A Conceptual Analysis of Green Shipping Practices, Rational Culture and Sustainability for a Safer and Sustainable Ocean

The increasing volume of ocean traffic, global warming and climate change have raised the urgency of the shipping industry to prioritize their efforts in sustainability. The shipping industry is currently under significant pressure to comply with stricter environmental regulations in order to operate in a cleaner and greener approach. Hence, this study aims to promote a sustainable shipping industry that is able to strike a balance between their economic, social and environmental performance. As such, this research intends to focus on the sustainability of the shipping companies by introducing green shipping practices (GSP) to help shipping companies to achieve sustainability based on the triple bottom line framework. GSP is not only limited to one aspect of the business operations, but it also includes the entire shipping industry. This study conceptualizes GSP for shipping companies within six dimensions, which are company policy and procedure, shipping documentation, shipping equipment, shipping service providers’ cooperation, shipping materials and shipping design for compliance. This research also introduces the role of rational culture as a moderator in facilitating sustainability that yields business benefits.