Green Marine Releases Environmental Program Results

Great Lakes Shipping Industry Demonstrates Continuous Improvement

MONTREAL, May 20 /CNW/ - Green Marine, a partnership for a sustainable future undertaken by the St. Lawrence - Great Lakes maritime industry in both Canada and the U.S., published the individual results attained by the 44 companies participating in the program. The individual results, being published for the first time, show significant improvements achieved since the program began in 2008.

The cornerstone of the Green Marine initiative is the Environmental Program of the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes Maritime Industry. Companies participating in this program evaluate their performance with respect to the seven priority environmental issues on a five level scale that ranges from regulatory compliance to excellence in their practices.

The global average score of participants has risen from level 2 in 2008 to level 2.5 in 2009, exceeding regulatory standards. Individual participant results are available at www.green-marine.org.

"The progress made in two years provides irrefutable evidence of the degree to which participants have integrated a culture of continuous environmental improvement into their activities and this represents Green Marine's greatest success," notes Laurence Pathy, President of Fednav Limited and one of Green Marine's three co-chairs (along with Gerry Carter of Canada Steamship Lines and Terry Johnson of the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation).

Green Marine has also strengthened the program by implementing an external verification process that requires the program's participants to have their results verified by an independent third party every two years - a process that thirteen shipowners have undergone so far. Currently, the external verification process is being conducted by Lloyd's Register Quality Assurance, based in Houston, TX.

"We are pleased to have been selected to provide an independent verification of the results for Green Marine this year," says Andrew Smith, President of LRQA Inc. "LRQA's involvement included on-site visits with the shipping companies participating in the program to validate the systems, processes and accuracy of data used in reporting their results under the Green Marine program."

LRQA has offered independent, impartial assessment and certification for over 20 years, and works with more than half of the world's top 200 companies.

"The success of this program hinges on transparency," says David Bolduc, Green Marine's Executive Director. "The participating shipowners, ports, terminal facilities, and the operators of the St. Lawrence Seaway are committed to continuous improvement and releasing these results to the public not only shows their progress, it clearly demonstrates their genuine commitment to improve their environmental performance."

"One of our main goals in 2010 is to extend the external verification process to all Green Marine participants," adds Terry Johnson, Administrator of the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation.

    
    The priority environmental issues addressed by the program are:

        1.    Aquatic Invasive Species - Reduce the risk of introducing and
              propagating aquatic organisms and dangerous pathogens via
              ships' ballast water
        2.    Air Emissions - Reduce emissions of sulphur oxide (SOx) and of
              nitrogen oxide (NOx)
        3.    Greenhouse Gases - Reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs)
        4.    Cargo Residues - Reduce discharges of cargo residues
        5.    Oily Waters - Reduce the risk of discharging oily waters
        6.    Conflicts of Use for Port and Terminals - Reduce the levels of
              noise, dust, odours and light to which individuals residing
              close to port installations are exposed.
        7.    Environmental Leadership - Encourage port administrations to
              play a leadership role with respect to their tenants and users
              in the adoption of best environmental practices.
    

Throughout the program, participants are required to implement best practices, improve their environmental management and acquire new equipment and technologies with the goal of reaching level 5 performance, which represents environmental excellence and leadership. The program enables participating companies to undertake concrete environmental actions and continuously evaluate their environmental progress.

"Green Marine now has a solid foundation from which to pursue its efforts to further consolidate and expand this program in 2010 and 2011," says Gerry Carter, President of Canada Steamship Lines.

The Green Marine program is supported by a range of public and private organizations for which environmental stewardship is a priority, including governments, municipalities and environmental organizations.

"WWF-Canada encourages the Green Marine program to work with its participants to set emissions reduction targets, develop implementation strategies for monitoring and report progress against these targets," says Hadley Archer, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships, WWF-Canada. "By measurably reducing their environmental footprint, Green Marine participants will help make a difference in the fight against climate change and set the bar for the entire maritime industry."

The announcement takes place at the third annual Green Tech for Shipping conference, a two-day event in Montreal focusing on green technologies for the maritime industry.

    
    GREEN MARINE PARTICIPANTS
     1. Algoma Central Corporation
     2. Bécancour Waterfront Industrial Park
     3. Bunge Canada
     4. Canfornav
     5. Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority
     6. Cogema
     7. CSL Group
     8. CTMA Group
     9. Duluth Seaway Port Authority
    10. Empire Stevedoring Company Limited
    11. Federal Marine Terminals
    12. Fednav Limited
    13. Groupe Desgagnés
    14. Hamilton Port Authority
    15. Illinois International Port District
    16. Les Élévateurs de Trois-Rivières
    17. Logistec Corporation
    18. Lower Lakes Towing Limited
    19. McKeil Marine
    20. Montreal Gateway Terminals Partnership
    21. Montréal Port Authority
    22. Ocean Group
    23. Oceanex
    24. Oshawa Harbour Commission
    25. Porlier Express
    26. Port of Milwaukee
    27. Port of Valleyfield
    28. Québec Port Authority
    29. Reformar
    30. Rigel Shipping Canada
    31. Rio Tinto Alcan
    32. Saguenay Port Authority
    33. Sept-Îles Port Authority
    34. Société des Traversiers du Québec
    35. Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation
    36. Seaway Marine Transport
    37. St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation
    38. Thunder Bay Port Authority
    39. Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority
    40. Toronto Port Authority
    41. Trois-Rivières Port Authority
    42. Upper Lakes Group
    43. Ultramar
    44. Windsor Port Authority
    

Green Marine - A Partnership for a Sustainable Future

Established in January 2008, Green Marine is a partnership for a sustainable future undertaken by the St. Lawrence - Great Lakes maritime industry in both Canada and the U.S. The objective of Green Marine is to implement a voluntary environmental program along this entire maritime corridor, with a view to strengthening participants' environmental performance through a process of continuous improvement. For more information, please visit www.green-marine.org.

For further information: and requests for interviews: Andrée-Anne Stewart, Green Marine Coordinator, T: [phone], [email protected]