From designing cargo terminals and using innovative technologies, to purchasing new equipment and reviewing operations, JAXPORT is committed to environmental protection and stewardship. JAXPORT is leading several efforts to preserve the region’s natural environment such as championing the use of cleaner, alternative fuels, reducing engine emissions from port equipment and recycling oil used in cranes.
JAXPORT has:
- Committed $30 million in monitoring and mitigation for the Jacksonville Harbor Deepening Project, including the purchase and conservation of more than 650 acres of environmentally-sensitive freshwater and salt marsh wetlands in Northeast Florida.
- Raised the profile of Jacksonville as a world leader in cleaner, greener liquefied natural gas as a marine fuel. Four LNG-powered ships are homeported at JAXPORT. In addition, three LNG liquefaction and storage facilities are located in Jacksonville and a fourth is currently slated for construction.
- Invested in electric container cranes that work on regenerative power, consuming power during the lifting of containers and creating energy as they lower.
- Rebuilt dock infrastructure at our largest container terminal to accommodate additional electric cranes planned for the future.
- Maintained fast turn times at terminal gates, reducing truck idling and consequent emissions.
- Invested in energy-saving LED lighting on our terminals.
The port also sponsors the following initiatives:
- Contributes funding for the Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS), which offers monitoring data from 14 stations comprised of multiple sensors located along the St. Johns River and its tributaries in Northeast Florida. The system monitors salinity and other river conditions, and provides critical information that can be used for projecting storm surge.
- Is a member of the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization’s Clean Fuel Coalition, which promotes the use of environmentally friendly alternative fuels that reduce dependence on foreign oil.
- Raises awareness of the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale and helps to support the Annual Right Whale Festival in Northeast Florida.
- Partners with Greenscape of Jacksonville to improve the tree canopy of Jacksonville through a series of landscape projects in the city.
- Supports Tree Hill Nature Center, a 50-acre nonprofit nature preserve in Jacksonville, in their work to teach local students about the ecology of the St. Johns River.
- Sponsors Mayport Elementary School’s Coastal Sciences Academy. Students learn about the St. Johns River and its wildlife and raise fish in the JAXPORT-sponsored Aquaculture ‘Labitat’.