Conceptualising a resilience based approach to shipping sustainability

Similar to other organisations, for shipping companies to be sustainable, they need to persist and grow over time in the face of continuous change even though a variety of threats exist to their long term survival and growth. These threats can range from rapidly unfolding short term shocks such as industrial accidents, and natural or manmade disasters, to relatively slowly occurring stresses over the longer term such as climate change and regulatory changes. Sustainability therefore depends upon how shipping companies cope with shocks and stresses resulting from change. However, in the twenty-first century world characterised by complexity, volatility and uncertainty, conventional management techniques with their focus on linear, predictable change may be unsuitable for the sustainability challenge. This paper goes beyond the current broader societal focus undertaken by many organizations in general and the environmental focus of shipping sustainability in particular, to: (i) explore the relationship between resilience and sustainability; (ii) gather insights from studies of social-ecological systems to guide managers in developing strategies for creating sustainable and resilient shipping companies; and (iii) gain an understanding of sustainable shipping.