Paris – Six months after the introduction of Green Marine Europe, Surfrider Foundation Europe and Quebec-based Green Marine are delighted to present the first-ever laureates of this new environmental label. Six European ship owners renowned within the maritime transportation sector have joined Green Marine Europe to earn this label and commit to a sustainable transition.
Earning this independent label were these six ship owners – Brittany Ferries, CORSICA linea, Ifremer and its subsidiary Genavir, La Méridionale, Orange Marine and Socatra who are part of a sustainable process of continuous improvement of maritime transportation’s environmental performance.
Beyond the Green Marine and Surfrider Foundation Europe partnership, the label is the result of the collaborative work involving all relevant stakeholders from the ship owner and port sectors, governments, NGOs, and the Agence de la transition écologique (ADEME) in France. These external stakeholders improved the discussions and successfully adapted the criteria for Europe.
Through the evaluation of seven indicators, such as greenhouse gas emissions, air emissions (NOx, SOx and particulate matter) invasive aquatic species, or the management of waste or of underwater noise, the laureates provide information on their environmental performance that goes beyond existing regulations. The Green Marine Europe program is expected to be further enhanced next year, most notably with the addition of an indicator on responsible ship recycling. Laureates must requalify annually to retain their label.
Although this is the first year of evaluation and the initial group of laureates, the results already bear witness to their commitment to the environment. In fact, all six ship owners far exceeded the program’s minimum performance requirements for the first year of the certification, obtaining at least Level 2 for one of the indicators. Results are measured on a 1 to 5 scale with Level 1 representing the monitoring of regulations and Level 5 reflecting excellence and leadership.
The announcement of the first laureates of the Green Marine Europe label was hosted on Oct. 8 by France’s Ministry of the Sea in the presence of Madame Minister Annick Girardin, and Madame Secretary of the State in charge of Biodiversity, Bérangère Abba.
