EVERETT— The Port of Everett was honored with two annual Lighthouse Awards from the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), the unified and collective voice of the seaport industry across North and South America, for its innovative work in both environmental stewardship and financial practices.
AAPA is a member organization representing more than 130 public port districts in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Latin America. Its annual Lighthouse Awards recognize innovation and excellence in a variety of categories, with emphasis given to submissions that have the potential to impact the entire port industry.
The Port of Everett won first place in Environmental Practices (Large Port) for its pilot program in partnership with Jacobs Engineering and IGO Solutions, Decarbonization Analytics for Port Equipment (DAPE). The pilot program has the potential to change the way the entire port industry tracks emissions and plans operational efficiencies by providing real-time equipment monitoring in a customizable, cloud-based dashboard tailored to each port’s needs. The Port also won first place in the Financial Practices category for its creative partnership with the Snohomish County Treasurer to finance its Millwright Loop Roads Project, which unlocked 10 acres for development in the emerging Millwright District of Waterfront Place.
“I am incredibly proud of our team for finding innovative and collaborative ways to address challenges that every port in the industry faces,” said Port of Everett Executive Director/CEO Lisa Lefeber said. “Both of these awards reflect the high caliber of work that our team does to make the Port of Everett an industry leader, from our working waterfront at the international Seaport to our destination waterfront at Waterfront Place.”
Excellence in Environmental Practices (Large Port) – First-of-its-Kind Real-Time Emissions Monitoring Platform
The Port’s partnership with Jacobs and IGO Solutions to produce the DAPE pilot program began in April 2025. DAPE was initiated in direct response to a growing need for accurate, real-time emissions data to meet emerging federal and state greenhouse gas (GHG) regulations and to more accurately benchmark emissions to develop targeted plans for future decarbonization projects.
As the maritime industry faces increasing regulations and a global movement toward decarbonization, traditional emission estimation methods — based on static, linear models — are predicted to become inadequate. These simplified estimation techniques, while providing a common baseline and repeatable methodology, are not very granular and often overlook key operational variables such as idle time, cargo load, and equipment variability across fleets, which are daily realities in port operations nationwide and have significant effects on cargo-handling equipment emissions.
To address this data gap, the Port, in partnership with Jacobs Engineering and IGO Solutions, deployed PEMS and telematic devices on several assets at the Port’s international Seaport to determine how these variables, not accounted for in traditional emission inventory methodologies, affect emissions. DAPE represents a transformative advancement in port operations and environmental management.
Unlike traditional systems that rely on estimated or averaged emissions, DAPE merges real-time PEMS data with telematics to offer a live snapshot in an easy-to-read and customizable cloud-based dashboard that shows both equipment performance and environmental impact. The pilot launched in January 2025 and was completed in April 2025 — setting an impressive benchmark for deployment speed in port technology innovation. DAPE also earned an “Achievement” award in the AAPA Lighthouse Award Technology category, which recognizes compelling projects that fall just short of the top prize.
“As the old adage goes, you can’t manage what you can’t measure,” said Erik Gerking, Chief of Planning & Environment at the Port of Everett. “Through our partnership with Jacobs and IGO Solutions, we’ve developed groundbreaking data acquisition and analytics technology for cargo-handling equipment that identifies opportunities to increase efficiency, improve long-range port planning, and enhance emissions tracking. DAPE provides real-time performance data directly from the equipment into an analytics platform, allowing the Port to monitor a wide range of operational metrics — including mapping and utilization trends. Its versatility, ease of installation, and scalability make DAPE a powerful tool for advancing both operational efficiency and environmental stewardship across ports of all sizes.”
“Jacobs and IGO Solutions are honored to be recognized along with the Port of Everett with two AAPA Lighthouse Awards for the Data Analytics for Port Equipment (DAPE) pilot,” said Jacobs Vice President and Director Ports & Maritime – U.S. West Aldo Ferrufino. “This groundbreaking industry initiative is redefining how ports monitor and optimize cargo-handling equipment by leveraging a scalable, cloud-based platform that delivers real-time insights. At the Port of Everett, DAPE is already enhancing visibility, streamlining decision-making, and improving equipment performance — a significant step toward building smarter, greener, and more resilient port operations.”
Excellence in Financial Practices – Millwright Loop Roads Project Financing Partnership with Snohomish County Treasurer
The Port of Everett is currently in its most transformational era in its 100-year-plus history with its billion-dollar Waterfront Place development that promises to transform its uplands into Snohomish County’s destination waterfront. When the Port faced a major financial hurdle to launching the second and largest phase of Waterfront Place — the Millwright District — it didn’t let traditional funding constraints stop the project. Instead, it found a bold solution that also paved the way for future economic development projects in Snohomish County.
The Port partnered with the Snohomish County Treasurer’s Office to create a first-of-its-kind investment that allowed the Port to secure $15 million in funding. It was the first investment of the Treasurer’s Office’s Community Investment Program into a port district.
As a result, the Port was able to finance a $13 million public infrastructure project that was completed in early 2025, unlocking 10 acres of shovel-ready land for private development to begin in the Millwright District of Waterfront Place.
This unique partnership serves as a powerful example of creative problem-solving in public finance to move economic development forward and is a model that’s already being expanded to support other community-focused projects across Snohomish County.
The project has profound impacts for the Port of Everett, Snohomish County, and the port industry at large. For the Port, the project paved the way for the Millwright Loop Roads infrastructure project — on time and on budget. As a result, 10 acres of waterfront land were unlocked for private development, directly enabling residential, commercial, and office space investment and the Port can move into the next phase of development at Waterfront Place. Over the long term, the project catalyzes over $1 billion in private/public investment through the full build-out of Waterfront Place, supporting 2,100 jobs and generating $8.6 million annually in taxes at full build-out.
“Public-private partnerships that generate financial synergies have created jobs and economic opportunities that would otherwise not be available,” Snohomish County Treasurer Brian Sullivan said. “I am proud of the Port of Everett and happy that the Snohomish County Treasury played a key role in the Millwright Road project.”
Honorable Mention – PORTS Public Relations Campaign
The Port of Everett public relations campaign, PORTS, earned a nod from the AAPA Lighthouse Awards committee with an “Achievement” award. Using a memorable acronym and play on words to reflect five mission pillars — People, Opportunity, Recreation, Transportation, and Sustainability — the campaign created vibrant imagery and bite-sized messaging to help explain the important work of the Port of Everett and ports statewide to support economic opportunity, create jobs, and enhance the quality of life for Port District residents and visitors through sustainability efforts and public access.
About the Port of Everett
The Port of Everett is a special-purpose district tasked with economic development. Through its international seaport, public marina and real estate development, the Port of Everett brings jobs, tax base, business and tourism to our community and region. The Port is a committed steward of the environment and waterfront. Port activities support more than 40,000 jobs in the surrounding community and contribute $433 million in state and local taxes. Learn more at www.portofeverett.com.
Source: Port of Everett
Author: Lynnwood Times Staff
