Search results

Purpose – The shipping industry is generally recognised as having better fuel efficiency than other transport modes. In many regions of the world, therefore, policy has promoted shipping as the preferred freight transport mode of choice. In recent years, however, environmental problems associated with shipping have emerged. Several influential analyses have revealed the impact of shipping on air quality, particularly in the form of emissions of sulphur, nitrogen oxides and particulate matter, all of which have adverse consequences for human health.

Methodology/approach – An extensive environmental profile of shipping is provided, focusing specifically on the atmospheric pollution that is directly attributable to shipping operations.

Findings – It is important, however, to place the environmental profile of the shipping industry into the context of exactly how much transport work it does. This makes it clear that where shipping is a viable modal alternative then, in relative terms and most contexts, it still retains significant environmental advantages over other modes. The industry and its regulators have been slow, however, to improve its environmental profile and maintain its inherent advantage. Technical and operational measures which the industry may implement unilaterally are analysed, but these are deemed insufficient to stem the adverse tide of environmental concerns. Regulation is a necessity. Recently implemented regulatory measures are analysed, together with possible scenarios for the future regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. The IMO approach of global regulation is supported in preference to regionally based regulatory policies. There is also a danger that regulatory intervention may distort mode choice contexts.

Originality/value – The provision of an extensive environmental profile of shipping and an examination of this profile in relation to the importance of this transport mode to the global economy.

This chapter combines a global value chain methodology with the case of the development of the farmed Atlantic salmon industry in Chile to inform discussions regarding the globalization of economy and society. The research documents the shifting structure of the value chain from the north to the south as Chile replaced northern Europe as the locus of production and the major world supplier of farmed Atlantic salmon. Farmed salmon was supported by the Chilean state as part of its export-oriented industrialization model that attracted foreign direct investment (FDI) from northern TNCs. Chile's low costs of production combined with growing environmental problems in the north and global retailers' demand for large quantities of low-cost product resulted in the restructuring of the farmed Atlantic-salmon value chain as northern capital sourced the south as a lucrative production platform to service northern consumers. A detailed investigation of the rise in dominance of the firm Marine Harvest is provided to illustrate the process of industry concentration the Chilean farmed-salmon industry. This model has generated a legitimation crisis related to environmental degradation and labor abuses resulting in social movement organization both nationally and internationally. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the implications of the Wal-Mart Effect on the agrifood industry in particular and in the farmed-salmon industry in particular.

This chapter presents a framework which is accessible to port authorities to assess the potential environmental impact of maritime operations. Pursuant on globalisation, increased numbers of ship movements have generated more frequent routine maritime operations in ports but few formal approaches exist for assessing their environmental impact, which potentially could be significant. In a novel framing of environmental assessment a business process modelling technique is deployed in a systems approach which highlights inputs, service processes and outputs. In an initial focus, primary processes at strategic level are defined which affect the environmental assessment of present and future operations and their potential impacts. Later, tactical service processes define the integrity of processes that guarantee service level and quality. Finally, outputs are defined by operational processes. The contribution of applying the systems approach to plan more sustainable maritime operations is assessed in a case study of Falmouth Harbour Commissioners (FHC) which regulates much of Falmouth Harbour and hosts the UK's largest offshore marine bunkering operation. Following EU designation of a North Sea Sulfur Oxide Emissions Control Areas (SECA) Falmouth recently recorded a significant rise in the number of vessels calling, and volume of fuel sold as more passing vessels take onboard low-sulfur fuel. The systems approach which empowers FHC to mitigate potential risks and assess development proposals proactively is easily transferable to other ports.

Purpose: This paper offers a first look into journalistic coverage on the enduring issue of marine litter. The presented study seeks to identify dominating news issue frames of marine pollution to analyse the prospective approaches of journalists.

Method: A content analysis of print news-of-record sources was conducted. The theoretical background of Cultural Studies and Political Consumerism Theory was employed to analyse environmental reporting in the United States and France.

Findings: The main result is that French sources focus primarily on proposed legislation and political commentary around the issue instead of ways for readers to solve the problem themselves. Journalists who assert legislation as the principal method for fighting marine debris eliminate plastic from the source. Conversely, American journalists predominantly framed the environmental threat of marine debris as a cultural issue. This individualistic approach aims to motivate privileged readers to make lifestyle changes that, notionally, will suppress global consumption of single-use plastics.

Research limitations/implications: The individualistic approach common in American news coverage aims to motivate privileged readers to make lifestyle changes that, notionally, will suppress global consumption of single-use plastics. This approach does not reflect the scientific communities overwhelming scepticism of oversimplistic solutions to this global environmental issue.

Originality/value: This foundational paper offers issue frames through which social science research on framing, rhetorical criticism and media effects of marine litter news coverage can build upon.

This study proposes targeted modernization of the Department of Defense (DoD's) Joint Forces Ammunition Logistics information system by implementing the optimized innovative information technology open architecture design and integrating Radio Frequency Identification Device data technologies and real-time optimization and control mechanisms as the critical technology components of the solution. The innovative information technology, which pursues the focused logistics, will be deployed in 36 months at the estimated cost of $568 million in constant dollars. We estimate that the Systems, Applications, Products (SAP)-based enterprise integration solution that the Army currently pursues will cost another $1.5 billion through the year 2014; however, it is unlikely to deliver the intended technical capabilities.

This chapter provided systematic and comprehensive analysis on trawl fisheries management and conservation measures in the Straits of Malacca. Detailed analysis is conducted on Malaysian fishery management framework particularly domestic country's trawl fishery status, legal structure, input-control strategies, ecosystem protection plan, pollution, law enforcement, and complementary measures that designed to reduce and prevent overfishing in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Malacca Straits. Gaps and challenges found in existing trawl fisheries literature are presented followed by recommendations for improvement in the management and conservation of trawl fisheries.

Sustainable management requires companies to build up new knowledge to acquire the competencies needed for action. This chapter aims to deliver knowledge about sustainability and knowledge for sustainability. Firstly, we systematically analyse the sustainability literature in the social sciences through a bibliographic analysis and topic modelling using VOSviewer and Mallet software. We outline research directions, themes and critical contributions for each research cluster identified. Additionally, we categorise over 30 definitions of sustainability identified by Meuer, Koelbel, and Hoffmann (2020). Secondly, we enumerate knowledge types needed for effective sustainability transitions of organisations. We trace typologies of sustainable business models and their distinct evaluations of sustainability. In this chapter, we argue that integrating the triad of social, ecological and economic goals is central for sustainability attempts as well as long-term thinking. Therefore, our research offers a comprehensive overview of sustainability in the social sciences supporting researchers and practitioners to navigate this miscellaneous and scattered field. Accordingly, our study is precious to young scholars researching sustainability who want to use the term in an informed and meaningful way.

From the heaps of garbage in street corners and highways, to blocked drains and obstructed waterways, Nigerian cities continue to bear marks of environmental degradation occasioned by the business activities of manufacturers. Globally, the picture is no less different as landfills, oceans and beaches bear indubitable testimonies of plastic pollution. While the manufacturers smile to the bank, governments and municipal authorities struggle with their meagre resources to combat the colossal burden of plastic pollution they generated in the course of creating wealth. The use of non-biodegradable materials such as polythene in product packaging is the primary driver of manufacturing-induced environmental degradation in Nigerian cities and other cities of the world. Recent developments in commerce in Nigeria, such as the emergence of the mobile supermarket, are responsible for the geometric increase in street filthiness in the country. Developing strategic alliances amongst Nigerian manufacturers or between manufacturers and municipal authorities is key in ensuring a healthy environment while doing business. However, such alliances must take a clue from the Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) embodied in the environmental consciousness practised in local markets in Nigeria, hereafter referred to as the ‘market-place model’ for environmental stewardship. This model, when replicated in other economies across the globe, would significantly reduce the global burden of plastic wastes and the hazards they pose in the environment. Conscience repayment, provision of refuse collection points, recycling and green packaging are part of ways of operationalising this model in everyday business. Adopting the market-place model in building strategic alliances for environmental stewardship would afford Nigerian manufacturers, and indeed global manufacturers, financial and non-financial business benefits such as cost savings through eco-efficiency, enlightened self-interest and good corporate image.