The Environmental Ship Index (ESI) and Green Award Foundation nautical environmental certificates will be joining forces. In the future, the foundation will take the results of ESI on board in its own evaluation and in return, it will check the emissions of ‘Green Award ships’ on behalf of ESI during the annual audit.
ESI – designed in part by the port authorities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam and in operation since 1 January 2011 – is a certificate issued by the World Port Climate Initiative at the request of the ship. The index shows how ships perform environmentally in their emissions of air pollution (NOx and SOx) and CO2. By October 2012, 1442 ships were registered in the system and 19 ports and other organisations now provide incentives.
The Green Award Foundation is an independent foundation established in Rotterdam in 1994. It issues certificates to ships that have made additional investments in the quality of the ship and crew. The Green Award was originally intended for tankers, but bulk carriers and – recently – LNG and inland vessels can now also be certified. Around 250 sea-going ships and 350 inland vessels have acquired the Green Award certificate. Thirty ports and other institutions support the certificate with incentives.
Port Authority
The Port of Rotterdam Authority provided port due discounts worth EUR 1.5 million to ships with the Green Award. Last year ESI ships received discounts amounting to a total of around €40,000. This figure has already risen to more than €600,000 in 2012.
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Port of Rotterdam Authority, October 31, 2012