General, handed over the PERS certificates to the ports’ representatives during the Green Port Congress in Oslo.
Namely, the Port Environmental Review System (PERS) not only incorporates the main basic requirements of recognised environmental management standards, but it takes into account the specifities of ports as well.
Compliance with the PERS standard is independently assessed by Lloyd’s Register and the certificate is valid for two years. After the two years, PERS is revised to ensure that the port is still in compliance with the requirements needed.
Ms Ryckbost congratulated Port of Barcelona and Port of Vigo for renewing EcoPorts’ environmental standard, while also congratulated Port of Baku for accomplishing it for the first time. She added that European ports are stepping up their game on improving their environmental performance.
Amongst the requirements of obtaining PERS is transparency and information sharing with stakeholders and local communities.
Being PERS certified shows that ports measure and share results. PERS ports strengthen the EcoPorts Network and help us monitoring the environmental performance of the whole sector at EU level.
EcoPorts coordinator, Sotiris Raptis shared his enthusiasm as the EU ports that are certified with an international environmental standard have significantly increased in the last five years.
Port’s environmental performance certified by environmental standards such as PERS, is ‘factored –in’ to calculations of premiums by insurance companies and is an evidence of port’s efforts to contribute to the greening of the supply chain
… concluded Mr Raptis.
Port of Ceuta (Spain), Shannon Foynes Port Company (Ireland) and Port of Melilla (Spain) has also received EcoPorts’ environmental management standard, along with port of New Zealand’s port of Newcastle.
