Sustainable and Green Ports: Application of Sustainability Principles to Port Development and Operation

In 1992, a UN conference on Environmental Development held in Rio de Janeiro reintroduced the concept of “sustainability”(advanced by the United Nations Commission on Environment and Development [UNCED] in 1987) and defined it as: “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” A year later the U.S. Green Building Council was established to formalize this concept by developing a green rating system – “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” (LEED), applicable to new and renovated buildings. The system utilizes 69 certification points dealing with sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, air quality and innovation. Recently, several investigators, including this author, extended the applicability of sustainability to environmental science and engineering studies. This paper deals with sustainable port development and operation. During the last two decades, several ports introduced “Green Ports” programs to promote environmental stewardship. The paper depicts several examples and shows how these and more advanced programs can be made to fit a sustainability framework. Eight specific port operational topics (dredging, ballast water, habitat restoration, air quality, water conservation, energy conservation, material conservation and waste handling) are discussed using a sustainability perspective. It is believed that employment of a holistic approach and adaptive management built around a sustainability framework can promote innovative thinking, collaboration, and consensus building, and can streamline regulatory mandates. While incorporation of some sustainability elements can increase initial costs, they can yield substantial life cycle savings resulting from lower energy and water consumption and wastewater and emissions production, lower O&M costs and savings from increased productivity and health. The paper cites port initiatives advanced by the Port of New York and New Jersey to show how this approach can be propagated to create a clean and green system that is self-pollinating and rewards heavily. Sustainability is an ideal stewardship-driven alternative to the reactive and piecemeal regulatory-driven modes of yesteryear.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/9780784408346
• Corporate Authors:

  American Society of Civil Engineers

  Coasts, Oceans, Ports and Rivers Institute, 1801 Alexander Bell Drive
  Reston, VA  United States  20191-4400
• Authors:
  • Abood, Karim A
• Conference:
  • The Eleventh Triannual International Conference: Ports 2007, 30 Years of Sharing Ideas...1977-2007
  • Location: San Diego CA, United States
  • Date: 2007-3-25 to 2007-3-28
• Publication Date: 2007

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: CD-ROM
• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: 10p
• Monograph Title: Ports 2007: 30 Years of Sharing Ideas...1977-2007

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air quality; Ballast (Ships); Dredging; Energy conservation; Habitat (Ecology); Life cycle costing; Materials management; Port operations; Ports; Restoration ecology; Sustainable development; Waste management; Water conservation
• Identifier Terms: Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
• Uncontrolled Terms: Environmental stewardship; Green ports
• Subject Areas: Energy; Environment; Finance; Marine Transportation; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01077496
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 9780784408346
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Oct 5 2007 2:28PM