Background There are many negative environmental impacts caused directly or indirectly by port activities. The aim of this project was to reduce and minimise these negative impacts. This was to be achieved through the implementation of Environment Management Systems (EMAS) into the local Port Authority Organisation. In particular, the project was to focus on the promotion of environmental awareness among all port operators and on raising awareness of the environmental impacts of port activities. Furthermore, the project was to disseminate and implement EMAS II actions. EU environmental policies were to provide the foundation for policy and management actions among the local operators in order to achieve environmental improvements in the port. Objectives The EMAS PO.LI. project had two main goals: 1) To establish a policy for the continuous improvement of the environmental and safety performances within the port, which would in time involve all the stakeholders and be based on knowledge from a thorough preliminary environmental analysis. 2) To carry out the physical planning in order to achieve sustainable development. More specifically, the aims were: • To create a shared system of actions in port areas to minimise the negative environmental impacts of port activities; • To foster environmental awareness and encourage sustainable development objectives in planning activities; • To improve participation in the planning of activities; • To disseminate EMAS II. Results The EMAS PO.LI project has achieved its major objectives to test and diffuse an environmental management system in accordance with the EMAS regulation 761/2001/CE. The Livorno Port Authority is the first port in Europe to have achieved the ISO 14001 certification and this is the first step towards a sustainable management of the environment in the port. The attainment of EMAS II registration was finalised the 21/10/04. These two voluntary environmental management schemes will require the Port Authority to improve its environmental performance by committing itself to evaluate and reduce its environmental impact. In accordance with the Port Authority Environmental Policy declaration, the port Committee has approved the 2003-2005 Three-year Operational Plan. This plan presents a number of environmental goals to be reached and many activities in environmental monitoring (groundwater and surface water quality, discharge controls, air quality within the port area, noise and acoustic zoning). It also foresees actions promoting an improved environmental management system involving all those operating in the port. Furthermore, it commits the Port Authority to conform all purchases for its regular operations to the policies and methods of Green Procurement, as established by the Tuscany Region (Regional Council Deliberation no. 24 of the 30.01.2002). The port authority procedures foresee the implementation of the EC Directive no.59 of the 27/11/2000 (ship waste disposal), of the 2001/42/EC Directive (Strategic Environmental Assessment) and of EC Commission Recommendation of the 30th May 2001, relative to the detection, evaluation and dissemination of environmental information to be recorded in the annual accounts and in the society management reports. The Livorno Port Authority is a member of the ECOPORTS Foundation, a network platform where European ports exchange environmental experience. (see the website: www.ecoports.com). This was a useful platform for the project beneficiary to find out about the initiatives and the best practices which are applied to ports at a European level and to disseminate the results of the EMAS PO.LI. project. Several ways and means were used to disseminate the results of the project, these included: creation of a project website; workshop held on the 22 September 2003 for port operators; a national convention; articles in newspapers and television appearance on inter regional TV network; realization of a CD on the state of the environment in the port and synthesis of EMAS PO.LI. project; editing of a publication for internal use within the port authority, entitled “EMAS in the port authority”. For ex-post evaluations, long term monitoring indicators could include: 1. Maintaining EMAS II registration 2. Attainment of EMAS II (or ISO 14001) registration for other harbour operators.