BC Ferries expands its Green Marine certification to Fleet Maintenance Unit
Victoria, B.C., June 1, 2017 – BC Ferries’ fleet maintenance unit received its first Green Marine certification last night, during the environmental program’s 10th annual conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. BC Ferries’ vessels and terminals have been Green Marine certified since 2015, when the company first joined the program but the shipyard certification is a new achievement, showing their commitment to continue to benchmark environmental performance and make continuous improvements.
Green Marine is a globally recognized, voluntary, industry sustainability initiative for ship operators, ports, terminals and shipyards. It enables participants to reduce their environmental footprint by fostering a culture of continual improvement and exceeding regulatory compliance.
“Achieving this certification for all our diversified operations reinforces our existing commitment to the environment and ensures we will continue to look for ways to apply best practices and be a leader in sustainable marine transportation”, said Mark Collins, BC Ferries’ President & CEO.
“Including all their activities in the program clearly reflects a strong commitment from BC Ferries towards the greening of their operations. It will also significantly help us achieve our objective, which is to advance environmental excellence for the marine industry in general”, said David Bolduc, Green Marine’s Executive Director.
The Green Marine environmental certification program addresses key environmental issues through 11 performance indicators such as greenhouse gases, air emissions, spill prevention, waste management, environmental leadership, and community impacts – some applicable to shipping activities, other to landside operations.
The Green Marine certification process is rigorous and transparent: results are independently verified every two years and each company’s individual results are posted online at www.green-marine.org/certification/results/.
About BC Ferries
BC Ferries is known for safety, spectacular scenery and a proud maritime history. What began in 1960 as a two vessel, two terminal operation has grown into one of the largest, most sophisticated ferry transportation systems in the world, providing year-round vehicle and passenger service on 24 routes to 47 terminals, with a fleet of 35 vessels. BC Ferries is an essential transportation link in British Columbia, connecting coastal communities and facilitating the movement of people, goods and services. In fiscal 2016/17, BC Ferries carried more than 20 million passengers and 8 million vehicles throughout coastal British Columbia.
Green Marine overview
Green Marine is celebrating its 10th year! The North American environmental certification program is the maritime industry’s voluntary effort to surpass regulatory requirements. There are currently more than 110 companies – ship owners, port authorities, terminal operators and shipyards – from coast to coast in Canada and the United States participating in the program. The Green Marine program’s unique character derives from the support being earned from more than 60 environmental organizations and government agencies. These supporters contribute to shaping and revising the program.