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DUNKERQUE-PORT GAINS "PERS" CERTIFICATION FROM EcoPorts NETWORK
7th june 2018

In line with the commitments of the PA2D (Sustainable Development and Action Plan), Dunkerque-Port has just received the EcoPorts network's PERS certification (Port Environmental Review System), granted by the ESPO (European Sea Ports Organisation).

This environmental management certification, specific to the port sector, attests to correct compliance with current rules and standards, and rewards involvement in projects and initiatives for better environmental performance in ports.

This European recognition also stresses the environmental and innovative actions that have been carried out by Dunkerque-Port for nearly ten years as part of its activities. Purposeful and often unprecedented initiatives have emerged in favour of sustainable development: optimised management of dredging sediment (Dredging Master Plan), improvement in quality of port water (Sewerage Master Plan), consideration of biodiversity upstream of development projects (Natural Heritage Master Plan), collection of waste from ships, knowledge and management of the coastline, greenhouse gas inventory, and soon the opening of a Port Centre.

Environmental conservation thus entails the implementation of proactive policies integrating the environmental issues related to all the port's activities. This specific know-how of Dunkerque-Port, thanks to responsible planning and a policy of continuous progress, is now fully recognised.

So, following the renewal of its ISO 9001 certification (since 2009), the PERS demonstrates Dunkerque-Port's determination to continue developing its activities through efficient and responsible environmental management. The exemplary approach followed in accordance with of the PA2D, the 2014-2018 Strategic Plan and the Quality, Safety and Environment Policy, stands as the framework for the port's new Environmental Policy.

The PERS will prove to be an effective tool, complementing Dunkerque-Port's other planning tools, and creating with them a firm basis for the CAP 2020 project (project for a new dock and new infrastructures for the container sector at Dunkirk) to limit its environmental impact through the definition of concrete solutions.

Dunkirk thus joins the restricted network of the 33 PERS-certified ports among the 94 European and Mediterranean ports awarded the EcoPorts label, notably alongside the port of Calais.

For the record, in 2016 Dunkerque-Port was a winner at the ESPO Awards on the theme of "Nature in ports". The ESPO had already recognised the proactive dynamic of the port of Dunkirk in terms of conservation of the natural heritage in its district.

About ESPO:

Formed in 1993, the European Sea Ports Organisation is an association that brings together European sea ports to encourage the sustainable development of port activities. ESPO's main role is to defend the interests of European Union ports within the Community's organisations. The Brussels-based organisation was responsible for the first Code of "good" environmental practice in 1994 and the launch of the EcoPorts initiative a few years later. https://www.espo.be/ - https://www.ecoports.com/

About Dunkerque-Port:

The largest French port complex (Calais-Dunkirk); the ninth port of the Channel and North Sea Range and France's third-largest port, Dunkirk has built a reputation in many sectors: it is the largest passenger port in Europe (Calais-Dunkirk hub); France's largest energy hub; the country's largest LNG terminal; the leading French port for containerised fruit and vegetable imports; the largest French port for ore and coal imports; France's largest rail port; the region's largest waterway port; and the third-ranking French port for grain traffic. Dunkerque-Port is also a sustainable port. It is the trading port of the new Hauts-de-France Region, the largest agricultural region of France, the leading region for the rail industry, and the leading region for the car industry. Traffic in 2017 was 50.4 MT.

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