April 22, 2020: The Port of Hueneme kicked off the 50th Annual Earth Day with a digital celebration, reaffirming their commitment to environmental sustainability and sharing the results of its Green Marine Certification assessment.
“The Port is leading the way forward into a green economy,” said Oxnard Harbor District Board President Jess Ramirez. “Our commitment to a cleaner, healthier, and greener community is stronger than ever.”
Unveiling the results of their annual environmental assessment and accreditation conducted by Green Marine on Wednesday, the Port continued its track record of high scores and transparency. Green Marine (www.green-marine.org) is a voluntary environmental certification program for the North American maritime industry, which requires participants to continuously improve their sustainability programs. It is a rigorous, transparent, and inclusive set of benchmarked standards against which participants are required to rate their performance annually. The program addresses environmental programs through more than 100 performance criteria which comprise 6 categories.
For 2019, the Port achieved top scores in 4 out of 6 categories including:
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- Waste Management (5/5)
- Prevention of Spills and Leakages (5/5)
- Community Impacts (5/5)
- Environmental Leadership (5/5)
- Underwater Noise (2/5)
- Green House Gases and Air Pollution (3/5)
“The Port of Hueneme has led the way in California, charting the course ahead for the state’s ports to improve their environmental sustainability through the Green Marine program,” said Green Marine’s Executive Director David Bolduc. “In their fourth year of certification, Hueneme continues to show improvements in measuring and reducing their environmental footprint, further affirming their commitment to the local eco-sphere.”
Kristin Decas, CEO & Port Director stated, “Since 2008, our Port has reduced air emissions by 87%, and have reduced each category of environmental impacts through a rigorous Environmental Management Framework set in motion in 2015. I look forward to continuing to partner with all of our stakeholders in creating cleaner operations we all benefit from.”
The Port’s recent initiatives have included: Hosting Ventura County’s first ever Clean Air Day (October 2, 2019), investing $140,000 in two air quality monitors (the highest quality monitors available) which were installed on top of Haycox Elementary School, and securing grant funds from the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District to fund electrical power plugs to help run the new hybrid cargo crane.
While weathering the COVID crisis is currently the top priority for the Port and its partners so that critical fresh food continues to be available in stores and local families continue to have work opportunities and income, the Port is looking forward in 2020 to implementing more of its clean air plan. These efforts will help the Port raise its air quality score with Green Marine up to a 4 or even a 5!
Learn more about the Port’s Environmental Initiatives here.
Learn more about Clean Air Day and the Port’s Air Monitors here.
