Chapter 7 - Sustainable Performance and Benchmarking in Container Terminals—The Energy Dimension

Abstract

This chapter proposes a methodology to measure sustainable performance of container terminals in the areas of energy and emissions. The work contributes to building baseline data that are urgently needed in research on sustainability and climate change contributions of terminals since primary data on energy consumption, emissions, and their associated costs are rare. Furthermore, institutions and companies investing in carbon-saving mechanisms, aimed at improving operational efficiency and lowering operating costs, are increasingly demanding energy efficiency indicators for port infrastructure and services. A set of adequate indicators and guidelines will help to improve measuring the performance, competitiveness, and the advances in energy savings. The work highlights the compatibility and challenges in improving sustainable performance and competitiveness. In the long-term the effort of formulating a sound methodology for sustainable performance can be expected to create transparency and comparability of data in the efforts to gain greater sustainability beyond the terminal boundaries.