News
June 5, 2024Port of Albany CEO attends National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy Roundtable in Washington, D.C.
In late April, Richard Hendrick, Port of Albany CEO, was invited by the White House to attend the National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy Roundtable hosted by the White House Climate Policy Office, the Department of Energy, Department of Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency and the Joint Office of Transportation and Energy. The event took place in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (EEOB) and brought together representatives of trucking fleets, manufacturers, state and federal government, utilities, infrastructure providers, ports, and environmental and equity organizations from across the country to launch the implementation of the National Zero-Emission Freight Corridor Strategy including a new zero-emission freight goal of $1.5 billion in federal funding for zero emission heavy-duty vehicles.
The Port of Albany has long served as a vital economic engine and logistics hub, facilitating trade, and generating employment for the immediate Capital Region and beyond. These operations, as with many industrial-based endeavors, are working to reduce negative environmental impacts in concert with economic opportunities.
The Port has demonstrated exceptional leadership as evidenced by its eight-year consecutive Green Marine certification, with the most recent recertification pending. The Port of Albany was the first port in New York State to join the program that sets an environmentally forward benchmark for ports in North America. While the Port was working toward this achievement –and in alignment with the Green Marine goals– the Port of Albany recently submitted two applications to the U.S. EPA Clean Ports Initiative.
“The proposed grant projects including the deployment of zero-emission cargo handling equipment and infrastructure upgrades for cleaner operations and for zero-emission environmental planning could realize a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and offer significant environmental benefits,” said Port of Albany CEO Richard Hendrick. “This will directly contribute to improving air quality and, by extension, the health and quality of life for the Port and surrounding communities. This is a critical part of our Capital Plan and the first of its kind. The U.S. EPA Clean Ports grant initiative is a tremendous opportunity to advance these goals.”
The Green Marine program provides a comprehensive framework for ports and maritime companies to assess and improve their environmental performance. The program addresses prioritized environmental issues related to air, water, soil quality, and community relations. Participants must demonstrate continual and measurable improvement year after year.
More than two dozen community leaders, environmental advocates, businesses, and workforce partners offered letters of support applauding the Port’s “commitment to reducing emissions, improving air quality, and planning for a more environmentally aware future is critical for the health and well-being of neighbors in the adjacent EJ communities and the entire region.”
Assemblymember Patricia Fahy said, “The Port of Albany is a vital part of our local economy and an economic driver that supports hundreds of jobs in the City of Albany and our Capital Region. The Port will continue to lead on environmental stewardship and as key partners in our transition to clean energy and in combatting climate change, I applaud the Port for their eighth consecutive Green Marine certification and their application to the EPA’s Clean Port grants program. This only underscores their commitment to environmental justice and supporting our communities up and down the Hudson River in the Capital Region and Hudson Valley more broadly.”
“LOGISTEC has had a long-standing partnership with the Port of Albany, providing cargo handling service for a wide variety of customers and commodities since 1996,” said LOGISTEC President Rodney Corrigan. “We have worked very closely with the port, collaborating on infrastructure improvement projects, and providing our input in the planning and execution. LOGISTEC and the Port of Albany are both proudly Green Marine certified, which means together we target key environmental issues related to biodiversity protection air, water and soil quality, and community relations in and around Albany.”
“As a City of Albany department, we work with all facets of the local community to plan, develop, and coordinate services enabling residents to build the skills, competencies, and knowledge to compete effectively in the labor market and earn self-sustaining wages,” said Raphael J. Tucker, Deputy Commissioner for the Department of Youth and Workforce Services. “The Port of Albany’s integrated approach, which includes partnerships with workforce development/training programs and community engagement ensures that the benefits of these initiatives are broad and inclusive. This holistic strategy underscores the Port’s vision of sustainable development that leaves no one behind. Its efforts to secure EPA funding for the clean future of the Port operations are not just about environmental compliance; it is about leadership, vision, and the shared ambition of a cleaner, healthier, and more prosperous future for all.”
The Port of Albany continues to be an economic engine in the Capital Region and for New York. The Port directly and indirectly supports more than 4,500 jobs and close to a billion dollars in economic impact to the regional economy on an annual basis. A recently completed economic impact assessment indicates that the Expansion Project will spur approximately $1.476 billion in industry spending and more than 4,000 jobs in the Upstate New York economy after the first year of operations alone.
