Author: Ignacio López Pérez

Publisher:

Published: 2014

Total Pages:

ISBN-13:

Sustainable development is a topic that has gained a lot of momentum in the logistics field; organizations from the maritime and port sector have started to focus on the environmental side of sustainability and take measures to control the impact of their operations on future generations. Environmental Management Systems (EMS) are generic tools for controlling the performance of an organization towards the environment; these have been also tailored to the port sector resulting in port specific EMSs. However little research covers how strong the commitment of the port sector to environmental sustainability is, and the effectiveness of EMS in developing countries, especially in Mexico. So far studies in the manufacturing sector indicate an opportunistic approach predominates in this country. This study first employs the Five-Factor-Model and the NEP-Scale to analyze the importance of environmental sustainability to the port administration of a major Mexican cargo port (Veracruz); then it performs a gap analysis to study the comprehensiveness of its monitoring requirements and determine possible improvements based on their activities; and finally, it formulates a framework applicable to the basis-EMS standard to address the real monitoring requirements of each port in the country. The results determine that the port administration has a genuine commitment to environmental management and controls the activities with environmental impact, but there is room for improving the comprehensiveness of its EMS. It is also possible to formulate a framework that simplifies existing research and standards, allowing the port administration to reach two goals: fully assimilate the system and environmental objectives into the organizational culture, and enhance the scope of the environmental aspects and impacts according to the monitoring needs of the port. The main challenge faced by the port administration is the collaboration from tenants, since it is not an environmental authority, it is essential to find attractive incentives for tenants to share information about the environmental performance in order to assess how really the port affects the environment.