METHODOLOGICAL BASIS FOR ASSESSING THE LEVEL OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ACTIVITIES OF MARITIME TRANSPORT ENTERPRISES
Abstract
The need to assess and analyze the level of business sustainability caused in a company arises, firstly, from the requirement to fully meet the expectations of all stakeholders who use the company's services, while adhering to the principles of sustainable development, and secondly, from the importance of setting adequate prices for the services provided. Operating in accordance with the principles of sustainable development and thus offering a sustainable product or established service – creates additional value for the consumer, for which they are willing to pay more. The purpose of this article is to analyze existing methods for assessing the sustainability of a region, enterprise, port operator, shipping company, and individual sustainability components, to identify their advantages and disadvantages; and to provide a basis for developing methodological foundations for assessing the level of sustainable development in a maritime transport enterprises. Having analyzed the existing methods for assessing the sustainability of a region, enterprise, port operator, shipping company, and individual components of sustainability, these methods can be classified into regulatory (mandatory), industry-specific, investment (financial and analytical) and proprietary methods. The analysis of regulatory, industry, investment, scientific methods presented in the article reveals certain limitation and underdevelopment in approaches to assessing the sustainable development of maritime transport enterprises. Separate studies have been conducted on such components as economic efficiency, environmental sustainability, and social responsibility, taking into account the specifics of the maritime business. Among the examined methodological approaches for determining the sustainable development level of a maritime transport enterprise, no single methodology was found that enables a comparative evolution of economic, environmental and social management effectiveness, allows comparative analysis between companies, ports and regions, identifies key weaknesses and supports the development of measures for improvement.
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