Abstract
The growth of foreign trade and the potential environmental impact of ports have spurred research on the role of environmental issues in the competitiveness of ports. A literature review using ProKnow-C as an intervention tool is carried out here, to provide an overview on this important issue. We have analyzed a portfolio of 38 scientific papers to identify key contributions to the topic. The study found that the evaluation of environmental performance in ports is an evolving concept that considers performance management, sustainability, and the green ports trend. The literature map highlights the opportunities for further research in the areas of regulation, environmental standards, accountability, and development of tools such as Eco-Management and Audit Scheme, Port Environmental Review System, and ISO 14001. Our research agenda includes insights for port management, including an understanding of the role of employees in environmental management practices and processes, and the need for a holistic approach to ensure sustainable development. The study's findings will facilitate researchers and port managers by presenting a meaningful perspective on the topic, as well as identifying opportunities for further research and development in the environmental management in ports.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anne, O., V. Burskyte, Z. Stasiskiene, and A. Balciunas. 2015. The influence of the environmental management system on the environmental impact of seaport companies during an economic crisis: Lithuanian case study. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 22 (2): 1072–1084. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3410-x. ([9]).
Antão, P., M. Calderón, M. Puig, A. Michail, C. Wooldridge, and R.M. Darbra. 2016. Identification of occupational health, safety, security (OHSS) and environmental performance indicators in port areas. Safety Science 85: 266–275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2015.12.031. ([11]).
Aregall, M.G., R. Bergqvist, and J. Monios. 2018. A global review of the hinterland dimension of green port strategies. Transportation Research Part d: Transport and Environment 59: 23–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2017.12.013. ([17]).
Bergmas, A., F. Vandermoere, and I. Loots. 2014. Co-producing sustainability indicators for the port of Antwerp: How sustainability reporting creates new discursive spaces for concern and mobilisation. ESSACHESS-Journal for Communication Studies 7 (1): 13. ([33]).
Burskyte, V., O. Belous, and Z. Stasiskiene. 2011. Sustainable development of deep-water seaport: The case of Lithuania. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 18 (5): 716–726. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-010-0415-y. ([6]).
Castelló-Taliani, E., S. Giralt Escobar, and F.S. da Rosa. 2021. Environmental disclosure: Study on efficiency and alignment with environmental priorities of Spanish ports. Sustainability 13 (4): 1791. ([23]).
Chiu, R.H., L.H. Lin, and S.C. Ting. 2014. Evaluation of green port factors and performance: A fuzzy AHP analysis. Mathematical Problems in Engineering. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/802976. ([29]).
Creswell, J.W., and J.D. Creswell. 2017. Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Darbra, R.M., A. Ronza, J. Casal, T.A. Stojanovic, and C. Wooldridge. 2004. The self diagnosis method: A new methodology to assess environmental management in sea ports. Marine Pollution Bulletin 48 (5–6): 420–428. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2003.10.023. ([2]).
Darbra, R.M., N. Pittam, K.A. Royston, J.P. Darbra, and H. Journee. 2009. Survey on environmental monitoring requirements of European ports. Journal of Environmental Management 90 (3): 1396–1403. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2008.08.010. ([4]).
Di Vaio, A., L. Varriale, and L. Trujillo. 2019. Management control systems in port waste management: Evidence from Italy. Utilities Policy 56: 127–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jup.2018.12.001. ([18]).
Dong, G., J. Zhu, J. Li, H. Wang, and Y. Gajpal. 2019. Evaluating the environmental performance and operational efficiency of container ports: An application to the maritime silk road. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 16 (12): 2226. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16122226. ([19]).
Durán, C., F. Palominos, R. Carrasco, and E. Carrillo. 2021. Influence of strategic interrelationships and decision-making in Chilean port networks on their degree of sustainability. Sustainability 13 (7): 3959. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13073959. ([38]).
Eswari, K., and K. Yogeswari. 2019. Study of sustainable indicators for port environment in Indian context. Journal of Green Engineering 9: 224–244 ([35]).
Gray, D.E. 2013. Doing research in the real world. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Hua, C., J. Chen, Z. Wan, L. Xu, Y. Bai, T. Zheng, and Y. Fei. 2020. Evaluation and governance of green development practice of port: The sea port case of China. Journal of Cleaner Production 249: 119434. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119434.
Huang, Y., Y. Mamatok, and C. Jin. 2021. Decision-making instruments for container seaport sustainable development: Management platform and system dynamics model. Environment Systems and Decisions 41 (2): 212–226. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10669-020-09796-7. ([24]).
Klopott, M. 2013. Restructuring of environmental management in Baltic ports: Case of Poland. Maritime Policy & Management 40 (5): 439–450. https://doi.org/10.1080/03088839.2013.798440. ([7]).
Kreuzberg, F., and E.F.R. Vicente. 2019. Para onde estamos caminhando? Uma análise das pesquisas em governança corporativa. Revista De Administração Contemporânea 23: 43–66. https://doi.org/10.1590/1982-7849rac2019170381.
Lacerda, R.T.D.O., L. Ensslin, and S.R. Ensslin. 2012. Uma análise bibliométrica da literatura sobre estratégia e avaliação de desempenho. Gestão & Produção 19: 59–78. https://doi.org/10.1590/S0104-530X2012000100005.
Lawer, E.T. 2021. Transnational networks for the ’greening’of ports: Learning from best practice? GeoJournal 86 (2): 743–763. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-019-10096-0. ([32]).
Lim, S., S. Pettit, W. Abouarghoub, and A. Beresford. 2019. Port sustainability and performance: A systematic literature review. Transportation Research Part d: Transport and Environment 72: 47–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2019.04.009. ([36]).
Maciel, J.N., J.J.G. Ledesma, and O.H.A. Junior. 2021. Forecasting solar power output generation: A systematic review with the Proknow-C. IEEE Latin America Transactions 19 (4): 612–624. https://doi.org/10.1109/TLA.2021.9448544.
Oh, H., S.W. Lee, and Y.J. Seo. 2018. The evaluation of seaport sustainability: The case of South Korea. Ocean & Coastal Management 161: 50–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2018.04.028. ([34]).
Pash, H.S., T. Ebadi, A. Pourahmadi, and Y.R. Parhizkar. 2017. Analysis of most important indices in environmental impacts assessment of ports. Civil Engineering Journal 3 (10): 868–880. https://doi.org/10.28991/cej-030921. ([13]).
Pavlic, B., F. Cepak, B. Sucic, M. Peckaj, and B. Kandus. 2014. Sustainable port infrastructure, practical implementation of the green port concept. Thermal Science 18 (3): 935–948. https://doi.org/10.2298/TSCI1403935P. ([30]).
Peris-Mora, E., J.D. Orejas, A. Subirats, S. Ibáñez, and P. Alvarez. 2005. Development of a system of indicators for sustainable port management. Marine Pollution Bulletin 50 (12): 1649–1660. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2005.06.048. ([3]).
Puig, M., C. Wooldridge, and R.M. Darbra. 2014. Identification and selection of environmental performance indicators for sustainable port development. Marine Pollution Bulletin 81 (1): 124–130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.02.006. ([8]).
Puig, M., C. Wooldridge, A. Michail, and R.M. Darbra. 2015. Current status and trends of the environmental performance in European ports. Environmental Science & Policy 48: 57–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2014.12.004. ([10]).
Puig, M., A. Michail, C. Wooldridge, and R.M. Darbra. 2017. Benchmark dynamics in the environmental performance of ports. Marine Pollution Bulletin 121 (1–2): 111–119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.05.021. ([14]).
Puig, M., A. Pla, X. Seguí, and R.M. Darbra. 2017b. Tool for the identification and implementation of Environmental Indicators in Ports (TEIP). Ocean & Coastal Management 140: 34–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2017.02.017. ([15]).
Puig, M., S. Raptis, C. Wooldridge, and R.M. Darbra. 2020a. Performance trends of environmental management in European ports. Marine Pollution Bulletin 160: 111686. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111686. ([21]).
Richardson, R.J. 1999. Social research: Methods and techniques. São Paulo: Atlas.
Rodrigues, V., M. Russo, S. Sorte, J. Reis, K. Oliveira, A.L. Dionísio, and e Lopes, M. 2021. Harmonizing sustainability assessment in seaports: A common framework for reporting environmental performance indicators. Ocean & Coastal Management 202: 105514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2020.105514. ([25]).
Rodrigues, K. T.; Ensslin, S. R.; Dutra, A (2020). Avaliação da movimentação de cargas em portos: uma revisão de literatura. 3rd edition of the International Conference of Applied Business and Management (ICABM 2020), Cidade do Porto, Portugal.
Roos, E.C., and F.J.K. Neto. 2017. Tools for evaluating environmental performance at Brazilian public ports: Analysis and proposal. Marine Pollution Bulletin 115 (1–2): 211–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.12.015. ([16]).
Saengsupavanich, C., N. Coowanitwong, W.G. Gallardo, and C. Lertsuchatavanich. 2009. Environmental performance evaluation of an industrial port and estate: ISO14001, port state control-derived indicators. Journal of Cleaner Production 17 (2): 154–161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2008.04.001. ([5]).
Sapry, H.R., F.H. Umar, A.R. Ahmad, and S. Baskaran. 2020. Investigating implementation of green port initiative at Johor port berhad. International Journal of Advanced Trends in Computer Science and Engineering 9 (1): 1 ([31]).
Široka, M., S. Piličić, T. Milošević, I. Lacalle, and L. Traven. 2021. A novel approach for assessing the ports’ environmental impacts in real time–The IoT based port environmental index. Ecological Indicators 120: 106949. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106949. ([26]).
Sislian, L., A. Jaegler, and P. Cariou. 2016. A literature review on port sustainability and ocean’s carrier network problem. Research in Transportation Business & Management 19: 19–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rtbm.2016.03.005. ([12]).
Staedele, A.E., S.R. Ensslin, and F.A. Forcellini. 2019. Knowledge building about performance evaluation in lean production: An investigation on international scientific research. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMTM-12-2017-0277.
Stein, M., and M. Acciaro. 2020. Value creation through corporate sustainability in the port sector: A structured literature analysis. Sustainability 12 (14): 5504. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12145504. ([37]).
Taljaard, S., J.H. Slinger, S. Arabi, S.P. Weerts, and H. Vreugdenhil. 2021. The natural environment in port development: A ’green handbrake’or an equal partner? Ocean & Coastal Management 199: 105390. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2020.105390. ([27]).
Thiel, G.G., S.R. Ensslin, and L. Ensslin. 2017. Street lighting management and performance evaluation: Opportunities and challenges. Lex Localis 15 (2): 303. https://doi.org/10.4335/15.2.303-328(2017).
Vega-Muñoz, A., G. Salazar-Sepulveda, J.F. Espinosa-Cristia, and J. Sanhueza-Vergara. 2021. How to measure environmental performance in ports. Sustainability 13 (7): 4035. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13074035. ([28]).
Voltolini, R., K. Vasconcelos, M. Borsato, and M. Peruzzini. 2019. Product development cost estimation through ontological models–a literature review. Journal of Management Analytics 6 (2): 209–229. https://doi.org/10.1080/23270012.2019.1598899.
Wooldridge, C.F., C. McMullen, and V. Howe. 1999. Environmental management of ports and harbours: Implementation of policy through scientific monitoring. Marine Policy 23 (4–5): 413–425. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0308-597X(98)00055-4. ([1]).
Zhen, L., D. Zhuge, L. Murong, R. Yan, and S. Wang. 2019. Operation management of green ports and shipping networks: Overview and research opportunities. Frontiers of Engineering Management 6 (2): 152–162. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42524-019-0027-2. ([20]).
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the Brazilian governmental agencies CAPES and CNPq for financial assistance.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Rodrigues, K.T., Ensslin, S.R. Environmental performance evaluation in ports: a literature review and future research guidelines. Marit Econ Logist (2023). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41278-023-00268-8
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41278-023-00268-8