The relationship between ports and energy markets is undergoing a transition in their functions as suppliers, consumers, and energy processors. Environmental factors increasingly force the maritime sector to reduce its carbon footprint and improve energy efficiency. Governing the maritime sector’s environmental performance requires leveling decarbonization through integration with energy supply chains and rethinking green strategies and environmental sustainability. This paper highlights that a port’s energy management system can be an example of supply–demand equalizing sustainable alternative energy sources. Such systems engage more profoundly within the energy value chain by assessing green and environmental indicators in port operations, strategies, and investments. This manuscript investigates the challenges in ports’ operations, strategies, and investments, considering their energy transition and decarbonization. Therefore, this research conducted a qualitative study on ports’ energy efficiency and greening using an in-depth interview method in three seaports in the Adriatic, Baltic, and Black Sea basins. The paper proposes a framework for analyzing green variables in the ports’ operations, strategies, and investments to improve their environmental performance. The framework examines a set of green variables, researching their cause-and-effect relationship, enabling testing and evaluation of the determined relationships, and identifying asynchrony in the balanced development of green investments and energy efficiency.

One of the objectives of European Union policy, as well as the assumptions of cooperation as part of United Nations, is to ensure sustainable development. The gradual decarbonisation of the economy is a significant element in this case. This is particularly important in transport, including maritime transport. That is why the concept of Green Ports is so important. It contains various infrastructure solutions that maximize the benefits of maritime transport while minimizing environmental damage. However, the term Green Ports is defined in the literature it is difficult to have a clear definition, a formula that defines the term and there is still a place for scientific research in this area. The purpose of the research is to analyze the assumptions of the Green Ports concept in economic terms, but also in legal terms. The authors want to focus on Internet infrastructure as a link in reducing the carbon footprint in maritime transport. For this purpose, they studied the carbon footprint generated by the websites of selected seaports (seaports considered by the Transport and Environment report (https://www.transportenvironment.org/discover/port-carbon-emissions-ranking/) the most polluting European ports and ports considered by the Leading Maritime Cities 2022 report to be the most technologically advanced (DNV, Menon Economics, 2022 https://www.dnv.com/maritime/publications/leading-maritime-cities-of-the-world-2022.html). Both at the United Nations and at the level of organizations of a regional nature (such as the European Union), the use of new technologies is closely linked to economic development or social progress. For example, access to the Internet has been recognized by the United Nations General Assembly as a human right. This is because it has been recognized that the Internet provides an opportunity to realize other rights, such as freedom of expression, the right to information, and education. However, there are also risks associated with the use of new technologies, if only in terms of the right to privacy, intellectual property, security or a clean environment. According to the authors, far less attention is paid to the risks than to the benefits. That’s why it’s worth building awareness to prevent harm rather than repair it. An important aspect of the research is to show that websites consume large amounts of energy. In addition, they have a negative impact on the environment, influencing the production of a significant amount of carbon dioxide. The main finding from the empirical part is that there is a certain relationship between the generation of CO₂ by the ports and the “cleanliness” of their websites.

Managing logistics processes from an environmental perspective is increasingly important in international supply chains. Essential elements of global logistics are supply chains based on intermodal logistic units. The specificity of this type of shipment, which often involves several modes of transport, requires a precise definition of model boundaries and identification of specific factors determining the level of carbon footprint. This research is focused on identifying the specific emissivity level of each intermodal transport stage. The conducted study refers to the international emission evaluation guidelines gathered in the UN GHG Protocol. The carbon footprint (CF) evaluation commenced during the case study indicated the need to consider the specificity of the assigned modes of transport. Hence selected emission factors such as US DEFRA, US EPA, KOBiZE and UNFCCC were engaged for better carbon footprint evaluation related to each stage of the intermodal transport process. In the summary part, the environmental efficiency level of each mode of transport has been compared. The sea freight mode was indicated as the most efficient in terms of overall kg*eCO₂ per kilometre. The study shows that intermodal maritime transport, taking into account the weight of the goods transported and the distance, is approximately 68% more efficient than road transport. However, it must be mentioned that to identify the differences comprehensively, transshipment operations must also be taken into account in each scenario. Further research steps and recommendations have been presented in the last section of this research.