IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jscscx/v8y2019i7p208-d245794.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Embracing Sustainability in Shipping: Assessing Industry’s Adaptations Incited by the, Newly, Introduced ‘ triple bottom line ’ Approach to Sustainable Maritime Development

Author

Listed:
  • Ioannis Fasoulis

    (Department of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Marine Engineering, University of Strathclyde, 100 Montrose St, Glasgow G4 0LZ, UK)

  • Rafet Emek Kurt

    (Department of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Marine Engineering, University of Strathclyde, 100 Montrose St, Glasgow G4 0LZ, UK)

Abstract

Increasing environmental, social and economic problems, born by unceasing economic growth, have transformed our approach to the development concept. The 1980s saw the appearance of the sustainable development term and, during the 1990s, sustainability notion was implicitly framed as an integrated concept, frequently, termed as the ‘triple bottom line’ approach. Among several initiatives and efforts to balance our economic and societal pursuits with environmental challenges the, lately, introduced United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) refer to a remarkable evolution, which came to strengthen and establish sustainability conception as an integrated social, economic and environmental triptych. International shipping, as the major carrier of world trade and significant contributor to environmental degradation has, definitely, a vital role to play in facilitating the UN’s sustainability venture. Although there is a great amount of legislative instruments, codes and guidance to address sustainability in shipping, though, limited research has been devoted to identify how the tanker and dry bulk maritime sector has responded to such recent cohesive attitude to sustainable maritime development. Through a quantitative research approach this empirical study aimed to investigate maritime industry’s insights and attitudes in relation to the, newly, introduced triple bottom line approach to global sustainable development. Research data were collected via a questionnaire survey conducted to 50 tanker and/or dry bulk shipping companies. Pearson’s chi-square test of independence and Spearman’s correlation coefficient measures were utilized to test our three formulated hypotheses. Findings highlighted increasing awareness and adaptation of the maritime sector to the triple bottom line approach and, subsequent, sustainability absorption under the auspices of a corporate social responsibility (CSR) business model. Introduction of sustainable development in an integrated manner appears to have influenced the extent that statutory maritime regulations occupy to the formulation of marine safety management systems. To sum up, the integrated management system model turned out to be the most rated tactic to manage sustainability and, as such, a conceptual CSR framework was proposed to facilitate such an objective.

Suggested Citation

  • Ioannis Fasoulis & Rafet Emek Kurt, 2019. "Embracing Sustainability in Shipping: Assessing Industry’s Adaptations Incited by the, Newly, Introduced ‘ triple bottom line ’ Approach to Sustainable Maritime Development," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(7), pages 1-20, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:8:y:2019:i:7:p:208-:d:245794
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/8/7/208/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/8/7/208/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Young-Tae Chang & Denise Danao, 2017. "Green Shipping Practices of Shipping Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-23, May.
    2. Y. H. Venus Lun & Kee-hung Lai & Christina W. Y. Wong & T. C. E. Cheng, 2014. "Green shipping practices and firm performance," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(2), pages 134-148, March.
    3. Kristina Oskarsson & Fredrik von Malmborg, 2005. "Integrated management systems as a corporate response to sustainable development," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(3), pages 121-128, September.
    4. Cory Searcy, 2012. "Corporate Sustainability Performance Measurement Systems: A Review and Research Agenda," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(3), pages 239-253, May.
    5. Ernestos Tzannatos & Lefteris Stournaras, 2015. "EEDI analysis of Ro-Pax and passenger ships in Greece," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(4), pages 305-316, May.
    6. Mariana Cristina GANESCU, 2012. "Corporate social responsibility, a strategy to create and consolidate sustainable businesses," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania / Editura Economica, vol. 0(11(576)), pages 91-106, November.
    7. Rebeca Jiménez-Rodríguez & Marcelo Sánchez, 2012. "Oil price shocks and Japanese macroeconomic developments," Asian-Pacific Economic Literature, The Crawford School, The Australian National University, vol. 26(1), pages 69-83, May.
    8. Leonardo Osorio & Manuel Lobato & Xavier Castillo, 2005. "Debates on Sustainable Development: Towards a Holistic View of Reality," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 7(4), pages 501-518, December.
    9. Måns Nilsson & Dave Griggs & Martin Visbeck, 2016. "Policy: Map the interactions between Sustainable Development Goals," Nature, Nature, vol. 534(7607), pages 320-322, June.
    10. Harold Hotelling, 1931. "The Economics of Exhaustible Resources," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 39(2), pages 137-137.
    11. Gilbert, Paul & Bows, Alice, 2012. "Exploring the scope for complementary sub-global policy to mitigate CO2 from shipping," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 613-622.
    12. David Griggs & Mark Stafford-Smith & Owen Gaffney & Johan Rockström & Marcus C. Öhman & Priya Shyamsundar & Will Steffen & Gisbert Glaser & Norichika Kanie & Ian Noble, 2013. "Sustainable development goals for people and planet," Nature, Nature, vol. 495(7441), pages 305-307, March.
    13. Rupert J. Baumgartner, 2014. "Managing Corporate Sustainability and CSR: A Conceptual Framework Combining Values, Strategies and Instruments Contributing to Sustainable Development," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 21(5), pages 258-271, September.
    14. Bueger, Christian, 2015. "What is maritime security?," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 159-164.
    15. Stefan Schaltegger & Marcus Wagner, 2006. "Integrative management of sustainability performance, measurement and reporting," International Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Performance Evaluation, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 3(1), pages 1-19.
    16. Tom Kuhlman & John Farrington, 2010. "What is Sustainability?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 2(11), pages 1-13, November.
    17. Ian Sealy & Walter Wehrmeyer & Chris France & Matt Leach, 2010. "Sustainable development management systems in global business organizations," Management Research Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 33(11), pages 1083-1096, September.
    18. Walter Radermacher, 1999. "Indicators, Green Accounting and Environment Statistics— Information Requirements for Sustainable Development," International Statistical Review, International Statistical Institute, vol. 67(3), pages 339-354, December.
    19. Thomas Dyllick & Kai Hockerts, 2002. "Beyond the business case for corporate sustainability," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(2), pages 130-141, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Olli-Pekka Brunila & Vappu Kunnaala-Hyrkki & Tommi Inkinen, 2023. "Sustainable small ports: performance assessment tool for management, responsibility, impact, and self-monitoring," Journal of Shipping and Trade, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 1-24, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Suparak Suriyankietkaew & Phallapa Petison, 2019. "A Retrospective and Foresight: Bibliometric Review of International Research on Strategic Management for Sustainability, 1991–2019," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-27, December.
    2. Erik G. Hansen & Stefan Schaltegger, 2016. "The Sustainability Balanced Scorecard: A Systematic Review of Architectures," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(2), pages 193-221, January.
    3. Guang-Wen Zheng & Abu Bakkar Siddik & Mohammad Masukujjaman & Nazneen Fatema, 2021. "Factors Affecting the Sustainability Performance of Financial Institutions in Bangladesh: The Role of Green Finance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-27, September.
    4. Philip Hallinger, 2021. "A Meta-Synthesis of Bibliometric Reviews of Research on Managing for Sustainability, 1982–2019," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-22, March.
    5. Chiara Mio & Antonio Costantini & Silvia Panfilo, 2022. "Performance measurement tools for sustainable business: A systematic literature review on the sustainability balanced scorecard use," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(2), pages 367-384, March.
    6. Benedict Sheehy & Federica Farneti, 2021. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability, Sustainable Development and Corporate Sustainability: What Is the Difference, and Does It Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-17, May.
    7. Cláudia Silva & José Magano & Anna Moskalenko & Teresa Nogueira & Maria Alzira Pimenta Dinis & Hélder Fernando Pedrosa e Sousa, 2020. "Sustainable Management Systems Standards (SMSS): Structures, Roles, and Practices in Corporate Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-24, July.
    8. Cory Searcy, 2012. "Corporate Sustainability Performance Measurement Systems: A Review and Research Agenda," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 107(3), pages 239-253, May.
    9. Philip Hallinger, 2020. "Analyzing the intellectual structure of the Knowledge base on managing for sustainability, 1982–2019: A meta‐analysis," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(5), pages 1493-1506, September.
    10. Fiaz Ahmad Sulehri & Saba Sharif, 2022. "The Impact of Firm Sustainability on Firm Growth: Evidence from USA," Journal of Policy Research (JPR), Research Foundation for Humanity (RFH), vol. 8(2), pages 1-15, August.
    11. María Luisa Pajuelo Moreno & Teresa Duarte-Atoche, 2019. "Relationship between Sustainable Disclosure and Performance—An Extension of Ullmann’s Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-33, August.
    12. Pattarin Sanguankaew & Vichita Vathanophas Ractham, 2019. "Bibliometric Review of Research on Knowledge Management and Sustainability, 1994–2018," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-20, August.
    13. Robert L. Oxley & Larry W. Mays & Alan Murray, 2016. "Optimization Model for the Sustainable Water Resource Management of River Basins," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 30(9), pages 3247-3264, July.
    14. Rodrigo Lozano, 2020. "Analysing the use of tools, initiatives, and approaches to promote sustainability in corporations," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 982-998, March.
    15. Piotr Zientara & Paulina Bohdanowicz-Godfrey & Claire Whitely & Grzegorz Maciejewski, 2020. "A Case Study of LightStay (2010–2017)—Hilton’s Corporate Responsibility Management System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-22, May.
    16. May-Ching Ding & Yuan Shuh Lii & Kuan Fu Lai, 2025. "A great start? Sustainability mission statements affect consumer behavior," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(4), pages 8631-8660, April.
    17. Lena Partzsch, 2023. "Missing the SDGs: Political accountability for insufficient environmental action," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 14(3), pages 438-450, June.
    18. Giuseppe Cornelli, 2017. "Cosa s’intende per sostenibilità economica? Riflessione sul significato di sistema economicamente sostenibile/What is meant by economic ustainability? Reflection on the definition of today’s concept o," IRCrES Working Paper 201710, CNR-IRCrES Research Institute on Sustainable Economic Growth - Moncalieri (TO) ITALY - former Institute for Economic Research on Firms and Growth - Torino (TO) ITALY.
    19. Keith R. Skene, 2021. "No goal is an island: the implications of systems theory for the Sustainable Development Goals," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(7), pages 9993-10012, July.
    20. Cory Searcy, 2016. "Measuring Enterprise Sustainability," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(2), pages 120-133, February.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:8:y:2019:i:7:p:208-:d:245794. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.