Ports America’s Baltimore terminal recently joined Green Marine, the leading voluntary environmental certification program for North America’s maritime industry.
Operating in 70 terminals at 33 ports throughout the United States, Ports America is North America’s leading terminal operator and stevedoring enterprise. The group is already committed to stellar health, safety and environmental standards and has been focusing on environmental, social, governance (ESG) management systems for many years.
For the records, the Baltimore terminal has become the first of the company’s terminals to join Green Marine with others to follow.
“We appreciate how Green Marine’s focus is specific to shipping and believe that joining the program is the next step for us to further enhance our environmental performance,’’ …noted CEO Mark Montgomery.
“Green Marine offers us an action plan for continual improvement in many different areas that perfectly align with our ESG engagement,” Montgomery said. “And third-party verification will reinforce the credibility of our commitment towards greater sustainability.”
Ports America plans to enroll other terminal locations as Green Marine participants over the next few years, starting with its East Coast operations, the Gulf and then West Coast terminals.
David Bolduc, Green Marine’s executive director, welcomed the major terminal and stevedoring operator. “Having the largest U.S. terminal operator make use of our program to further build on its sustainability efforts is testimony to our program’s relevance in guiding and challenging the maritime industry to continue to measurably improve its environmental performance beyond regulations,” he said.
“Ports America recognizes that the Green Marine program offers a scalable, robust framework to benchmark its environmental work to date and then set clear goals to continue to enhance its performance,” Bolduc added.
The Green Marine environmental certification program addresses a number of environmental priority issues through its 14 performance indicators, including greenhouse gases, air emissions, spill prevention and stormwater management, community relations and impacts, waste management, and underwater noise.
Some indicators apply to landside operations and others to shipping activities. The certification process is rigorous and transparent, with the results independently verified every two years and the individual performance of each participant made public annually.
To remind, Ports America is the largest marine terminal operator in North America with operations in 70 locations and 33 ports across the United States. The company is a leader in technology driven solutions and covers a wide range of supply chain services including container, breakbulk, automotive, military, and cruise ship operations. Ports America is based in Jersey City, New Jersey.
