Environmental sustainability maturity system: An integrated system scale to assist maritime port managers in addressing environmental sustainability goals

• Environmental sustainability maturity system evaluates port performance measures. • Environmental sustainability maturity applies sustainable development goals in ports. • A comparative analysis of two different environmental management models is tested. • Environmentally Sustainable ports help to reduce global environmental impact. The environmental management structure adopted by port managers with management systems such as ISO 14,001 or EMAS certification provides the basic foundation of environmental sustainability. However, to manage the complexity and the specific characteristics of marine transport activities, port managers must utilize additional sustainability tools to build upon the port's basic management systems structure. This study demonstrates through a case study of Tanger Mediterranean Port Authority, Morocco, and the port of Aalborg, Denmark, two types of maritime ports, that the use of an environmental sustainability maturity system provides the needed integration tool to address specific sustainability issues based on port operational similarities. The identification of sustainability indicators by port managers in monitoring and assessment of environmental management systems for this study was first presented by the authors at an international conference in February 2021.The following study measures the previous identified indicators to demonstrate that as port operations expand to handle increased global trade, the use of an environmental sustainability maturity system guide will assist global port managers in identifying, assessing, prioritizing, and meeting environmental sustainable development goals. The results of this study demonstrate the importance of port managers using an environmental sustainability maturity system guide as a key operational tool in meeting environmental sustainability objectives, which includes port stakeholder input and assessing port operations that impact climate change. These results also provide a basis for continued research on how to optimize port operations to stay competitive in a growing global economy using environmental sustainability practices.