ESPO announced that it has awarded with PERS certification the Port of Barcelona (Spain), Port Authority of Melilla (Spain), Niedersachsen Ports Emden (Germany), Shannon Foynes Ports Company (Ireland) and Shoreham Port Authority (UK). The number of ports under the EcoPorts network certified with the PERS standard has risen to 28 members.
ESPO Secretary General, Isabelle Ryckbost, ESPO Chairman, Eamonn O’Reilly, and Sotiris Raptis, EcoPorts coordinator, handed over the PERS certificates to the ports’ representatives during the ESPO Conference dinner, which took place on 1 June, at Casa Llotja de Mar in Barcelona, Spain.
“This marks the anniversary of 20 years of EcoPorts and further strengthens the network whose primary objective is to assist more European ports to protect the environment, improve public health and address the challenges of climate change”said Sotiris Raptis, EcoPorts coordinator and senior advisor for environment at ESPO.
PERS is the only port sector specific environmental management standard. Compliance with the PERS standard is independently assessed by Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance and the certificate has a validity of 2 years. There are 28 ports in Europe and its neighboring countries currently certified by PERS. ESPO encourages all ports within its membership to implement the scheme and to get certified.
