Last year, CEO Tay Yoshitani announced Port of Seattle’s goal to be the “cleanest, greenest, most energy efficient” port in the nation. In the months since then, many of the Port’s efforts have already resulted in significant progress, demonstrating to our community how seriously we take our pledge to be “where a sustainable world is headed.”

In August 2007, a report from the independent, nonprofit Clean Airport Partnership (CAP) revealed that Sea-Tac Airport has one of the strongest environmental programs at any airport in the nation. Sea-Tac's efforts, from recycling and alternative fuels to noise reduction, wetlands management, and much more, already have produced measurable results, including a 25 percent per square foot reduction in energy use at the airport.

In the past months, we've conducted the nation's first comprehensive airport greenhouse gas inventory which will drive new targets and programs for reducing emissions over the coming years. One such program is to provide preconditioned air to aircraft at gates, potentially saving five million gallons of fuel a year.

In January 2008, Port Commissioners adopted the Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy, a joint effort to reduce seaport-related air emissions with the Port of Tacoma and the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority. Initially released in May of 2007, the strategy involved input from the three ports, major stakeholders, environmental groups and local citizens throughout the region. It builds on emission reduction strategies already implemented, and establishes short- and long-term performance measures for reducing emissions from cargo-handling equipment, rail, harbor craft, ocean-going vessels and trucks.

“We are taking action locally to make sure our operations are the cleanest possible,” said Commission President John Creighton, speaking about initiatives that include conversions to cleaner fuels, engines, and operating practices by the Port and its main customers.

"We are taking action locally to make sure our operations are the cleanest possible."