Maritime Policy Design Framework with ESG Performance Approach: Case of Estonia

Abstract

In policy-making, the design of a policy is considered to be one of the most significant steps. A well designed policy will be able to solve sectoral problems across stakeholders as well as support the competitive development of the entire economy. Enterprises of the maritime sector have been influenced by environmental, social, and governance (ESG) changes with the push coming from financiers, insurers, regulators, and customers. To meet the ESG challenges and utilize the benefits ahead, they need to be addressed in the new policy design processes. The specificities of a maritime sector as well as science-based policy-making framework are the fundamentals of successful maritime policy development. Estonia is located on the eastern border of the EU, and has always aimed to be a maritime state. National maritime policy has been adopted (2012–2020) and currently, the Estonian Transport and Mobility Master Plan incorporates maritime aspects. Actors of the maritime sector have remained dissatisfied and advocate the reinstatement and redevelopment of Estonian maritime policy. The aim of this study was to present a framework for the design of maritime policy that uses maritime economics, ESG performance goals, and policy design analyses as inputs. As a result, a maritime policy design framework is proposed.

Incorporated Maritime Policy Concept: Adopting ESRS Principles to Support Maritime Sector’s Sustainable Growth

“…The literature review showed that most of the research is focused on sustainable development actions in the private sector and few studies pay attention to policy-making in the maritime sector regarding sustainability matters [6,7]. Nõmmela and Kõrbe Kaare [9] studied how to design a maritime policy with the ESG approach and proposed a framework for policy design that is the first step of the policy-making cycle. They also exemplified the evaluation of policy compliance to the ESG criteria using the ESG indicators proposed in the same research [9] and proposed an index for the maritime cluster impact assessment as input for policy-making.…”

“…Nõmmela and Kõrbe Kaare [9] studied how to design a maritime policy with the ESG approach and proposed a framework for policy design that is the first step of the policy-making cycle. They also exemplified the evaluation of policy compliance to the ESG criteria using the ESG indicators proposed in the same research [9] and proposed an index for the maritime cluster impact assessment as input for policy-making. This index included three indicators: Economic impact, sociocultural impact, and environmental impact [31].…”

“…The maritime sector is unique, differing from other economic sectors due to its specificities [9,10] and special sectoral issues and priorities [5]. Compared to other sectors, the maritime sector stands out primarily for its [5,[9][10][11]]:…”

“…Although the increase in seaborne trade has a positive effect on local economic growth, it also significantly impacts environmental and social aspects [3,4,11,12]. At the same time, there has been limited research on the potential contribution of local maritime policymaking to support sustainable development [9].…”

“…As the maritime sector is regulated both on international and local levels, it is obligated to follow cross-sectoral agreements and legislations [9]. In order to manage the expected sustainable development, support from local policy-making is needed.…”