The European port sector has achieved significant progress in the field of environmental management during the last 15 years and this has been largely driven through the long standing close cooperation between ESPO and Ecoports. Further progress is expected as ESPO broadens the guiding principle of “ports-helping-ports” and the commitment towards continuous improvement through voluntary self regulation to its whole membership. Ecoports tools include the following the two:

Self Diagnosis Method (SDM) – The user friendly environmental checklist:
Self Diagnosis Method (SDM) is a well-established and widely adopted, time and cost-efficient methodology for identifying environmental risk and establishing priorities for action and compliance. SDM is a concise checklist against which port managers can self-assess the environmental management programme of the port in relation to the performance of both the European port sector and international standards. Individual port responses are treated confidentially and SDM is by no means a “pass” or “fail” exercise.

Port Environmental Review System (PERS) – The only recognized port-sector specific standard:
The Port Environmental Review System (PERS) has firmly established its reputation as the only port-sector specific environmental management standard. PERS stems from work carried out by the ports themselves and it is specifically designed to assist port authorities with the functional organization necessary to deliver the goals of sustainable development. While incorporating the main generic requirements of recognized environmental management standards (e.g. ISO 14001), PERS is adapted to deliver effective port environmental management and its implementation can be independently certified.

ESPO has also recently published a guide to environmental sustainability and port management called the Green Guide, currently it its third edition. It was developed as a tool for a diverse range of ports to help introduce environmental management frameworks and recommend actions for assessing and addressing environmental issues.