Green Marine-certified ports recognized at AAPA’s 2026 Lighthouse Awards

Several Green Marine-certified ports are among the recipients of the American Association of Port Authorities’ (AAPA) 2026 Lighthouse Awards, announced on September 28 during the association’s annual convention in New Orleans. The awards recognize port initiatives in areas including environmental stewardship, technology, economic development, communications, and administrative practices.

The Lighthouse Awards recognize projects and practices that help advance the port sector each year. Awards are presented across several categories, with an Excellence distinction for leading award-winning projects and an Achievement distinction for other noteworthy initiatives.

The following Green Marine certified ports received an Excellence Award:

• Port of Albany, NY – Sponsorship of the Hudson River Trading Game Program in the Albany City Schools, in the Economic Development Practices and the Public Relations – Community/Educational Outreach categories.
• Georgia Ports Authority – Gainesville Inland Port, in the Facility and Infrastructure Development – Studies, Plans and/or Designs and Facility and the Infrastructure Development – Construction Practices categories.
• Ports of Indiana – Hyper-Growth Financial Initiative, in the Financial Practices category.
• Port Everglades – Find-a-Cruise: Helping Cruise Guests Navigate Their Options from Port Everglades, in the Cruise Practices category.
• Port of Everett – Maritime Workforce Development Pipeline, in the Public Relations – Public Relations Campaign category.
• Port of Stockton – Integration of Random Anti-Terrorism Measures into Daily Port Police Operations, in the Security Practices category.
• Port of Pascagoula – Eyes in the Sky: Advancing Port Security Through Real-Time Drone Detection, in the Security Practices and Technology Solutions categories.

Multiple Green Marine–certified ports also received an Achievement distinction for their initiatives, including the Northwest Seaport Alliance for its aerial monitoring program at the Port of Tacoma, in the Environmental Practices and Technology Solutions categories. The complete list of winning projects is available on the AAPA website.

The breadth of the recognized projects reflects the range of priorities that port authorities are addressing today: community engagement, workforce development, monitoring and management technologies, public communications, economic development, and environmental performance.

For Green Marine, the strong presence of its certified participants among this year’s recipients also reflects their commitment to integrating continual improvement into their operations through the program’s detailed voluntary environmental certification framework.

The initiatives recognized by the Lighthouse Awards offer concrete examples of how ports can advance their practices while strengthening relationships with communities, partners, and the supply chains they serve.