Transparency and sustainability levels in port and terminal reports

Abstract

The port sector has been under pressure from stakeholders to improve its environmental management. Port Environmental Performance Indicators (EPIs) rank ports and port terminal performance and promote transparency. This paper analyzes disclosure levels of global and specific Sustainability Report indicators published by Brazilian Public Ports (PPs) and Brazilian Private Use Terminals (PUTs), according to EPIs proposed and developed by the National Waterway Transport Agency. We also sought to measure the degree of informational transparency on institutional websites regarding environmental and sustainability issues and the frequency of published reports between 2017 and 2020. Two indicator blocks were studied, which were Global and Specific EPIs. Although many PPs and PUTs publicize environmental and sustainability actions on their websites, they need to formalize these actions into a single clear report so society can better access quick and precise information through standardized reports. The research in the sustainability reports showed that some organizations already address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). However, the approach is still scarce, representing only 10% of the organizations analyzed for both types.