Key performance indicators in container terminals and their relationship with environmental sustainability. Application to the Spanish port system

Abstract

Key Performance Indicators (KPI) are management tools widely used by companies around the world to measure and evaluate the performance of their processes and manage them in the most effective and efficient way possible. In the port areas, the general trend in the operation analysis of a container terminal is to compare the ratios and international parameters that appear in the international literature on port exploitation and planning. The objective of this research is to find a relationship between KPI and sustainability indicators in their environmental field, applied to the Spanish Port System. The main conclusion of the research is that the terminals of Spanish Port System are heterogeneous in productivity management and in environmental management, so it is very difficult to establish clear relationships.