An analysis of the global implementation of sustainable development in the corporate objectives of ports, in particular for the Port of Rotterdam, the Port of Amsterdam and the Port of Antwerp.

Sustainable development has become more important over the past few decades. To support the implementation of sustainable development worldwide, the United Nations (UN) initiated 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) which are aimed to be achieved by 2030. The aim of this paper is to analyse and give an overview of to which extent ports are currently implementing these SDG’s in their corporate objectives and how they strive to contribute to them. This will result in several opportunities for ports to enhance their sustainable development. In particular, this paper analyses the implementation of the SDG’s for the Port of Rotterdam, the Port of Amsterdam and the Port of Antwerp, and discusses the progress of the implementation over the years for the separate ports. Besides, the ports are compared in terms of their implementation of the SDG’s to acquire a better understanding of to which extent and in what way the separate ports strive to contribute to the SDG’s, and which Sustainable Development Goals they claim to be the most relevant for them.