European ports: a first cohort joins Green Marine Europe certification
The opening of Green Marine Europe certification to port authorities is now entering an initial operational phase, with several European ports progressively joining the program.
This first cohort brings together a wide range of port profiles:
- Port of Santander — Spain
- Port of Cartagena — Spain
- Port Atlantique La Rochelle — France
- Port of Bayonne — France
- Port Charente Atlantique — France
- Port of Bordeaux — France
- Port Autonome du Centre et de l’Ouest – PACO — Belgium
With these new participants, Green Marine Europe now brings together 46 European participants — shipowners, ports and shipyards — engaged in a structured approach to environmental performance. Its broader membership, including participants, supporters, associations and partners, now reaches nearly one hundred members.
A diverse range of European port profiles
Maritime ports, estuarine ports, industrial ports and inland waterway networks: this diversity reflects a broader shift within the European port sector and demonstrates the wide applicability of the Green Marine Europe program to different types of port operations.
Environmental transition challenges now concern all infrastructures involved in European logistics, industrial and energy supply chains.
Several of these ports also contributed to the working group that helped adapt the Green Marine framework to European port realities. Their participation therefore builds on collective work carried out with public, technical and industrial stakeholders, with the aim of developing an operational framework aligned with the challenges ports are now facing.
A European context calling for operational tools
This momentum comes in a European context marked by the recent publication of the EU Industrial Maritime Strategy and the EU Ports Strategy, which highlight the structuring role of ports in Europe’s industrial sovereignty, energy security, logistics resilience and environmental transition.
Beyond regulatory compliance alone, ports must now be able to structure, measure and substantiate their environmental trajectories over time.
Certification based on measurement and continuous improvement
Green Marine Europe certification was designed precisely with this objective in mind.
It is based on:
- a progressive continuous improvement approach;
- measurable performance indicators;
- independent third-party verification;
- a multi-issue approach adapted to the operational and societal realities of European ports.
The criteria cover, among other issues, air emissions, greenhouse gases, aquatic ecosystems, underwater noise, waste management, local cohabitation and impact management, as well as environmental leadership.
A dynamic now underway at European level
This first cohort marks an important step in the deployment of the program across Europe and reflects the growing interest of port authorities in operational tools for environmental performance management.
Advanced discussions are underway with several other European ports, confirming the sector’s interest in structured, measurable approaches adapted to port realities.
Are you a European port authority — or do you work with a port engaged in environmental transition initiatives? Contact the Green Marine Europe team to discuss the port program, how it works and the conditions for participation:
info@greenmarineeurope.org