Quantitative Analysis of Green Transformation in Petrochemical Terminals: A Case Study of Petkim Port via Entropy-Based TOPSIS Approach

In contemporary port management, sustainability has evolved from a mere environmental aspiration into a strategic imperative for maritime facilities. This study scrutinizes the multi-dimensional sustainability performance of Petkim Port one of Turkey’s most critical petrochemical integrated terminals covering the period between 2021 and 2024. To minimize subjective bias and preserve data sensitivity, an objective hybrid model combining Entropy-based weighting with the TOPSIS method was employed. Drawing from the port’s integrated annual reports, five key indicators were analyzed: production volume, emission intensity, water footprint, waste recovery rates, and energy consumption.
Entropy analysis revealed that "Waste Recycling" is the most decisive factor in measuring the performance of industrial ports, holding a weight of 37.2%. Furthermore, the TOPSIS ranking highlighted a significant decoupling between operational scale and environmental efficiency. Notably, despite reaching the highest production volume in 2021, the year 2022 emerged as the performance leader with a score of 0.5961, driven by superior resource optimization and waste management success. These findings demonstrate that true sustainability in liquid bulk terminals is shaped by resource intensity rather than gross production output. While providing a replicable assessment framework for port authorities, this study outlines a data-driven roadmap for the industry’s green transformation goals.