This article discusses the challenges brought by the process of port reforms implemented by the Port Modernization Act (Act n. 8.630/93), among which environmental management, not yet adequately incorporated to the Brazilian port system. Initiatives of environmental management are not part of port planning, leading to disarticulated and reactive actions, which are a result of a point of view that considers environmental regulation a threat to business competitiveness. This article supports the idea that compliance to environmental standards brings opportunities of improvement for the port business. The article presents domestic and foreign environmental management scenarios, as well as examples of eco-innovations and good practices in European and North American ports. It points out that environmental management must go beyond the micro-scale (management of routine problems) and be part of the macro-scale (management of the coastal zone), so that the new port model can be economically competitive with social and environmental benefits.
port environmental management; port modernization; eco-innovations; environmental challenges and possibilities