Abstract

The Port Sustainability Management System (PSMS) is a well-known sustainability management system for smaller ports. Attempting to update and modify the PSMS for more global use, involves standardising requirements and needs and addressing certain areas where necessary. The primary aim of this thesis is to review the suitability of an existing bespoke PSMS with a view to facilitating additional applications in the port industry to enable wider perspectives for self-evaluation in terms of port size, type and governance. In addition, it aims to address the lack of a holistic approach in port sustainability management systems. The potential impact of this work is a finding that proposals to modify PSMS to suit applications globally, demand a broader perspective of sustainability management than that which suited smaller ports in the United Kingdom. Further, port self-assessments depend on their geographic location, size, type and governance type. The methodology adopted is appropriate to guide future bespoke applications of PSMS globally, which require minor modifications. These ensure reliability in terms of sustainability awareness, management, systems and processes in ports. To achieve this research aim, nine semi-structured interviews (three in the United Kingdom and six in Turkey) were conducted with selected experts. Thematic analysis is used to analyse the interviews and questionnaires allowing researchers to analyse and modify the current PSMS system. Whilst gathering data it emerged that each port has different priorities according to its size, type and governance. The results indicated that bureaucracy is a significant issue in the port industry and has negative influence on port sustainability management systems. It has been established through the interviews conducted that culture is one of the factors which needs to be considered, in order to make the PSMS a more worldwide approach to port sustainability management systems. Future research is needed to sample large sized ports around the world to update the PSMS. Secondly, it is quite important to keep the less developed countries in the equation in order to update the PSMS. The thesis was started before the Brexit negotiations that the United Kingdom has gone through, in the era of globalisation. Future research might aim to assess the influence of regionalism on the port industry specifically with regards to sustainability management systems.

Keywords

Sustainability, Sustainability Awareness, Sustainability Management Systems, Port Sustainability Management Systems, Port Sustainability Planning

Document Type

Thesis

Publication Date

2021

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