GREEN SHIPPING PRACTICES AND ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE OF MARITIME COMPANIES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined green shipping practices and environmental performance of maritime companies in Nigeria. The study employed the cross-sectional survey research design. The target population of this study consisted of managers of the 125 Nigerian maritime companies registered with NIMASA in Nigeria while the accessible population was limited to managers of selected registered maritime companies in South-South Nigeria. The A population of 200 managers who fall under the categories of logistics managers, operational managers, distribution managers and safety managers were identified in 50 selected maritime companies that practice green shipping strategies in South-South Nigeria. The census sampling technique was applied in this study where all the population elements (200 managers) were used as sample for the study. A structured questionnaire was used to elicit data from the respondents. The instrument was validated through face and content analysis while its reliability was determined using the Cronbach Alpha method. The data collected from the field were analyzed statistically while the hypotheses were tested using Spearman Rank Order Correlation Coefficient (rho) which was computed with the aid of SPSS software program version 25. The findings revealed that green shipping policy has significant relationship with carbon emission reduction and waste reduction of maritime companies in South-South Nigeria. The study also found a significant relationship between green shipping design and environmental performance (carbon emission reduction and waste reduction) of maritime companies in South-South Nigeria. The study equally revealed that green shipping facilities have a significant relationship with carbon emission reduction and waste reduction in South-South Nigeria. Based on these findings, it is therefore concluded that green shipping practices such as green shipping policy, green shipping design and green shipping facilities are significant predictors of environmental performance of maritime companies in South-South Nigeria. The study therefore recommended that maritime companies that are yet to embrace green business philosophy in South-South Nigeria should integrate sustainability issue into their shipping practices as it would reduce the amount of waste and carbon emission released into the environment and improve their environmental performance.