Charting sustainable vistas: Analysis of internal and external sustainability performance of Chinese ports

Yudan Kong, Xinyu Tian, Jinghui Sun and Huan Zhou

Transport Policy, 2025, vol. 161, issue C, 31-43

Abstract: The global economy's rapid expansion highlights the need for sustainable development in ports. However, existing research has overlooked the crucial aspect of social sustainability. To address this gap, this paper evaluates ports' sustainability using a novel framework that combines cross-hierarchical data envelopment analysis and cross-efficiency. Examining 18 ports in China from 2017 to 2020, we assess their internal and external sustainability dimensions. Results show that most ports demonstrate commendable efficiency in internal sustainability, though room for improvement remains. In terms of external sustainability, some ports excel economically and socially, but environmental indicators require more attention. Overall, sustainability performance shows an encouraging upward trend, with southern ports leading in sustainability practices. However, economic factors pose challenges to port development, emphasizing the need for heightened focus on environmental and social dimensions. By filling a knowledge gap and offering valuable recommendations, this study introduces a fresh perspective on sustainable port development.

Keywords: Sustainable development; Port performance assessment; CH-DEA; Cross-efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967070X24003536
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:trapol:v:161:y:2025:i:c:p:31-43

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/supportfaq.cws_home/regional
https://shop.elsevie ... _01_ooc_1&version=01

DOI: 10.1016/j.tranpol.2024.11.016

Access Statistics for this article

Transport Policy is currently edited by Y. Hayashi

More articles in Transport Policy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().