Fighting greenwashing with the PILOT port index

Abstract Environmental Sustainability Reporting (ESR) has become central to corporate strategy in the maritime sector due to stakeholder demands for transparency and accountability. However, inconsistent implementation, fragmented regulations, and weak enforcement have increased the risk of greenwashing, where ports overstate or misrepresent environmental performance, undermining trust and genuine sustainability progress. This study adopts a three-phase methodology, combining a critical literature review, empirical analysis of port ESRs and existing evaluation tools, and the development of the Port Index for Low-impact Operations and Transparency (PILOT), a harmonized indicator framework for port environmental performance. The review identified key drivers of greenwashing, including voluntary reporting, selective disclosure, and verification gaps, while the empirical analysis highlighted underrepresentation of core environmental metrics in port reports—mentions concentrate on CO 2 , energy efficiency and social/ethics (each ~ 15–20%), whereas environmental condition data are scarce (environmental status and biodiversity each well under 5%, water < 10%)—and limitations of existing tools, such as Environmental Performance Index (EPI), Port Internet Exchange and Logistics (PIXEL), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) frameworks, Port Environmental Review System (PERS), and Green Marine. PILOT is a standardized, verifiable framework designed to reduce greenwashing by focusing on five throughput-normalized indicators—air emissions, freshwater use, port-generated waste, environmental status, and biodiversity. Importantly, PILOT does not introduce new environmental KPIs; it consolidates commonly available, auditable port data into a small, harmonized calculation basis that lowers reporting barriers—especially for ports with limited ESR capacity—and enables more robust benchmarking across comparable port archetypes. It supports third-party verification by requiring transparent system boundaries, documented data sources, and consistent calculation rules, making selective reporting more difficult. The framework aligns with regulatory guidelines and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) objectives, offering ports, regulators, and stakeholders a practical tool to monitor performance, guide improvement, and support sustainable development. Overall, the study demonstrates that standardized, data-driven reporting is essential to reduce greenwashing, strengthen credibility, make meaningful benchmarking across ports substantially easier, and advance sustainability in the global maritime sector.