This annual award was created to recognize and reward a Hamilton port partner’s contributions to respecting and protecting the natural environment.
“Federal Marine Terminals has the largest footprint of any tenant on port property, and the company is a leader when it comes to environmental protection,” noted Bruce Wood, HPA President and CEO. “Environmental stewardship is central to our mission at the port, and we are always pleased to work with port partners like FMT who share this commitment.”
FMT has taken several measures to achieve a high level of environmental performance. For example, on-site dust is controlled using a new road sweeper, significantly reducing airborne particulate. An advanced equipment wash pad system captures wash water and separates out oil.
FMT is an active participant in the North American environmental improvement program Green Marine, achieving level 4.3 (out of 5.0) in 2011, in the following areas: greenhouse gases, water and land pollution prevention, and conflicts of use with neighbouring population. The company has a comprehensive environmental policy in place that addresses key aspects of Green Marine, including a stormwater and spills prevention management policy.
The HPA Environmental Recognition Award recognizes environmental leadership by allocating funds to an environmental agency or project, as nominated by the winner. FMT has chosen the Hamilton Air Monitoring Network (HAMN), which since 2003 has been carrying out ambient and point source air quality monitoring in the Hamilton area.
Paul Gourdeau, President of FMT, said: “We are honoured to be the first recipient of this award. As a company, we are continuously looking for new ways to reduce our environmental footprint and have a team at our headquarters dedicated to ensuring we operate our businesses in a sustainable manner. We look forward to allocating the award funds to HAMN, which is an important project because of the role it plays in helping to determine where progress is being made and identifying air quality issues in the Hamilton area.”