Green Marine Europe blows out its first candle!
Biarritz, Thursday, June 24, 2021 – For the second consecutive year, Surfrider Foundation Europe and Green Marine reveal the laureates of the Green Marine Europe certification. This year, 12 European ship owners, i.e. double the number with the label in 2020, are committed to a sustainable ecological transition in maritime transportation and will thus be labeled.
Since 2020, the Green Marine Europe label certifies voluntary ship owners wishing to participate in continuous progress. The Green Marine Europe program covers all of the major environmental issues linked to the activities of ship owners, and thus deals with greenhouse gases emissions, biodiversity issues (underwater noise, cetacean collisions, invasive species, as well as waste management and ship dismantling conditions. It is a result of the collaboration between the North American Green Marine environmental certification program and the Surfrider Foundation Europe NGO. The certification program allows European ship owners to monitor and promote their environmental performance that goes beyond existing legislation.
For David Bolduc, Green Marine’s executive director: “Witnessing the adaptation of the North American program to European standards and the expectations is a source of great pride for Green Marine. This demonstrates the relevance and the flexibility of our environmental certification program, which has proven to be well suited to tackling various environmental issues, here and elsewhere. The program’s existence in Europe represents an important milestone and creates opportunities for synergy on both sides of the Atlantic.
“By coordinating the Green Marine Europe program, Surfrider Foundation Europe supports the shipping companies that choose to be pioneers in getting ahead of European legislation,” adds Antidia Citores, Project Manager, Green Marine Europe. « Full transparency of the results can therefore inform the choices of passengers and company brands that use these services in future. Additionally, this sectorial emulation in favour of decarbonization and the reduction of impacts is beneficial to the marine environment, our blue lung.”
Beyond the partnership between Green Marine and Surfrider Foundation Europe, the label is the result of the collaborative work involving stakeholders from the maritime and port sectors shippers, governments, NGOs, and the ADEME. These fed into the discussions within the advisory committee and successfully adapted the criteria for Europe.
Twice as many laureates
In the second year of issuing its certification, Green Marine Europe is proud to award the label to five new laureates: Maritime Nantaise, Sogestran Shipping, Maritima, Peen ar Bed, and Ponant. And for the first time in Italy, the Garbage Group has also joined the ranks of candidates and carried out the first stages of the labeling process by completing its self-diagnosis, the ship owner will receive the label after external verification of the declared results. These six newcomers join last year’s six laureates that had their labels renewed: Brittany Ferries, CORSICA linea, La Méridionale, Socatra, Orange Marine, and Genevir – Ifremer.
In addition to the ferry, bulk research and cable sectors, this year the cruise sector has been added with the arrival of Ponant among the laureates. The Italian ship owner Garbage Group and its port vessels attest to the Europeanization of the label.
Full lifecycle environmental performance
In additional to last year’s seven performance indicators (aquatic invasive species, greenhouse gas emissions, NOx, SOx, oily discharge, waste management and underwater noise), the laureates have also been evaluated this year on the dismantling of their vessels. The Green Marine Europe label therefore covers all the major environmental issues related to the activity of ship owners, from the beginning to the end of the life of their respective fleets.
About Green Marine Europe
Green Marine Europe is a voluntary environmental certification program for the European maritime industry adapted from the North American Green Marine program. The European label only applies to ship owners. Green Marine Europe offers a detailed framework for shipping companies to measure and their environmental footprint and then reduce it. Applicant ship owners must demonstrate continual improvement, year over year, in order to maintain the label. The program addresses priority environmental issues related to air and water quality, the protection of biodiversity, and waste management. The program has eight distinct performance indicators.
About Surfrider Foundation Europe
Surfrider Foundation Europe is an NGO for the protection of the ocean – its aquatic environments and its users. With 30 years of expertise and fieldwork, the organization has become a benchmark on environmental issues related to its work themes: aquatic waste, water quality and user health, coastal development and climate change. Surfrider Foundation Europe works on a daily basis with key players aiming to defend this common good with the aim of triggering real changes at the heart of our societies. To do this, the organization relies on three complementary action levers: education and awareness, scientific and legal expertise, as well as political advocacy to bring about a deep and lasting changes for the preservation of the ocean.