The European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO) congratulates five ports among them Afloat highlights, the Port of Cork to receive their PERS certificate that took place at ESPO's Conference held in Valencia, Spain.

The other PERS ports congratulated is the Port of Harlingen (the Netherlands), the Port of Helsinki (Finland), the JadeWeserPort (Germany), and the Port of Rauma (Finland) for being certified through the EcoPorts’ environmental management standard (PERS).

Isabelle Ryckbost, ESPO Secretary General, Annaleena Mäkilä, ESPO Chair, and Valter Selén, EcoPorts Coordinator, handed over the PERS certificates to the ports’ representatives during the annual ESPO Conference held in the Mediterranean port city.

Isabelle Ryckbost, ESPO Secretary General, commented: “It is very recomforting to see that five ports have been certified over the last months. That brings the number of PERS-certified ports to 35. As demonstrated in our freshly published ESPO report on Trends in Governance, we see that ports are increasingly making efforts to be transparent, in particular on environmental performance towards their stakeholders and the wider port community. Congrats to all five PERS-certified ports”.

Valter Selén, ESPO Senior Policy Advisor and EcoPorts Coordinator, said: “I would like to congratulate all the PERS-certified ports on their achievement. Re-certification requires the port to show improved environmental management. The Port of Harlingen received its fifth PERS-certification, and has made sustainability a core part of its mission. The same is true for the Port of Cork, which has been a member of the EcoPorts Network since 2005. JadeWeserPort has been PERS-certified four times, and joined the Network in 2011. I would also like to congratulate the Port of Helsinki and the Port of Rauma on getting PERS-certified for the first time, strengthening the presence of EcoPorts in Scandinavia. We look forward to working with all five ports in their continued efforts to engage in good environmental management”.

PERS is the only port-specific environmental standard. The last five years have seen important increases in its recognition and membership, with 106 ports from 25 countries currently counting themselves as part of the EcoPorts Network, and 35 ports holding PERS certification.

Compliance with the EcoPorts’ PERS standard is independently assessed by Lloyd’s Register and the certificate has a validity of two years. EcoPorts’ PERS is revised after the 2-year period to make sure that the port continues to meet the requirements.

For more information on EcoPorts’ PERS, visit the EcoPorts website.