Green Marine – GVHA participates in the voluntary Green Marine assessment program for marine industrial facilities. Under the program, GVHA is working to improve rankings by reducing greenhouse gas emissions as part of moving beyond simple regulatory compliance.
Green Marine’s rigorous independent audit evaluated Ogden Point operations in four environmental categories on a scale of 1 to 5. Level 1 shows regulatory compliance and Level 5 illustrates excellence and leadership. Reaching level 3 is demanding: participants must benchmark their environmental impacts and have implemented best practices and management plans. The chart below indicates the scores received at Ogden Point for the past two years.
| Environmental Category | Level Reached (out of 5) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 Operations | 2013 Operations | 2014 Operations | |
| Greenhouse Gases | Level 3 | Level 3 | Level 3 |
| Spill Prevention | Level 2 | Level 5 | Level 5 |
| Community Impacts | Level 3 | Level 5 | Level 5 |
| Environmental Leadership | Level 3 | Level 3 | Level 3 |
Ogden Point’s average score of 4 across the evaluated categories in 2013 and 2014 demonstrate an upward trend and is significantly higher than Green Marine’s global average score of 3.1.
Air Quality – The North American Emission Control Area (ECA), under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), came into effect from August 1, 2012, bringing in stricter controls on emissions of sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and fine particulate matter for ships trading off the coasts of Canada and the US. Effective January 1, 2015, Canadian and the United States regulations required large vessels such as those visiting Ogden Point to burn fuel that contains less than 0.1% sulphur content or to adopt technology that results in the emissions of traditional fuel meeting the same standard. Accordingly, the cruise industry has made significant investments in technology to manage air quality impacts. As cruise ships complete their retrofits to meet the new regulations, either through using more efficient fuels or by installing onboard scrubber technology, sulphur dioxide emissions will be virtually eliminated. Scrubber technology works by cleaning or “scrubbing” the majority of sulphur dioxide and other particulate matter out of exhaust gas emissions.
Water Quality – Potable water quality monitoring is conducted regularly. All analyses and reporting are performed by the Capital Regional District. Water is tested for coliforms, residual chlorine levels and turbidity.
Recycling – Waste handling and recycling services are available for cruise ships calling at Ogden Point. Processing and recycling of oily water, sewage, paper, plastic, glass, metals and batteries as well as any hazardous wastes is performed by certified local environmental contractors. All cruise ship waste handling is performed in conjunction with certified environmental officers stationed on each ship.