Port of Halifax earns high marks for environmental leadership
May 30, 2012 – Halifax, N.S. – The Port of Halifax was recognized for its environmental leadership in Green Marine’s 2011 evaluation released Tuesday at the fifth annual GreenTech Conference in Quebec City, Que. The Halifax Port Authority performed better than average for the 20 port authorities listed by Green Marine.
Green Marine is a North American environmental improvement program endorsed by WWF Canada, Ducks Unlimited and Transport Canada. The Port of Halifax achieved a level 5 rating in its environmental leadership category for maintaining an ISO 14001 certification for environmental stewardship since 2005 and applying it more broadly to Port tenants over the past four years. Green Marine considers a level 5 rating achieved when “participants have shown excellence by achieving defined reduction targets or systemic use of technologies.”
“We’ve made a conscious effort to make our Port greener and this certification recognizes the efforts made in the past few years,” said Halifax Port Authority Senior Vice-President Paul MacIsaac. “Taking a proactive approach to the environment is important to the Port and to our local community and customers. We aim to have the Port of Halifax be known as an industry leader on the environment and we continue to look for ways to make improvements and show leadership.”
Environmental actions the Port has taken to meet and exceed compliance in this area include: conducting regular documented safety and environmental inspections; advocating public transportation, installing bike racks and using an electric car; preventing tour bus idling; and following standard practices to prevent water pollution, including the installation of oil-water separators. The Port of Halifax was the first port in Canada to achieve an ISO14001 certification in 2005.
Halifax also received a level 4 rating (indicating introduction of new technologies) for greenhouse gases and air pollutants and level 2 ratings (indicating systematic use of a defined number of best practices and regulatory compliance) for water and land pollution prevention as well as conflicts of use.
Green Marine is a voluntary initiative in which participants agree to undergo a rigorous external audit every two years performed by Lloyds Registry Quality Assurance. The program now has 161 members from across North America. Under Green Marine, overall environmental performance of ports, terminals and shipowners in Canada and the U.S. has improved for the third year in a row. The Port of Halifax joined in November 2011.
Green Marine is a North American environmental improvement program endorsed by WWF Canada, Ducks Unlimited and Transport Canada. The Port of Halifax achieved a level 5 rating in its environmental leadership category for maintaining an ISO 14001 certification for environmental stewardship since 2005 and applying it more broadly to Port tenants over the past four years. Green Marine considers a level 5 rating achieved when “participants have shown excellence by achieving defined reduction targets or systemic use of technologies.”
“We’ve made a conscious effort to make our Port greener and this certification recognizes the efforts made in the past few years,” said Halifax Port Authority Senior Vice-President Paul MacIsaac. “Taking a proactive approach to the environment is important to the Port and to our local community and customers. We aim to have the Port of Halifax be known as an industry leader on the environment and we continue to look for ways to make improvements and show leadership.”
Environmental actions the Port has taken to meet and exceed compliance in this area include: conducting regular documented safety and environmental inspections; advocating public transportation, installing bike racks and using an electric car; preventing tour bus idling; and following standard practices to prevent water pollution, including the installation of oil-water separators. The Port of Halifax was the first port in Canada to achieve an ISO14001 certification in 2005.
Halifax also received a level 4 rating (indicating introduction of new technologies) for greenhouse gases and air pollutants and level 2 ratings (indicating systematic use of a defined number of best practices and regulatory compliance) for water and land pollution prevention as well as conflicts of use.
Green Marine is a voluntary initiative in which participants agree to undergo a rigorous external audit every two years performed by Lloyds Registry Quality Assurance. The program now has 161 members from across North America. Under Green Marine, overall environmental performance of ports, terminals and shipowners in Canada and the U.S. has improved for the third year in a row. The Port of Halifax joined in November 2011.