This paper investigates the current status and trends over time in the environmental performance of European ports. The research is based on the provision of data from 79 European ports on issues related to their environmental management, environmental priorities and current environmental monitoring practices. This study updates previous environmental reviews, so that the trends over time are drawn. For instance, 90% of respondent ports stated that they have an environmental policy and 94% of ports have designated environmental personnel. The percentage of ports that have an Environmental Management System has increased by +33% in the last 9 years. Air quality, port waste and energy consumption emerged as the three major environmental priorities of the European port sector in 2013. The research also reveals the diversity amongst European ports in terms of size and physical surroundings. Some examples are presented on specific initiatives carried out by sector organisations about the Top-10 port priority issues. The future expectations of European ports on data collection and reporting are describedPeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

This paper aims at defining a set of indicators to be applied in port areas on the topics of Occupational Health, Safety, Security (OHSS) and Environment. The techniques used to identify and select the OHSS indicators involved two different approaches: (i) a bottom-up method, where an extended and in-depth analysis was performed in order to assess the current indicators applied by ports and, (ii) a top-down approach, mainly based on legislation and regulations as well as the feedback from stakeholders of the port and shipping industry. The bottom-up approach analysed a total number of 526 ports, allowing the identification of the most frequent indicators used by them. The top-down approach collected valuable opinions and suggestions from the port community members. A consensus between the results obtained in the two approaches was reached in order to provide ports with the most adequate and implementable indicators. The Environmental Performance Indicators (EPIs) have been selected based on the results of previous research projects plus further discussions with port stakeholders. The information provided in this paper can be considered as a preliminary attempt to promote port performance measurement in these four sensitive fieldsPeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

This research focusses on assessing the environmental performance of European Ports based on a wide representation of EcoPorts members. The data is extracted from the Self-Diagnosis Method (SDM), a concise checklist against which port managers can self-assess the environmental management of their port in relation to the performance of the EcoPorts membership. A total number of 97 ports from 18 different European Maritime States contributed to this evaluation. They have answered questions related to the main components of internationally recognized Environmental Management System (EMS) standards. Similar periodic assessments have been carried out since 2013, allowing for the identification of benchmark performance. The geographical representation and characteristics of the participating ports are given along with the perceived ranking of priority environmental issues based on regular reviews. Air quality has been the top environmental priority for many years, followed by climate change, which has risen rapidly to the second position. Most of the ports have an environmental policy in place (96%) and a compilation of an inventory of significant environmental aspects (92%). Transparency is also very important to ports, with 91% of ports communicating their environmental policy to stakeholders, and 86% of ports making it publicly available on their website. Around 80% of ports have set up an environmental monitoring program, with port waste being the most monitored issue. With regard to services to shipping, more than half of the responding ports are offering on shore power supply (OPS), and one third of them have made LNG bunkering available. In parallel, an increasing number of ports compared with previous exercises (57%) provide differentiated dues for ships that go beyond regulatory standards, with air emissions, waste and climate change being the main target of these discounts. In general, trends over the years have shown a clear improvement of the environmental port performance.

This paper analyses the 2016 environmental benchmark performance of the port sector, based on a wide representation of EcoPorts members. This is the fifth time that this study has been conducted as an initiative of the European Sea Ports Organisation (ESPO). The data and results are derived from the Self-Diagnosis Method (SDM), a concise checklist against which port managers can self-assess the environmental management of their port in relation to the performance of the EcoPorts membership. The SDM tool was developed in the framework of the ECOPORTS project (2002-2005) and it is managed by ESPO. A total number of 91 ports from 20 different European Maritime States contributed to this evaluation. The main results are that air quality remains as the top environmental priority of the respondent ports, followed by energy consumption and noise. In terms of environmental management, the study confirms that key components are commonly implemented in the majority of European ports. 94% of contributing ports have a designated environmental manager, 92% own an environmental policy and 82% implement an environmental monitoring program. Waste is identified as the most monitored issue in ports (80%), followed by energy consumption (73%) and water quality (70%).

A new tool to assist port authorities in identifying aspects and in assessing their significance (TEAP) has been developed. The present research demonstrates that although there is a high percentage of European ports that have already identified their Significant Environmental Aspects (SEA), most of these ports do not use any standardized method. This suggests that some of the procedures used may not necessarily be science-based, systematic in approach or appropriate for the purpose of implementing effective environmental management. For the port sector as a whole, where the free-exchange of environmental information and experience is an established policy of the European Sea Ports Organization's (ESPO) and the EcoPorts Network, developing a tool to assist ports in identifying SEAs can be very useful. This method has been developed in the framework of the PERSEUS research project, after analysing the strengths, weaknesses and challenges of the existing techniques, the recommendations from the Environmental Management System (EMS) standards and the advice of specialists. This is a computer-based tool (www.eports.cat) that provides a quick calculation and result, and it is designed to be as user-friendly as possible in order to facilitate its completion by the user (i.e. port environmental manager). This methodology comprises two main steps, firstly the identification of the major environmental aspects that may be generated in a port, and secondly, assessing their significance. This tool can be applied to any type of port but it provides specific results for each one. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author’s final draft