Development of a system of indicators for sustainable port management

Abstract

The 1998 project ECOPORT, “Towards A Sustainable Transport Network”, developed by the Valencia Port Authority (VPA), established the bases for implementing an Environmental Management System (EMS) in industrial harbours. The use of data and information shall always be required to develop an efficient EMS. The objective of the present research (INDAPORT) study is to propose a system of sustainable environmental management indicators to be used by any port authorities. All activities performed within a port area are analysed for any potential environmental impacts and risks.

An environmental analysis of port activities has been carried out with the objective of designing the indicators system. Twenty-one corresponding activities have been identified for large industrial ports. Subsequently, the same methodology developed to date will be later applied to other Spanish and European ports. The study has been developed by using an original system and a methodology, which simultaneously use stage diagrams and systemic models (material and energy flow charts). Multi-criteria analysis techniques were used to evaluate potential impacts (identification of factors and evaluation of impacts).

Introduction

Over recent decades maritime incidents have featured among the environmental disasters that have caused most social alarm. These disasters have included spills involving hydrocarbons, toxic substances and shipwrecks. Although sea transport may be globally considered as one of the most environmentally innocuous forms of transport, the magnitude of its activity – large ports, large vessels – makes port activity subject to special precautions to ensure that it adheres to sustainable development conditions. Port policy has a strategic nature, and the construction of large ports is either carried out by state initiative or is state-controlled in the majority of countries. However, the ports operation is usually subject to the highest competitive market rules. Several initiatives have been taken in the area of marine transport and in port activities related with environmental protection. In 1987 the Foundation European pour l’Education Environmental (FEEE), supported by the European Commission, developed the Blue Flag Project within the “European Environmental Year” to implement an environmental management, an eco-label system, and the management of both beaches and marinas. This was an interesting initiative which could be considered as a precedent to both the eco-audit and eco-label systems (FEE, 2005). In 1994, the European Sea Ports Organization created an Environmental Conduct Code for Industrial Ports (Goulielmos, 2000). In 1997, the Amsterdam Port Authority started the Project ECO INFORMATION (Euromagazine, 2003), and in the same year, Rotterdam port began the GREEN AWARD System with the same objective (Green Award, 2001). Since 1997, the Valencia Port Authority (VPA) in Spain has been developing the project ECOPORT (ECOPORT Valencia, 2000) with a view to establishing procedures to implement the Eco-Audit European regulation 1836/1893 in European harbours. The initiative was supported by the European Commission LIFE projects. INDAPORT (IPEC, 2005) has since been initiated (2002–2004) to establish systems of indicators in order to implement a sustainable environmental ports management. The ECOPORTS FOUNDATION finally started its activitties in 2003. In September 2003, ESPO published the new Code of Practice recommending specific environmental practices to improve the environmental ports performance (Darbra et al., 2004).

The European Union Regulation 1836/1893 was enacted in 1993. Industrial sector companies were invited to implement an EMS based on eco-auditing (Environmental Management Auditing Scheme, EMAS) to be included in one European registry. Port installations were excluded from this invitation because they were not industrial companies in the strictest sense. Article 4 of this Regulation only allowed for the possibility of implementing an experimental system of environmental management and of accessing an informal “B-list”. ISO Standard 14001 of 1996 opened the door to EMS implementation for all “organisations” which heightened expectations, albeit without the institutional support that the European Regulation afforded. The complete review and renewal of the Regulation, now known as 671/2001 (EMAS II), has avoided this limitation by allowing any organisation to be included in the list, and it is implicitly backed by ISO Standard 14001. Indeed nowadays in Europe the ISO 14000 standard is considered to be a prerequisite in the certification process enabling organisations to obtain an EMAS.

The 1998 project ECOPORT (“Towards A Sustainable Transport Network”) was led by the Port of Valencia through the cooperation between Valencia Polytechnic University and the IPEC Foundation (Instituto Portuario de Estudios de Investigación); the project was supported by the European Commission LIFE programme. This project established the bases for implementing one EMS based on the European Regulation 1836/1893, which was then in force. Its objective was to create the basic conditions for sustainable European port development and management in accordance with this Regulation. After the EMS had been implemented in the port environment itself, it was necessary to establish the environmental performance control mechanisms which would in turn determine the status and changes of the port environment.

The objective of the project INDAPORT, which manages the research described in the present document, was to design a system of sustainable environmental management indicators for the port authorities to aid the assessment and minimisation of environmental risks. The study, proposal and implementation were carried out by using the Port of Valencia as a base in the first place, with the intention to them being subsequently extended to other Spanish and European ports.