Our Initiatives

Initiatives within ECMC are undertaken to achieve specific goals and or address particular issues. We organize efforts designed to bring about a positive change or address challenges in various areas of interest within our members objectives. Initiatives can take various forms, depending on the context and our desired outcome.

ISPM 15

The ISPM 15 (International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15) initiative is an international regulation developed by the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC). Its primary goal is to prevent the spread of pests and diseases through the international trade of wood packaging materials (WPM).

In 2017, U.S. Customs started penalizing companies every time an invasive pest was found in its wooden packaging. That penalty is the requirement of re-exporting the whole shipment (Bill of Lading) out of the US within a 7 days time period. This penalty has had a commercial impact of Millions on many projects since 2017.

This very important initiative is inform our members on the work we are achieving with a number of stakeholders to identify and better the visibility of the source and how to best mitigate and identify the infestation of pests at the origin.

We are currently working with the Houston Coalition on ISPM15 and APHIS/USDA/CBP along with the Cary Institute.

The group has monthly updates and collaboration meetings to move along the certain initiatives we have aligned as important.

Training on identification
Visibility of the Repeated Sources
Access to Emergency Action Notice Data
Training at Identified Origins of Concern

Seafarers Welfare

ECMC has been actively participating in efforts to help bring awareness to the terrible impact of the pandemic on seafarers, and to put measures in place that improve the conditions that they work, and their well-being in the jobs they are performing for the global economy.

A global consortium, of organizations and companies concerned about this issue have issued the Neptune Declaration, which calls on leaders around to take a number of steps that will ensure seafarer well-being, including establishing better healthcare standards for seafarers, developing consistent crew change protocols, encouraging greater collaboration between ship operators and charterers to better care for crews, and providing priority COVID-19 vaccine access to seafarers by designating them as essential workers.

February 2, 2021, ECMC became a signatory of the Neptune Declaration to show our strong support for a global, coordinated effort to ensure that the people who are the backbone of our industry are cared for and prioritized