Drivers for environmental technologies selection in the shipping industry: a case study of the North European Sulphur Emission Control Area

Abstract

Abstract:This study tackles the question: How do new air pollution regulations interact with other eco-innovation drivers in the adoption of environmental technologies in the shipping industry? In the North Sea, Baltic Sea, and the English Channel, short sea shipping is subject to strict requirements on sulphur emissions by the European Union and the International Maritime Organization after the creation of a Sulphur Emission Control Area (SECA). The creation of this SECA creates a critical case for analyzing the interactions of the regulations with technological pull, market demand, and green business strategies. The study found that a globalized industrial sector, such as shipping, tends to oppose regional regulations. These regulations benefit from market conditions which slightly push the shipping companies to embrace environmental technologies when operational costs increase due to expenses such as increasing fuel prices. Meanwhile, voluntary initiatives like participating in eco-labelling schemes can motivate eco-innovations, especially cleaner-processes, as shipping firms need to increase fuel efficiency to reduce high operational costs within SECA sulphur limits. The research contributes to the ongoing debate about eco-innovation characteristics in different industrial sectors, but more specifically, it moves forward the proposition of dynamic interactions between regulation, technology, business and markets, which modify the dominant focus on market pull and technological push. Keywords:Sulphur; shipping industry; eco-innovation; environmental technologies; environmental regulation; MARPOL Authors Pre-print version, Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Hermann, R.R. 2017. 'Drivers for environmental technologies selection in the shipping industry: A case study of the North European Sulphur Emission Control Area '. Int. J. Environmental Technology and Management. 20 (3/4):139-162. Biographical note:Roberto Rivas Hermann holds a Ph.D. in Planning and Development from Aalborg University, Denmark. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Nord University Business School, Nord University, Norway. Roberto's work has focused on eco- R.R.Hermanninnovation and eco-entrepreneurship with emphasis on inter-organizational collaboration mechanisms, co-creation processes and the governance aspects of environmental and natural resource management.

A Review and Economic Analysis of Different Emission Reduction Techniques for Marine Diesel Engines

“…Sulphur compelling from first of July 2010 and was additionally diminished to 0.1% Sulphur starting on January 2015 [4]. Furthermore, in May 2004, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed the final rule introducing Tier IV emission standards, which are phased-in over the period 2008-2015.…”