WASHINGTON: The Port of Hueneme recently became the first California port to receive the Green Marine Certification, which designates it as a national leader in environmental conservation. The Green Marine Certification is given to marine transportation industry companies throughout the nation that actively work to decrease their environmental footprints and continually improve their conservation efforts. The Port of Hueneme is the nation’s 110th company to receive the certification since the program’s launch in 2007. Beyond recognizing its ongoing work in conservation, the port’s Green Marine Certification will allow it to work with a network of environmental leaders to further improve its conservation efforts, according to Dona Toteva Lacayo, chief commercial and public affairs officer at the Port of Hueneme. “Having the Green Marine Certification brings partners keyed into environmental changes into our network,” Lacayo said. “We can further work with the industry to advance our environmental standards together since our partners will share knowledge and experience with us.”
Though voluntary, acquiring a Green Marine Certification is a thorough process that requires a company to exceed in all forms of environmental conservation, Lacayo said. She added that Green Marine representatives analyzed the port’s greenhouse gases, air pollution, aquatic species, spill prevention and other forms of environmental leadership and waste management. In 2014, the port unveiled its shore-side power system that allows ships to plug into land-based power systems and shut off diesel engines while in port. The diesel engines emit nitrogen oxide and particulate matter into the air. The systems, which were required by the California Air Resources Board, will allow the port to reduce particulate matter by 92 percent, nitrogen oxide by 98 percent and CO2 by 55 percent over the next 30 years, officials said.
The port moves $9 billion in goods each year and consistently ranks among the top 10 ports in the U.S. for automobiles and fresh produce. For general cargo flow, the Port of Hueneme is in the top 11 percent of all U.S. ports. To maintain its certification, the port will be required to continually improve its year-to-year conservation efforts to maintain its certification. While environmental conservation has been a long-running focus for the port, regularly working with Green Marine will help motivate the company to serve as an environmental leader, Lacayo said. “Needing to become certified again next year puts us on a track of continuous improvement,” Lacayo said. “Many organizations can have an environmental program, but not all of them are certified. Being Green Marine Certified shows that we’re really stepping up and constantly improving.”
