A review of key performance indicators for port sustainability considering safety, environment and performance as the three dimensions of port sustainability

Together with economic growth, ports generate a series of externalities, both social and environmental. The need to minimize environmental externalities while promoting economic growth and addressing societal requirements defines the concept of port sustainability. Undertaking actions aimed at increasing port sustainability requires in parallel the availability of quantitative tools to evaluate and monitor the performance of a port in this sense. Using the critical literature review method, this paper proposes a framework which categorizes port sustainability key performance indicators (KPIs) according to the three lines of sustainability: social, economic, environmental. The ultimate scope is to identify a set of sustainable KPIs that port managers can use to monitor and assess the impact of actions aimed at improving their sustainability