Ports are increasingly ‘greening’ operations to protect their ‘license to operate’ by integrating social-environmental considerations into their management and reporting on their sustainability performance. In this research, we develop a novel method for port sustainability performance (PSP) assessment that combines science-based knowledge with place-based contextualisation. Specifically, we address a recognised challenge of combining global (‘top-down’) techno-scientifically oriented indicators with place-based locally relatable (‘bottom-up’) contexts in sustainability performance, in addition to addressing limitations encountered in empirical verification. First, a critical evaluation of the international literature on port sustainability assessments is undertaken to distil commonalities in global performance indicators, and to identify typical frames used in the design of sustainability performance indices. We apply this learning, together with place-based experiential knowledge, to develop a science-based framework for a Port Sustainability Performance (PSP) Index that is explicitly aligned with the Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs). We then apply a co-design process to demonstrate local customisation of the index to derive place-based quantifiable measures and targets. Further, for easy-to-use empirical verification, a simple spreadsheet is applied to develop a flexible weighted scoring matrix. The matrix uses place-based rating systems for selected measures and associated targets, and aggregates allocated scores into informative outputs. Finally, the concept of Circles of Sustainability is adapted for ports to visually display sustainability performance, in alignment with related SDGs. This research contributes to bridging the science-practice divide in reporting on port sustainability performance.@en

Rapid urbanization of the coast, growing global trade, stakeholder emancipation and ongoing depletion of natural resources mean that ports can no longer operate and develop without acknowledging and incorporating societal and environmental considerations. Drawing primarily on first-hand experiences in South African ports, supplemented with learning taken from international literature, this paper proposes a conceptual change in the position of the natural environment in port development from that of a ‘green handbrake’ to ‘equal partner’. The argument for this conceptual change is developed in three stages. First, we merge two concepts emerging from the literature, namely natural capital (or natural infrastructure) and infrastructure systems, to embed the natural environment as an integral component or ‘equal partner’ in port development. We then identify practical avenues through which the profile (or value) of the natural environment can be enhanced in port development, drawing on concepts such as Building with Nature (BwN) and multi-use of natural capital. Finally, we build a framework for Integrated Port Management (IPM) by conceptually positioning and aligning environmental processes within the traditional port development cycle, as well as identifying the need for coordination across and continuity between individual environmental assessment processes. In essence, bridging the disconnect between natural environmental issues and port development requires early consideration of the natural environment in port development, and an acknowledgement of multi-use benefits from natural capital. Further, in the operations and maintenance phases, environmental management systems in ports should not only focus on environmental performance, but also embrace multi-use valuation of the natural environment (ecosystem services) to give purpose to the need for environmental protection. However, crucial to effective implementation of an Integrated Port Management (IPM) framework will be its integration in organisational processes, supported by collaborative institutional structures. Only then will the environment take its place as equal partner in port development.

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