Green Marine to Promote Social Acceptability of Ports

Green Marine and the Worldwide Network of Port Cities (AIVP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding this week to combine efforts to promote the social acceptability of ports.
 
The agreement, signed at the conclusion of AIVP's Annual General Meeting at the start of the organization’s 16th World Conference in Quebec City, will serve as a framework for cooperation to encourage and improve port relations with the wider community.
 
AIVP has nearly 200 members representing more than 2,000 sustainable development actors in port cities throughout nearly 50 countries on five continents. AIVP supports its members in the implementation of new strategies to enable them to better face announced changes that affect the economic, social and environmental development of the port city including urban-port integration, global reorganization of economic channels, climate change, energy transition and dynamics of the cruise market.

Established in 2007, Green Marine is a North American environmental certification program for the maritime transportation industry. The program stems from the industry’s voluntary initiative to surpass regulatory requirements. There are currently more than 120 companies – shipowners, port authorities, terminal operators and shipyard managers – participating in the program throughout Canada and the U.S. 

AIVP and Green Marine intend to specifically collaborate on defining a new sustainable development indicator titled “Community Relations” to outline social acceptability and good relations with a community. Green Marine will rely on AIVP’s expertise in the field of city-port-citizen relations and in the analysis of tools such as Port Center (www.portcenternetwork.org), a concept that AIVP certified in 2016. 

Port Center is an interface with a playful atmosphere between the port, the city and the citizens. There, the port can communicate on its missions, projects and associated careers. A space open to the widest public, it can cover subjects such as industrial port activities, the goods transported and international trade. Two essential elements are an exhibition and educational activities. One of the main objectives consists in organizing port excursions, lectures and other port educational projects. By presenting the diversity of the activities, their economic spin-offs for the territory and the potentialities in terms of employment for younger people, Port Centers have the aim of explaining, educating and bringing together the port community and citizens.