Green Marine Environmental Program Launch

QUEBEC CITY, October 23, 2007 (CNW)- The marine industry in Quebec and the rest of Canada continued to set itself apart today by officially launching its own environmental program calling on industry businesses to go further. This program covering the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes corridor is the first of its kind in North America. Program participants already include over 25 leaders representing the bulk of marine operations in this corridor.

Green Marine was founded by seven marine industry associations in
Canada and the United States who decided to further reduce their
“environmental footprint” by taking action around six major issues
specific to their operations: aquatic invasive species, pollutant air
emissions, greenhouse gases, cargo residues, oily water, and conflicts
of use in port and terminals (noise, dust, odors, and light).

For Gerry Carter (Canada Steamship Lines), one of Green Marine’s three
co-chairs, the diverse range of industry activities (ports and
terminals, domestic and international shipowners, stevedoring
companies, and the St. Lawrence Seaway) was a major challenge that has
been tackled successfully.

“Each business participating in the program is doing so voluntarily and
is subject to a certification process. Each must set out its
environmental challenges and a related action plan. A year may pass
before program participants are granted official certification on a
scale that ranges from compliance with applicable regulations to
excellence and leadership in their practices.”

“Obtaining Green Marine certification will certainly make a difference
within the industry and for its many partners,” said Green Marine
co-chair Terry Jonhson (Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation).
“We want certification to become the standard as well as an additional
incentive for choosing marine transportation, which is already
recognized as environmentally advantageous.”

Green Marine co-chair Laurence G. Pathy (Fednav Limited) believes that
the desire to excel in this area goes beyond the marine industry and
appeals to everyone, fostering collaboration among management,
employees, unions, suppliers, environmental organizations, governments,
and the public. “It’s a choice we made, because the solution to
environmental challenges lies in everyone’s combined efforts. That’s
why the environmental program officially recognizes the many partners
and supporters by authorizing them to display the Green Marine logo.”

The Green Marine website
will also transparently track the performance of each business that
receives official certification. “We believe that by reporting on our
actions, those concerned with the environment will encourage our
industry in its efforts to go further,” added Laurence G. Pathy.


For More Information: Canada News Wire (CNW)


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