Towards sustainable shipping

: the adoption of UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the maritime container shipping industry

Abstract

The shipping industry is of significant importance in achieving the global sustainable development goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations (UN) in 2015, also referred to as Agenda 2030. This paper sets out to determine the state of engagement to these goals by shipping companies and to identify the main barriers and levers affecting the integration into their business. Reviewing sustainability reports from thirteen major container line operators for the financial year 2021 reveals a rather disappointing level of effort in response to the Agenda 2030 objec tives. Overall, the sector focuses on a few goals related to environmental impact, education, work and economic development (SDGs 13, 14, 8, 4). However, the analysis revealed an in substantial level of SDG engagement for the industry derived from the predominantly superfi cial nature of the disclosed information, the gap between intentions and actions taken, and the marginal use of specific progress assessments, performance indicators, and measurable targets. Supplementary interviews with industry experts confirmed moderate commitment driven by stakeholder expectations but limited attention to the SDGs, mainly for practical reasons. While stating a high probability of not achieving the defined longer­ term targets, practitioners call for tightened and globally aligned environmental regulations of the sector, financial incentives for sustainability performance, suitable frameworks including KPIs and compulsory SDG ­related reporting guidelines aligned to the industry. This empirical study sheds light on the commitment to the Agenda 2030 at the organizational level and contributes to the sparse literature on sector specific adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Date of Award	28 Jun 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Nuno Moreira da Cruz (Supervisor)