The convergence of environmental sustainability and ocean cruises in two moments: in the academic research and corporate communication

Abstract

Concerns for world peace, freedom, and the future of people and the planet have led to several United Nations Conferences, generating discussions on global sustainable development. These efforts resulted in the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The proposed Goal 14 reflects the concern for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas, and marine resources. In this context, the research objects of this study are ocean cruise ships and the main dimension surveyed is environmental sustainability. Firstly, the study sought to identify through the convergence of the dimensions of sustainability and cruises the contributions to the cruise industry that promote the SDGs. To this end, we carried out a bibliometric analysis of scientific production on cruise ship environment, narrowing the research focus on environmentally sustainable practices. The second research objective is to examine cruise companies’ strategic inclination to provide information on environmental initiatives to the market. The results show little scientific research focused on the convergence of the two topics studied, environmental sustainability and cruises. Only 12 scientific articles were identified. Regarding the information on environmentally sustainable practices, the findings show that only 22.6% of the 31 cruise companies surveyed provide this information on their corporate websites.

Environmental sustainability: a strategic value in guiding cruise industry management

“…However, few cruise companies disclose their sustainability indicators (Hall et al , 2017; Jones, Comfort and Hillier, 2016; Jones, Hillier and Comfort, 2016; Ramoa et al , 2018). Among the leading companies (Cruise Market Watch, 2018), only the Carnival Corporation (Carnival Corporation, 2018) and the Royal Caribbean Cruises (Royal Caribbean, 2015a, b, 2016a, b, 2017, 2018) groups publish complete reports including social, economic and environmental dimensions.…”

“…However, researchers argue that the information provided by shipping companies on sustainability is very limited (Hall et al , 2017; Jones, Comfort and Hillier, 2016; Jones, Hillier and Comfort, 2016; Ramoa et al , 2018); therefore, to assist companies in environmental management, this study offers guidelines for environmental best practices, seeking a convergence between strategy formulation model and environmental sustainability as a principle (Fodness, 2016; United Nations, 2016) to be incorporated into the management of oceangoing vessels.…”

“…However, this is not just a strategic matter but also a necessity, as most of the cruise companies are not transparent in providing information about their environmental practices (Jones, Comfort and Hillier, 2016; Jones, Hillier and Comfort, 2016; Ramoa et al , 2018). Therefore, with the intention to highlight the necessity in protecting the marine environment, this study aims to recommend the requirements to guide these companies in their way to adopt best practices in environmental sustainability matters.…”

Port’s Role as a Determinant of Cruise Destination Socio-Economic Sustainability

“…The research on cost/benefit trade-off is scarce, as the studies addressing environmental sustainability are still limited and far from being well established [5]. The debate on the major positive and negative consequences of cruise tourism is still not consensual in most venues of impact analysis, namely, environmental, socio-cultural, and economic.…”

Μεθοδολογικό Πλαίσιο Αξιολόγησης Λογοδοσίας Και Διαφάνειας Απολογισμών Αειφορίας-Εταιρικής Κοινωνικής Ευθύνης (ΕΚΕ) Επιχειρήσεων

“…However, in comparison with other business segments, the shipping industry is considered a latecomer in CSR reporting . Some academics have noticed that despite the recent increasing interest CSR reporting is still under-researched from the academic point of view (Ramoa, Flores, and Stecker 2018), while numerous publications are studying maritime operational issues and aspects under a more practical and tangible perspective. Concerning sustainability disclosure, even in the case of the cruise and crude oil sectors which are the frontrunners of the shipping sector in publishing CSR reports, the research is still limited (Wang et al, 2019).…”