Governors and Premiers Announce Corporate 100% Fish Pledge, Launch Regional Trees Initiative and Celebrate 40 Years of Collaboration at Summit

CLEVELAND, October 17, 2023 (Newswire.com) - The region’s governors and premiers gathered in Cleveland Oct. 13-15 for its 2023 Leadership Summit that celebrated 40 years of working together through the Conference of Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers (GSGP). They announced the continued expansion of GSGP’s 100% fish initiative with a corporate pledge. They also planted a tree to launch the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Trees Initiative, a regional initiative with a goal of planting 250 million trees by 2033, and other efforts to grow the region’s $6 trillion economy. This initiative builds on the tree-planting goals several Great Lakes St. Lawrence states and provinces have already implemented. 

As Chair and Vice Chair, respectively, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine hosted the Summit and were joined by Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and senior officials representing the other governors and premiers. 

Notable announcements from the Summit include: 

• Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer being selected to serve as the next GSGP chair, starting in January 2024.
• Quebec being named as the location for the 2025 Leadership Summit.
• Fourteen companies signing a pledge committing to productively using 100% of each commercially caught fish by 2025.
• Committing to planting 250 million trees in the region by 2033.
• Launching the Great Lakes Green Events program that encourages organizations hosting gatherings to increase their sustainability. 
• Celebrating another strong Great Lakes cruise season, including announcing 170,000 cruise passenger traffic, up 13% from last season, 800 port visits generating an estimated US$235 million in economic impact across the international Great Lakes.
• Releasing three reports aimed at accelerating the decarbonization of the region’s commercial shipping, including a regional strategy exploring future energy options for shipping partners; strategies to use biofuels to achieve regional emissions reduction goals; an annual report on ship emissions in the Great Lakes St. Lawrence
• Announcing three trade missions: Rebuild Ukraine Exhibition and Poland, Vietnam and the Philippines and Brazil and Chile.
• Celebrating 40 years of the organization with a special video from two former governors who helped found the organization: James Blanchard from Michigan and Richard Celeste from Ohio. 
• Adopting a resolution regarding lead that calls for continued collaboration to develop best practices and identify future funding and support needs. 

Source: Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors and Premiers