New sustainability report conveys environmental advances at the Port of Bellingham

The Port of Bellingham has issued an environmental sustainability report that highlights the Washington State port’s key sustainability initiatives and achievements over the past two years. They include:

• Green Marine participation: In early 2023, the Port of Bellingham became a certified member of Green Marine and has been using the program guide the port’s sustainability improvements as well as planning for new projects.
• Reduced emissions: The port achieved a 78.4% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions in 2024 compared with 2019 levels.
• Cleaner energy: A total of 147 megawatts of renewable energy (enough to power 30,000 homes) were generated on site in 2023. Another 4.5 million kilowatts of zero-emission electricity were purchased the same year.
• Public involvement: In 2023, the port conducted a public outreach process for its 2023 Climate Action Strategy. Early in 2024, another outreach effort was held for the Recreation, Conservation & Public Access Plan Update. Two open houses were then held last fall to answer questions and provide updates on upcoming modernization projects.
• Climate adaptation: A study was completed in 2023 on the anticipated impact of sea-level rise and storm surge on the port’s maintenance shop and yard and a climate action strategy adopted later the same year. In February 2024, climate goals were integrated into planned harbour improvements. A CivicSpark fellow was hired to develop a Roadmap to Resilience that contains recommendations to enhance the port’s strengths given climate change and natural hazards.
• Waste diversion: In partnership with Sustainable Connections, the port diverted 23,120 gallons (87,443 litres) of recyclable and compostable waste from the landfill at the Portal Container Village last year – which had accounted for 52.4% of the waste generated at the site.
• Land remediation: The port continued to work with the Washington State Department of Ecology over the past two years to clean up several areas historically used for marine refueling and/or maintenance, lumber milling or rock crushing.
• Wildlife enhancement: The port installed a 47-foot- (14.3-metre-) high osprey nesting platform near Marine Park in April 2024 after noticing that osprey had been trying to nest on a crane at an adjacent industrial site.

Download the full report.