Fremantle Ports has achieved further formal recognition for the high standards it has reached in safety, environmental management and continuous improvement.

It has recently become one of only a few organisations in Western Australia to gain triple certification in these areas, meeting the requirements for the rigorous international environmental and quality standards and the Australian safety standard.

Fremantle Ports Chief Executive Officer, Kerry Sanderson, said the certification showed Fremantle Ports' systems were well advanced in terms of international best-practice.

"The certification of all three areas, safety, environment and quality, demonstrates our commitment to excellence across the organisation," she said. "We strive continually to be responsive to customer and community needs, to ensure a safe workplace, and to ensure that continuous improvement, safety and the environment are key considerations in all our operations.

"We have put in place the systems and procedures to achieve this and to ensure that we continue to meet the expectations of our customers and the general community in these three important areas which form the triple-bottom-line of our operations.

"It's about reassuring ourselves, our customers and the community that our procedures measure up well against world standards.

"We recognise that maintaining high standards in the three areas of safety, environmental management and continuous improvement are critically important to the ongoing success of our business."

Fremantle Ports began its journey of improvement in 1991 and has achieved a number of significant milestones along the way, including the achievement of award level under the Australian Business Excellence Framework.

In March 2004, SAI Global auditors visited and assessed Fremantle Ports' operations over a five-day period. The audit involved employees from across the organisation and was a rigorous examination of Fremantle Ports' systems for certification to ISO 14001 (environment), ISO 9001 (quality) and AS 4801 (safety).

"Everyone working at Fremantle Ports could take pride in the achievement," Kerry Sanderson said.

Media Contact: Ainslie de Vos 08 9430 3380