Environmental Disclosure: Study on Efficiency and Alignment with Environmental Priorities of Spanish Ports

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to analyze, in a three-stage research project and from an economic an operational perspective, the relationships between environmental expenses, the improvements achieved in five environmental variables analyzed and efficiency. To achieve these objectives, we analyze sustainability reports and economic data from 24 Spanish ports. The three aforementioned stages of this research are the following: first, the analysis of the sustainability reports to determine the level of information; second, the analysis of the economic and operational efficiency; and, third, the analysis of the alignment with the environmental priorities of the Eco Ports-ESPO (European Sea Ports Organization). The results reveal that (1) the type of traffic does not affect environmental actions; (2) environmental performance (improvements) depends on environmental expenditures; (3) environmental spending and efficiency in port operations are correlated; and (4) environmental spending and port economic efficiency are correlated. The research can contribute to the decision-making process of port managers by revealing that the alignment with the EcoPorts priorities can be important to direct the environmental performance of the ports towards the global interests revealed in this indicator. It also reveals that environmental expenditures and investments may be related to environmental performance and economic and operational efficiency. However, it also reveals that it is important to improve the extent of environmental disclosure to better explain the qualitative and monetary characteristics of each piece of information provided about environmental performance.