Adopting greener and sustainable practices in ports have risen but, as a collective industry effort, action to mitigate climate change is too slow that the world is at risk of inescapable catastrophe. Just recently, the UN announced we had failed to meet a single target set over a decade ago to prevent the destruction of nature.

More commonly, environmental sustainability sits at the bottom of business goals while maximizing shareholder value or return on investment maintains top priority. However, the rise in pollution and temperatures, and destruction from natural disasters, combined with the ongoing battle with the disease has forced immediate attention.

Very quickly, the environmental impacts induced by poor practices are outpacing ports and terminals ability to precipitate adequate efforts to respond effectively. A Boston Consulting Group (BCG) generated a mid-year analysis which highlighted the increasing occurrence and magnitude of climate change on companies in the past year, revealing the 40 weather disasters totaled to more than $US1 billion for each event. Disruptions now occur, on average, every 3.7 years, and companies can expect to lose an average of higher than 40 per cent of their annual profits every decade.

The consequences are more prevalent with sites and companies neglecting their environmental responsibility, and experience extreme floods/rainfall and droughts which inflict significant damages to coastal transport infrastructure and services. Without policies or standard of practice to sustain the environment, the financial burden grows especially when involved with repairs from damaged equipment; road blockages because of natural fires or floods; clean-ups due to fuel and oil spillages; and high temperatures forcing terminal stalls. Therefore, considering the long-term impacts of every action will prove opportunistic, and arguably, necessary. 

Deep adaptation has emerged as a new concept to address the misconception that climate change presents incremental challenges which can overcome in gradual stages. Instead, it proposes we anticipate disruptive and uncontrollable heights of climate change, accelerating starvation, destruction, migration, disease, and war. Monios and Wilmsmeier further exclaim existing port and shipping forecasts for uninterrupted growth are only factoring minor incremental policy changes already known to be insufficient for mitigation and adaptation. Executives or influential authorities in the maritime and logistics sector must identify the potential threats that may occur outside their peripherals or within their scope to prepare for an advanced adaptation schedule.

Green port management and profitability now go hand in hand as establishing working practices or production methods which minimize the impact on the environment will deliver more business value in the long-term. Ensuring the business is more sustainable extends further than just focusing on building goodwill, it more so develops quality, reliable, sustainable, and a resilient foundation for future planning.