Ports all over America say following a green path can be an excellent business strategy that can increase revenue, improve productivity, resolve congestion issues, and improve relationships with surrounding communities. Though thinking of environmentalism as a way to make money instead of spending it contradicts conventional wisdom, to a degree the results are simply common sense. Emissions are closely connected to energy use. So, for many ports, taking a close look at pollutants means making a detailed examination of how efficient—or inefficient—an entire facility’s operations are for the first time. Port officials say the right approach to green strategies can thus turn what might seem to be a regulatory burden into a business opportunity.

Good sense
“It makes good business sense,” says Bill Nurthen, general manager, program support and performance management for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. After conducting an extensive environmental audit that quantified emissions for virtually all of the port’s activities, NYNJ has implemented a panoply of programs that are both cutting waste and increasing efficiency.
Attitude is important. Ports and communities that have done best with green policies have set aside their frustration with regulatory demands and done their best to see where business benefits could be reaped.
The American Association of Port Authorities is pushing the green approach strongly, says Meredith Martino, manager of government relations and environmental policy. Much of the work is being done under the mantle of “sustainability,” she says. “We’ve redefined sustainability as balancing environmental, economic, and social concerns.”
She adds that it’s important to look at the whole picture and avoid letting one element overwhelm another. “It’s about not neglecting the environment for the bottom line, not neglecting the community for the environment.”
Strategies that work best
What’s key is to set specific strategies and follow them intensely. Ports and the organizations that represent them say that the following approaches work best:

• Do an environmental audit. An accurate environmental audit helps point to places where efforts need to be invested most. The results can be surprising. When the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey did a study on the potential benefits of powering ships using shore electricity versus letting them run their engines, they found the strategy cost a highly infective $66,000 per ton reduction with cargo ships, but a much more productive $2,400 a ton with passenger vessels. Money that might have gone to cargo ships has instead been utilized in more efficient ways.

• Reach out to the community from the earliest stages of a project. Creating effective outreach programs is absolutely essential, given that ports are publicly funded and that citizens involved in environmental activities tend to be both vocal and active. Once bridges are built, life becomes a lot easier for everyone. “They understand that we have a job to do. We understand that they have a need to protect the waterway, and you just try and strike a balance,” says Joe Harris, media relations manager for the Virginia Ports Authority.

• Make it someone’s job to find grants, tax credits, and resources. Government incentives are a key driving force behind many green activities. To find out what’s available, have someone on staff whose job depends on digging up information and distributing it.

• Be proactive. Staying ahead of the game enables ports to keep better control over their environmental responsibilities. It also helps create a positive mindset, with ports and their communities embracing a green approach instead of feeling they’ve been forced into it.

• Shift to more efficient modes of transportation. Some methods of transportation simply use less energy than others. Finding energy-efficient modes and methods of transportation can make a huge difference when it comes to a port’s impact on the environment. That is why some facilities are investing huge sums in building new rail links and increasing their capabilities when it comes to handling rail traffic support.

• Identify areas where energy is being wasted.Reducing truck idle time is a classic example of this approach. “One of the key initiatives we have with our state Division of Health Assessment and Consultation was a recognition of productivity enhancements as a means to reach environmental goals,” says Byron Miller, spokesman for the South Carolina State Port Authority. A specific accomplishment was an agreement to keep turn times for trucks below 31 minutes. With average turn times of 21 minutes, the port has more than met this goal.

• Support replacement of old equipment with more modern machines. Many of the machines used at ports have an operating life that runs into decades. That means they’re often old, inefficient, dirty. Smart incentives that encourage equipment operators to switch to tools that use less energy can increase productivity while minimizing environmental impact. Fees and incentives are one way to do this. For example, the Port of Los Angeles has set up a clean truck program that charges a $25 per container fee and then uses that money to replace dirty trucks.

• Invest in new technology. Hybrids are showing up in ports as well as on highways. Both Los Angeles and New York are working on developing systems that will transform the way vehicles move goods around ports.

In the end, by taking the right approach, ports can do good business and make the world a cleaner place. Miller says, “Expanding business in the port and creating a cleaner environment, with cleaner water, cleaner land, and cleaner air — those are mutually compatible goals