Green Award certifies ships that are extra clean and extra safe, and ships with a Green Award certificate reap various financial and non-financial benefits.
Gard’s contribution will focus on two areas. The first is an annual Gard Green Award event for shipowners and managers who hold the Green Award certificate. This seminar will address topics such as market challenges and trends, risk management and loss prevention, as well as innovation and new technology. The second is helping to benchmark to the performance of Green Award vessels for the Green Award organisation.
Rolf Thore Roppestad, CEO of Gard, said “Sharing knowledge and expertise is one of the pillars on which Gard is built and is vital to both our ability to actively support Members and clients and in our relationships with the wider world. We are committed to making a positive contribution to the industries we serve by offering dedicated resources for knowledge sharing and learning.
“The aim of the Green Award is to promote the highest standards of safety, quality and sustainability in shipping, and we are delighted to support those goals by becoming the first insurance incentive provider. We look to build long-term relationships with external stakeholders and maintain a network of partners to enhance knowledge sharing– this latest initiative is a strong example of how we do that.”
“Gard is a P&I Club with outstanding reputation and embedded Corporate Social Responsibility values, committed to safety,” Mr Dimitrios Mattheou, Chairman of Green Award, said in his welcome speech. “Green Award certificate holders are in the top tier of the shipping industry, they strive for excellence. They are often pioneers and can benefit from sharing knowledge and learning about the optimal ways of implementation of the best practices. We appreciate that Gard has declared its support to Green Award members through hosting Green Award annual events for them. Gard’s contribution to these meetings with their expertise and insightful speakers will enable Green Award certificate holders to further improve their efficiency and performance.”
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About GARD
Gard is a shipowner-controlled provider of P&I, marine and energy insurance products, with over 450 staff in 13 offices around the world. The direct insurance entities within the Gard group; Gard P. & I. (Bermuda) Ltd, Assuranceforeningen Gard, Gard Marine & Energy Limited and Gard Marine & Energy Insurance (Europe) AS are rated ‘A+' by Standard & Poor’s.
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About Green Award
The Green Award foundation was established in 1994. Green Award is a global, independent, non-for-profit quality assurance organization that works by certifying ship managers and vessels that go beyond the industry standards in terms of safety, quality and environmental performance. The scheme is open for sea-going oil and chemical tankers, bulk carriers, LNG and LPG carriers, container carriers and inland navigation barges.
The essential of Green Award is that it covers a wide range of aspects related to safety quality and the environment. Green Award brings together high quality ships, maritime service providers and ports that want to improve safety, attract quality ships and reduce environmental and safety risks. In fact Green Award acts as the platform for the industry cooperation. Green Award incentive providers (ports and maritime service providers) award ships the highest safety and quality standards of which are confirmed by the Green Award certificate with various benefits such as discounts on the port dues, products and services.
With over 75 incentive providers in North America, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia currently participating in the scheme, Green Award motivates ship owners and managers to invest in the improvements on board and ashore and serves as a reliable indicator of the ship’s highest standards and as a Corporate Social Responsibility and risk reduction tool for shipping companies and ports.
