Green Marine has broadened the scope of its North American environmental certification program for the maritime industry by adding a performance indicator to assess community relations. Green Marine already has an indicator for landside operations involving community impacts, but it primarily focuses on nuisances, such as dust, light, and noise. Developing this particular indicator presented a unique challenge as community relations can be difficult to measure tangibly. Ultimately, the criteria was jointly developed by two workgroups, one holding discussions in English and the other in French, which facilitated a better understanding of the different linguistic, geographical, and societal realities of community relations across North North America. The new community relations performance indicator will be optional during the first year of assessment. It will subsequently be mandatory for ports to obtain Green Marine certification.
