WWF awarded the 2009 Environmental Buoy
Each year Ports of Stockholm awards the Environmental Buoy prize to an organisation demonstrating a strong commitment to environmental issues and shipping. This year the honour goes to the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) for its success in scrutinising, publicising and sparking the debate on the release of vessel waste and the abilities of ports to handle black and grey water.
“The Worldwide Fund for Nature demonstrates the power of cooperation between committed citizens, companies and politicians. If everyone works together we can accomplish the goal of achieving tangible environmental results in the Baltic Sea,” says Ulla Hamilton (Swedish Moderaterna Party), Deputy Mayor of the City of Stockholm, Environment and Traffic Division, and Chair of the Board of Ports of Stockholm (Stockholms Hamn AB). Ulla Hamilton presented the award on Monday 7 December in conjunction with an annual lunch for shipping representatives aboard the vessel Teaterskeppet in Stockholm. “We are very pleased and honoured that our efforts have been recognised with the Environmental Buoy. This provides us with the impetus to continue our work to stop the dumping of wastewater at sea, to work for more and better facilities to manage wastewater and for a healthier Baltic Sea,” says Åsa Andersson, Programme Director for Swedish Nature and the Baltic Sea at WWF. WWF has been working with shipping companies and cruise ships for several years to stop the dumping of wastewater into the Baltic Sea. As a consequence the organisation representing the cruise shipping industry, the European Cruise Council (ECC), has decreed that wastewater and sewage can no longer be dumped at sea. This presupposes that the ports can meet requirements for wastewater management facilities. “Ports of Stockholm is leading the way in environmental efforts, especially when it comes to waste management, but there are many other Baltic ports where more stringent regulations and improvements are needed,” concludes Åsa Andersson.
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