European port trends on environmental issues

This paper presents the current environmental performance of the European Port Sector, based on the 2018 results of a wide representation of EcoPorts members (90 ports). All the information presented in this research comes from aggregate data of the Self-Diagnosis Method (SDM), a concise checklist against which ports can self-assess their environmental management and compare it to the performance of the EU port sector. The SDM tool is currently managed by the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO), which is the responsible body for this study. A set of environmental performance indicators have been analysed and their results have been discussed in this research. These key environmental indicators are categorized in: i) Environmental Management Indicators summarized in the Environmental Management Index; ii) Environmental Monitoring Indicators; iii) Top 10 Environmental Priorities for the port, and iv) Indicators on Services to Shipping offered by the port authority in order to facilitate a greener shipping. In addition to these indicators, selected benchmark performance elements are also introduced on additional topics, such as environmental communication, training or emergency planning. Moreover, the 2018 results have been compared with data on previous years, allowing the analysis of trends over time of the European port sector environmental performance.