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

Authors: Roberto Rivas Hermann

Addresses: Nord University Business School, Nord University, P.O. Box 1490, 8049 Bodø, Norway

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. This regulation benefits 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. 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: shipping industry; eco-innovation; environmental technologies; sulphur; environmental regulation; MARPOL; SECA; North Sea; technology push; air pollution.

DOI: 10.1504/IJETM.2017.089642

International Journal of Environmental Technology and Management, 2017 Vol.20 No.3/4, pp.139 - 162

Received: 28 Feb 2017
Accepted: 31 May 2017
Published online: 05 Feb 2018 *

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