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Environmental sustainability in the port industry is of growing concern for port authorities, policy makers, port users and local communities. Innovation can provide a solution to the main environmental issues, but often meets resistance. While certain types of technological or organisational innovation can be satisfactorily analysed using closed system theories, in the case of seaports and in particular in the area of environmental sustainability, more advanced conceptual frameworks have to be considered. These frameworks need to be able to account for the multiple stakeholder nature of the port industry and of the network and vertical interactions that environmental sustainability calls for. This article investigates successful innovations improving environmental sustainability of seaports. The proposed framework builds in part on research concepts developed in the InnoSuTra EU FP7 project. From a methodological perspective, this article develops a method for quantifying the degree of success of innovation with respect to a set of specific objectives. Several case studies are used to test the framework against real innovation examples, such as onshore power supply, or alternative fuels. In this article, we argue that only those innovations that fit dynamically port actors’ demands and the port institutional environment stand a chance to succeed

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The trend towards collaborative innovation in the maritime supply chain implies a good understanding of the actors and their roles, and an efficient exchange of information. A Port Community System (PCS) increases port efficiency by connecting the ICT systems of each of its members, thereby facilitating their communication. To verify whether this type of collaboration and its benefits actually materialize, an understanding of the costs and benefits of such PCS is required. This paper recognizes the inconsistency in the existing literature with respect to PCS costs and benefits quantification. Therefore, after an indepth literature review, interviews with experts of PCS were carried out, a comprehensive framework to quantify the costs and benefits was developed. Next, a case study was drawn-up to develop a discussion regarding the costs and the extra benefits that port stakeholders incur when using a module of a PCS. The case analysis suggests that there is a positive cost-benefit balance for every stakeholder adhering to a PCS. By covering the development and operational costs of certain modules, PCS operators seek to increase the port competitiveness. This way, PCS users manage to gain higher net benefits and have a competitive advantage over other port stakeholders outside the community.

Supply chains, logistics and freight have been facing increasingly complex challenges posed by transitions in economic structures, urbanization, city design and transport systems, as well as by the externalities associated with logistics activities in urban areas. This has driven a great deal of research recently. Yet, there are no sufficient contributions clarifying the current state of thought in this field. This article critically reviews the literature highlighting current approaches in the field. The objective of the article is threefold. First, to provide a framework with geographical and functional elements of urban logistics. Second, to identify the scope of the literature, vested into a typology. And third, to define the terms that may embrace the various analytical interests of the urban logistics field, namely city logistics, urban goods distribution and last mile logistics. The aim is to contribute to organize the current and future thought in the field of urban logistics.