Collaborative approach
Discover Green Marine's advisory committees
Green Marine’s uniqueness lies in its collaborative approach! The environmental certification program is developed and revised in collaboration with representatives from the industry, governments, research institutions and environmental organizations.
Green Marine counts four advisory committees representing the St. Lawrence, the Great Lakes, the North Atlantic and the West Coast regions. The program also brings together multi-stakeholder working groups, including sector experts, as required to address specific emerging issues, revise the program’s criteria or develop a new performance indicator.
Advisory Committees
Regional participation has been at the heart of the Green Marine program since its inception. Green Marine's advisory committees guide the program's review and development priorities by highlighting environmental issues of particular concern at the regional level. Before adopting a change to the program, Green Marine calls upon each committee to provide its point of view based on its regional realities so that a new program criterion takes all participants into consideration. These advisory committees are a big part of Green Marine’s collaborative success!
St. Lawrence Advisory Committee
The St. Lawrence Advisory Committee brings together stakeholders from the shores of the St. Lawrence and the Saguenay: from the Seaway entrance to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is the only committee that works exclusively in French. Program director Véronique Trudeau is responsible for this committee.
Members
- Daniel Côté, Desgagnés
-
Cloé Trépanier, Ducks Unlimited Canada
- Marc-Antoine Giroux, Environment and Climate Change Canada
- Domynick Maltais, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- Frédéric de Beaumont, Fonds d’action Saint-Laurent
- Marie-Andrée Giguère, Logistec (Chair)
- Sylvain Lafrance, Maritime Innovation
- Frédéric Lecomte, Ministère de l'Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs du Québec
- Sébastien Marcoux, Ministère des Transports et de la Mobilité durable du Québec
- Claude Deschambault, Montreal Port Authority
- Julien Poisson / Marie-Andrée Boisvert, Nature Conservancy of Canada
- Frédéric Maloney, Ocean Group
- Pascale Frey, QSL Canada
-
Philippe Charest-Gélinas, Québec Port Authority
- Mélissa Sanikopoulos, Sept-Îles Port Authority
- Miako Ushio, Shipping Federation of Canada
- Sébastien Lafrance, Société des Traversiers du Québec
- Mathieu St-Pierre, St. Lawrence Economic Development Council (SODES)
- Steven Murray, St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation
- Claude Comtois, University of Montréal
- Jean-Marc Léger, Verifier
Great Lakes Advisory Committee
The Great Lakes Advisory Committee has operated as a binational entity since its outset. It brings together stakeholders from all types of maritime activities on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border in the Great Lakes region. Program director Brittney Blokker coordinates this committee.
Members
- Mira Hube, Algoma Central Corporation
- Debbie Murray, Association of Canadian Port Authorities
- Stephen Braun, Canadian Water Resources Association
- Paul Topping, Chamber of Marine Commerce
- Carly Beck, Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority
- Yousef El Bagoury, CSL
- Jeff Udd, Duluth Seaway Port Authority
- Mandeep Singh Makkar, Fednav Ltd.
- Jon Altenberg, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative
- Justin Dew, Great Lakes Shipyard
- Sara Yonson, Hamilton Oshawa Port Authority
- Katie Wells, Interlake Steamship Company
- Debra DiCianna, Lake Carriers Association
- Sami Alahdab, Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO)
- Steven Paczesny, Port Milwaukee
- Jean Aubry-Morin, St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (Chair)
- Colin Henein, Transport Canada
- Jeff Stollenwerk, Verifier
West Coast Advisory Committee
In 2013 the West Coast Advisory Committee was the first additional group to be formed. It encompasses participants between Prince Rupert and San Diego along the West Coast of Canada and the United States. The West Coast Advisory Committee is coordinated by Green Marine’s senior program manager Eleanor Kirtley.
Members
- Peter Schrappen, American Waterways Operators
- Leslie James, BC Ferries
- Vida Ramin, Chamber of Shipping of British Columbia
- Kate Ahmadi, Environment and Climate Change Canada
- Patrick Gallagher, Marine Exchange of Puget Sound
- Stacy Bell, Neptune Terminals
- Zach Birmingham, Port of San Diego
- Mike DeSota, Port of Seattle (Vice-Chair)
- Jason Scherr, Prince Rupert Port Authority
- Katrina Bews, SAAM Towage Canada
- Daryl Lawes, Seaspan (Chair)
- Brooke Coburn, Trans Mountain (Westridge Terminal)
- Hasan Yahya, Trigon
- Lisa McCuaig, Vancouver Fraser Port Authority
- Michael Herald, Verifier
- Brian Kirk, Washington State Department of Ecology
- Kevin Bartoy, Washington State Ferries
- Kristen Powell, WWF Canada
North Atlantic Advisory Committee
Established in 2021, the North Atlantic Advisory Committee is the newest addition to Green Marine’s collaborative approach and offers members in the Atlantic provinces and Northeastern United States greater opportunity to decide the future of the environmental certification program. Committee members span from Newfoundland’s easternmost tip westward to Belledune, New Brunswick, and north and south between Newfoundland and Norfolk, Virginia. The committee is coordinated by program manager Thomas Grégoire.
Members
- Dan Vyselaar, Atlantic Towing (Chair)
- Moira Brown, Canadian Whale Institute
- Sean Brillant, Canadian Wildlife Federation
- Slava Zhukalin, Federal Fleet Services
- Matt Beyer, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- Meghan Coleman, Halifax Port Authority
- Lonita Judge, Horizon Maritime
- Craig Carter, Marine Atlantic
- Rick Wilson, Northumberland Bay Ferries
- Richard Hendrick, Port of Albany
- Ron Twohig, PSA Halifax
- Mike Jarbeau, Save the Bay (Rhode Island)
- Mitch Shea, Summerside Port
- Ross Szwec, Verifier
- Furhana Husani, Waterfront Alliance
- Steve Curtis, Waterson Terminals
Ferry forum
Initiated in 2022, the Green Marine Ferry Forum is an informal roundtable for ferry operator members to network, share best practices and lessons learned, and discuss current sector-specific issues. The forum members determine the topics for discussion, according to the most pressing current or emerging issues. Green Marine prioritizes support for its participants, and this is another venture to create a resource for a specific portion of its membership!
Participation
Being part of one of the working groups, committees, or ferry forum allows you to add your regional or sectoral perspective to the development of the program and to discuss current issues in the maritime industry with your peers.