Major industry developments and concerns were addressed at the first Green Award – GARD conference held on 28 September, 2017, in Athens, Greece.
Ship managers, owners, maritime related businesses and organizations met during the event organized in Athens. The initiative came from Green Award, an international organisation which certifies ships and ship managers that demonstrate performance beyond that required by the industry’s regulations. Fully supported by GARD, a maritime insurance company and a Green Award incentive provider, the event attracted Green Award stakeholders as well as many other industry organisations and companies not engaged in the Green Award scheme.
The day opened with a meeting of Green Award certificate holders. Discussions held in the morning provided invaluable input for further development of the Green Award requirements on topics such as noise and UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG). GARD shared its data and benchmarking analysis with the Green Award certified ship managers present at this meeting.
Conference started in the afternoon and was open to the industry (by invitation only). US Coast Guard, DNV GL, AlphaMarine were amongst the key speakers. Presentations covered Ballast Water Management, TMSA3 and human element, simplification of procedures, EU MRV and IMO DSC. Delegates debated on these topics with some questions leading to official replies to follow. Executive Director of Green Award, Jan Fransen, informed the attendees about Green Award’s activities, recent developments and research carried out by the foundation.
Delegates represented organisations genuinely interested in investing efforts into safety and reduction of the environmental footprint. As Green Award Chairman, Capt Dimitrios Mattheou said addressing the attendees: “There is no need to convince any of the people present today of the importance of safety, quality and environmentally-friendly performance. We all know that these are the core values. We all strive for excellence.”
An evening reception was a festive closure of the day, providing an opportunity for guests to talk to each other in a friendly and relaxed atmosphere.
The focus of the event was on promotion of measures to improve safety and environmental performance, contribution to loss prevention and obtaining feedback from Green Award stakeholders, both certificate holders and incentive providers. Contribution of all members of the maritime industry is necessary to raise the bar and this event was a great example of such cooperation.
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Source: The Green Award Foundation
