IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/josatr/v6y2021i1d10.1186_s41072-021-00101-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Revisiting port sustainability as a foundation for the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs)

Author

Listed:
  • Anas S. Alamoush

    (World Maritime University)

  • Fabio Ballini

    (World Maritime University)

  • Aykut I. Ölçer

    (World Maritime University)

Abstract

Port sustainability studies are increasing rapidly and are skewed toward environmental aspects, while at the same time their results are fragmented, making it difficult to collectively assess conclusions. This study, therefore, aims at building a framework which categorises port actions, measures, and implementation schemes (policy tools to improve the uptake), utilising the critical literature review method. Additionally, linkage of port sustainability to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) is highlighted. Port sustainability includes internal (port side) and external (ships and land transport) actions and measures. The study results form 16 homogeneous and interconnected sustainability categories, including a non-exhaustive list of operationalising measures, encompassing the three dimensions of sustainability (environment, economy and society) while implementation schemes are divided into four groups. Considering that ports are under scrutiny and perceiving growing pressure to improve their sustainable pathways, for example by addressing climate change and energy consumption, the identified ports’ sustainability actions and measures, including the linkage with the UN SDGs, are overarching and multidimensional and seen as a step in achieving far-reaching sustainable implementation. The study’s practical implications guide port policymakers and industry practitioners to go beyond the low hanging fruit (customary practices), and enable them to take reliable decisions for broader sustainability implementation. Additionally, the identified research implications stimulate further academic discussions.

Suggested Citation

  • Anas S. Alamoush & Fabio Ballini & Aykut I. Ölçer, 2021. "Revisiting port sustainability as a foundation for the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs)," Journal of Shipping and Trade, Springer, vol. 6(1), pages 1-40, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:josatr:v:6:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1186_s41072-021-00101-6
    DOI: 10.1186/s41072-021-00101-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1186/s41072-021-00101-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1186/s41072-021-00101-6?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Snyder, Hannah, 2019. "Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 333-339.
    2. Dalwon Kang & Sihyun Kim, 2017. "Conceptual Model Development of Sustainability Practices: The Case of Port Operations for Collaboration and Governance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-15, December.
    3. Villalba, Gara & Gemechu, Eskinder Demisse, 2011. "Estimating GHG emissions of marine ports--the case of Barcelona," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 1363-1368, March.
    4. Theo Notteboom & Larissa van der Lugt & Niels van Saase & Steve Sel & Kris Neyens, 2020. "The Role of Seaports in Green Supply Chain Management: Initiatives, Attitudes, and Perspectives in Rotterdam, Antwerp, North Sea Port, and Zeebrugge," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-23, February.
    5. Jasmine Siu Lee Lam & Theo Notteboom, 2014. "The Greening of Ports: A Comparison of Port Management Tools Used by Leading Ports in Asia and Europe," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(2), pages 169-189, March.
    6. Gibbs, David & Rigot-Muller, Patrick & Mangan, John & Lalwani, Chandra, 2014. "The role of sea ports in end-to-end maritime transport chain emissions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 337-348.
    7. Gimenez, Cristina & Sierra, Vicenta & Rodon, Juan, 2012. "Sustainable operations: Their impact on the triple bottom line," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(1), pages 149-159.
    8. Itf, 2018. "Reducing Shipping Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Lessons from Port-Based Incentives," International Transport Forum Policy Papers 48, OECD Publishing.
    9. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
    10. David Le Blanc & Clovis Freire & Marjo Vierrosc, 2017. "Mapping the linkages between oceans and other Sustainable Development Goals: A preliminary exploration," Working Papers 149, United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs.
    11. SangHyun Cheon & Arnold Maltz & Kevin Dooley, 2017. "The link between economic and environmental performance of the top 10 U.S. ports," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(2), pages 227-247, February.
    12. Michele Acciaro & Thierry Vanelslander & Christa Sys & Claudio Ferrari & Athena Roumboutsos & Genevieve Giuliano & Jasmine Siu Lee Lam & Seraphim Kapros, 2014. "Environmental sustainability in seaports: a framework for successful innovation," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(5), pages 480-500, September.
    13. SangHyun Cheon, 2017. "The Economic–Social Performance Relationships of Ports: Roles of Stakeholders and Organizational Tension," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(1), pages 50-62, January.
    14. Michael Stein & Michele Acciaro, 2020. "Value Creation through Corporate Sustainability in the Port Sector: A Structured Literature Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-17, July.
    15. John Dinwoodie & Sarah Tuck & Harriet Knowles & James Benhin & Mark Sansom, 2012. "Sustainable Development of Maritime Operations in Ports," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(2), pages 111-126, February.
    16. Asgari, Nasrin & Hassani, Ashkan & Jones, Dylan & Nguye, Huy Hoang, 2015. "Sustainability ranking of the UK major ports: Methodology and case study," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 19-39.
    17. Elina Jaakkola, 2020. "Designing conceptual articles: four approaches," AMS Review, Springer;Academy of Marketing Science, vol. 10(1), pages 18-26, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Peter J. Stavroulakis & Stratos Papadimitriou, 2022. "Total cost of ownership in shipping: a framework for sustainability," Journal of Shipping and Trade, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 1-14, December.
    2. Julius Brinken & Sebastian Trojahn & Fabian Behrendt, 2022. "Sufficiency, Consistency, and Efficiency as a Base for Systemizing Sustainability Measures in Food Supply Chains," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-18, May.
    3. Qi Zhou & Jun Chen & Shanqing Liu & Fengxiu Zhou & Huwei Wen, 2024. "Pollution Control and Well-Being in Rural Areas: A Study Based on Survey Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-16, February.
    4. Meysam Zamani & Ghazanfar Shahgholian & Arman Fathollahi & Amir Mosavi & Imre Felde, 2023. "Improving Interarea Mode Oscillation Damping in Multi-Machine Energy Systems through a Coordinated PSS and FACTS Controller Framework," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-17, November.
    5. Charalampos Platias & Dimitris Spyrou, 2023. "EU-Funded Energy-Related Projects for Sustainable Ports: Evidence from the Port of Piraeus," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-27, February.
    6. Teresa Abramowicz-Gerigk & Zbigniew Burciu & Miroslaw K. Gerigk & Jacek Jachowski, 2024. "Monitoring of Ship Operations in Seaport Areas in the Sustainable Development of Ocean–Land Connections," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-15, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Assunta Di Vaio & Luisa Varriale, 2018. "Management Innovation for Environmental Sustainability in Seaports: Managerial Accounting Instruments and Training for Competitive Green Ports beyond the Regulations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-35, March.
    2. Heilig, Leonard & Lalla-Ruiz, Eduardo & Voß, Stefan, 2017. "Multi-objective inter-terminal truck routing," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 178-202.
    3. Martínez-Moya, Julián & Vazquez-Paja, Barbara & Gimenez Maldonado, Jose Andrés, 2019. "Energy efficiency and CO2 emissions of port container terminal equipment: Evidence from the Port of Valencia," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 312-319.
    4. Theodore Styliadis & Jason Angelopoulos & Panagiota Leonardou & Petros Pallis, 2022. "Promoting Sustainability through Assessment and Measurement of Port Externalities: A Systematic Literature Review and Future Research Paths," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-20, July.
    5. Sung-Ho Shin & Oh Kyoung Kwon & Xiao Ruan & Prem Chhetri & Paul Tae-Woo Lee & Shahrooz Shahparvari, 2018. "Analyzing Sustainability Literature in Maritime Studies with Text Mining," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-19, September.
    6. Theo Notteboom & Jasmine Siu Lee Lam, 2018. "The Greening of Terminal Concessions in Seaports," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-17, September.
    7. Di Vaio, Assunta & Varriale, Luisa & Trujillo, Lourdes, 2019. "Management Control Systems in port waste management: Evidence from Italy," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 127-135.
    8. Iris, Çağatay & Lam, Jasmine Siu Lee, 2019. "A review of energy efficiency in ports: Operational strategies, technologies and energy management systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 170-182.
    9. Chun-Yu Lin & Gui-Lin Dai & Su Wang & Xiu-Mei Fu, 2022. "The Evolution of Green Port Research: A Knowledge Mapping Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-25, September.
    10. Anas S. Alamoush & Dimitrios Dalaklis & Fabio Ballini & Aykut I. Ölcer, 2023. "Consolidating Port Decarbonisation Implementation: Concept, Pathways, Barriers, Solutions, and Opportunities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-28, September.
    11. Izabela Kotowska & Marta Mańkowska & Michał Pluciński, 2018. "Inland Shipping to Serve the Hinterland: The Challenge for Seaport Authorities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-17, September.
    12. Chin-Shan Lu & Kuo-Chung Shang & Chi-Chang Lin, 2016. "Examining sustainability performance at ports: port managers’ perspectives on developing sustainable supply chains," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(8), pages 909-927, November.
    13. Quintano, Claudio & Mazzocchi, Paolo & Rocca, Antonella, 2021. "Evaluation of the eco-efficiency of territorial districts with seaport economic activities," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    14. Laima Gerlitz & Christopher Meyer, 2021. "Small and Medium-Sized Ports in the TEN-T Network and Nexus of Europe’s Twin Transition: The Way towards Sustainable and Digital Port Service Ecosystems," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-24, April.
    15. Elżbieta Szaruga & Zuzanna Kłos-Adamkiewicz & Agnieszka Gozdek & Elżbieta Załoga, 2021. "Linkages between Energy Delivery and Economic Growth from the Point of View of Sustainable Development and Seaports," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-61, July.
    16. Sofia Agostinelli & Mehdi Neshat & Meysam Majidi Nezhad & Giuseppe Piras & Davide Astiaso Garcia, 2022. "Integrating Renewable Energy Sources in Italian Port Areas towards Renewable Energy Communities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-18, October.
    17. Michael Stein & Michele Acciaro, 2020. "Value Creation through Corporate Sustainability in the Port Sector: A Structured Literature Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-17, July.
    18. Claudia Durán & Fredi Palominos & Raúl Carrasco & Eduardo Carrillo, 2021. "Influence of Strategic Interrelationships and Decision-Making in Chilean Port Networks on Their Degree of Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-17, April.
    19. Harlina Suzana Jaafar & Mona Leza Abd Aziz & Muhammad Razif Ahmad & Nasruddin Faisol, 2021. "Creating Innovation in Achieving Sustainability: Halal-Friendly Sustainable Port," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-21, December.
    20. Sofia Agostinelli & Fabrizio Cumo & Meysam Majidi Nezhad & Giuseppe Orsini & Giuseppe Piras, 2022. "Renewable Energy System Controlled by Open-Source Tools and Digital Twin Model: Zero Energy Port Area in Italy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-24, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:josatr:v:6:y:2021:i:1:d:10.1186_s41072-021-00101-6. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.