Authors: Andreas Andrikopoulos

Title: Environment, Society and Governance in Shipping Companies: Research Outlook and Regulatory Challenges

Abstract

The shipping industry is undergoing a transformation to meet the challenges of environmental and social sustainability. Corporate governance is also important in shipping, delineating the protection of all providers of capital to shipping companies. The shipping industry is changing in the context of global concerns and policy initiatives with respect to the climate crisis, social welfare, and corporate accountability. The transformation of the shipping industry transcends the operations and strategies of shipping companies, the content of their services and their position the network of their financial and non-financial stakeholders. In this context, this paper is a literature review on social and environmental performance, disclosure, and corporate governance mechanisms in shipping companies. The literature is growing in numbers and widening in topical focus, reflecting the industry’s concerns on environment, society, and governance, the diversity of reporting approaches to sustainability, the importance of sustainability and governance for corporate value and a rather limited focus on non-financial and non-regulatory stakeholders.