The main environmental priority of European ports continues to be to improve air quality

The ESPO Environmental Report is based on data from 99 members of the EcoPorts network that have completed the self-diagnosis method EcoPorts (SDM). The sample includes ports of nations that apply EU legislation: EU Member States, the Norway as a member of the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom as a former EU Member State with current legislation comparable, and Albania as the official candidate for accession to the EU

The report highlights that, compared to the beginning of the collection of data in 2013, there was a significant increase the certification of environmental management systems by the ports (+21%) and liability documentation environmental management staff (+11%). In the same period, instead, the conduct of training programs has decreased environmental for port employees (-10%) and the presence of a collection of the reference environmental legislation (-2%). The ESPO document therefore recommends monitoring the progress of these indicators in the coming years, given that a continuous trend on the downside it may require specific actions to reverse the trend.
The report also points out that in 2021 almost 40% of the 99 ports covered by the investigation has obtained certification within the Port Environmental Review System (PERS), with increase significant compared to 2020 when 33% of ports had the certificate.

The report then explains that the Environmental Management Index, the index that offers an indication of the commitment of the ports of the network EcoPorts in the management of the environment, following the general increase in the results of environmental management indicators in the last eight years has recorded an increase of 0.61 points and in 2021 the EMI score was 7.86 compared to 7.80 in the 2020, demonstrating that EU ports continue to improve its environmental performance.

The document therefore notes that, in general, if the waste ports and energy efficiency tend to be the most monitored by ports, since 2013 quality monitoring of the air is the indicator that recorded the highest increase in monitoring.

Regarding the top ten environmental priorities of the European port sector, there are no new priorities introduced in the 2021 ranking. The five main priorities environmental environments in the European port sector have remained unchanged compared to 2020: it is about air quality, climate change, energy efficiency, noise and relationship with the local community.

In 2016, monitoring and report in the ESPO Environmental Report of "green" services dispensed in ports. Compared to that date, in 2021 there was recorded an overall increase in onshore Power delivery Supply (+4%), i.e. supply to ships in ports of electricity from the land network, and gas supply natural liquefied as fuel for ships (+9%). The however, results show a slight decrease in delivery of differentiated tariffs for "green" ships (-9 points percentages), although more than half of the ports monitored makes available discounted rates for ships that can demonstrate compliance with specific environmental criteria. The report notes that the decrease in the prevalence of tariffs differentiated adopted by port authorities on a voluntary is partly attributable to the increase in prevalence of mandatory tariff reductions. The document explains that, for example, this is the effect of discounts mandatory indirect waste tax under the European Directive on Port Reception Facilities for Waste that ports must set for ships engaged in management sustainable waste on board.