Association member AWO releases environmental stewardship best practices

The American Waterways Operators (AWO) has released a set of environmental stewardship best practices for the tugboat, towboat and barge industry. The best practices aim to inform, guide and support vessel operators to continuously improve their environmental performance in terms of water quality, energy efficiency, air quality, waste management and corporate responsibility.

« Barge transportation is the safest, most environmentally sustainable mode of freight transportation, » notes Jennifer Carpenter, AWO’s president and CEO. « These best practices reflect the commitment by AWO members to continuous improvement as we seek to build on our industry’s natural advantages in fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions and become ever better stewards of the natural resources on which our nation and our industry depend. »

The best practices coincide with several of Green Marine’s performance indicators and will support companies in preventing spills and discharges, lowering energy consumption, reducing air emissions, properly managing waste, and embracing a leadership role in terms of corporate responsibility, with clear, achievable goals and step-by-step actions.

The environmental stewardship best practices have been distributed to AWO members and are available on the AWO website.