The American Waterways Operators has joined Green Marine, the largest voluntary environmental certification program for North America’s maritime industry, as an association member to advance environmental stewardship in the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry.

AWO is proactively working to define and promote best practices for its members. “This partnership will provide AWO more tools and resources to share with our members and help them excel in a world of evolving environmental expectations,” explains AWO President & CEO, Jennifer A. Carpenter.

“We are very pleased to formalize an existing collaboration between AWO and Green Marine on defining environmental best practices,” said Green Marine Executive Director, David Bolduc. “Welcoming AWO as our 35th Association member is another step in a growing collaboration between our two organizations.”

While AWO is a new member of Green Marine, they are not strangers, as AWO and Green Marine have been collaborating for years. Green Marine’s Senior Program Manager Dr. Eleanor Kirtley has been serving on AWO’s Environmental Stewardship Working Group since its inception. The working group is surveying solutions to advance the environmental performance of the tugboat, towboat and barge industry in key environmental areas such as air and water quality, waste management, energy efficiency and corporate responsibility. These same issues are at the core of Green Marine’s voluntary environmental certification program.

Brian Bailey, AWO’s Director – Safety and Environmental Stewardship, serves as a member of the committee for Green Marine’s 2021 annual flagship event, GreenTech, a conference focused on maritime transportation and its greater sustainability through greener technologies, innovation and best practices. Mr. Bailey also moderated GreenTech 2020’s session on reducing and counting greenhouse gas emissions.

Green Marine is looking forward to further sharing experience to assist AWO and its members in developing and implementing voluntary, beyond-compliance, scalable and measurable best practices as part of our shared commitment to environmental excellence.

About The American Waterways Operators

The American Waterways Operators is the national advocate for the U.S. tugboat, towboat and barge industry, which serves the nation as the safest, most environmentally friendly, and most economical mode of freight transportation. AWO members operate on the rivers, coasts, Great Lakes, and harbors of the United States, moving vital commodities safely, reducing air emissions, water pollution, and highway congestion, protecting homeland security, and providing family-wage jobs for tens of thousands of Americans. AWO promotes the long-term economic soundness of the industry and works to enhance its ability to provide safe, efficient, and environmentally responsible transportation.