FCEI - Sustainable Strategies

The maritime industry faces critical sustainability challenges due to its environmental impact, necessitating a transition towards Circular Economy (CE) practices. This study proposes a structured evaluation framework integrating Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) to assess CE initiatives in Maritime Industrial Ports (MIPs). The framework prioritizes key sustainability criteria, including CO₂ emission reduction, waste minimization, and energy efficiency, while ranking CE alternatives based on their effectiveness and feasibility.
Findings indicate that ports implementing CE strategies, such as Rotterdam and Antwerp, demonstrate significant improvements in resource optimization and environmental performance. The proposed methodology enhances decision-making by combining expert judgment with quantitative analysis, offering a replicable model for sustainable port operations. This research contributes to the advancement of CE in maritime logistics, aligning with global sustainability frameworks such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the International Maritime Organization's decarbonization targets.
Keywords: Circular Economy, Maritime Industrial Ports, Fuzzy AHP, TOPSIS, Sustainability, Decision-Making.

This study analyses carbon accountable efficiency and operational strategies adopted by shipping corporations to decarbonize the processes for reducing Scope 3 emissions and achieving SDG7, as outlined in the UN 2030 Agenda. In response to growing concerns over shipping emissions, international organizations and governments have increasingly implemented regulations to mitigate their impact. These regulatory pressures compel shipping corporations to adopt carbon efficiency strategies and disclose their efforts to gain legitimacy from stakeholders. When effectively integrated into managerial accounting systems, carbon accounting frameworks can provide valuable metrics for Scope 3 emissions, thereby strengthening the accountability of shipping companies, as reflected in their sustainability reports. Despite the challenges, the existent literature falls short of providing a comprehensive understanding of these issues. This study aims to fill that gap by exploring the carbon efficiency measures gotten from the operational and strategic processes of shipping corporations to reduce Scope 3 emissions. It analyses sustainability reports published between 2018 and 2023 by the twenty largest shipping corporations, employing Leximancer software combined with manual content analysis. The results reveal notable carbon accounting frameworks and highlight the need for an integrated approach to emissions reduction. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to examine the role of carbon accounting in disclosing the strategies of shipping corporations to achieve SDG7, particularly Target 7.2, while reinforcing their accountability.


KeywordsCarbon Efficiency Strategies, SDG7-Target 7.2, SDG7, Carbon Accounting, Shipping Accountability, Content Analysis.

International shipping is increasingly subject to greenhouse gas (GHG) regulation aiming to decarbonize shipping. Recently, besides regulations, voluntary and market-driven emission control measures have been increasingly adopted. Cargo owners as customers of shipping companies have started to introduce emission reduction targets and strategies for the transportation of their raw materials and products. These are part of organisations' indirect emissions called scope 3 emissions, which large companies are obliged to measure and report publicly. The objective of this study is to investigate how widely cargo owners have set emission targets so far, what their ambition level is and how relevant current targets are to shipping. These questions are studied empirically by surveying 300 cargo owners from Finland. The results indicate that every third Finnish company has already placed overall scope 3 targets and every fifth scope 3 targets to transports. 2030 was found to be an inflection year, when emissions targets were set for many cargo owners. The study suggests that cargo owners expect emission cuts relatively soon and in volumes that often exceed regulations. Findings point to the relevance of cargo owner decarbonization efforts in the Finnish context, making shipping subject to the dual external impact of emission cuts.

Innovation is traditionally regarded as one of the most critical drivers for a firm to enhance its market competitiveness. Due to current regulatory, market requirements together with public expectations, in particular, eco-innovation, defined as a series of innovative activities conducted by the firm in a way to make its operations environmental friendlier, plays a pivotal role in ports where stakeholders need to prioritize their actions in a strategic manner. Despite its importance and potential impacts, understanding the eco-innovation, its drivers, barriers and implications, is yet limited. A port has a complex ecosystem in which multiple actors interact with each other; public and private organizations are often driven by a variety of interests, some of them being in conflict, and thus required to cooperate as a way to gain and maintain the port's competitive advantage. With an innovation diffusion theory in mind, this paper conducts an empirical investigation by incorporating some features stemmed from the theory and applying them to the sampled ports in the Mediterranean Sea. In so doing, this paper is aimed at identifying the drivers and the barriers for those ports when moving towards eco-innovative operations and strategy/policy in a way to create a value to customers. This line of examinations will certainly offer a new trajectory for further studies and future actions based on implications drawable from it.

The maritime industry is increasingly challenged by the need to sustain resilient and sustainable supply chains in the face of global disruptions. Events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical instability, and environmental crises have highlighted the urgency of integrating Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices into maritime operations to enhance supply chain resilience. This study investigates the interplay between supply chain resilience and sustainability practices in the maritime sector, focusing on logistics providers including shipping companies, port operators, government entities, and freight forwarders. The research sample was drawn from the Association of International Freight Forwarders and Logistics Enterprises of Greece and the official registry of the Greek Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, with a focus on European and international maritime transport. The survey results reveal a strong positive relationship between supply chain resilience and environmental, social and governance practices, underscoring their pivotal role in strengthening the maritime supply chain. This study offers practical insights into the role of ESG practices in addressing contemporary challenges and underscores the importance of strategic sustainability integration to enhance the robustness of maritime supply chains in an unpredictable global context.