Author: | He, Yiming |
Title: | Do shipping corporates commercially benefit from green initiatives |
Advisors: | Jin, Yong (AF) |
Degree: | D.B.A. |
Year: | 2024 |
Subject: | Shipping -- Environmental aspects Shipping -- Costs Shipping -- Management Hong Kong Polytechnic University -- Dissertations |
Department: | Faculty of Business |
Pages: | 111 pages |
Language: | English |
Abstract: | It is gradually understood that Climate Change Risks (CCR) and the global initiative in terms of Green House Gas (GHG) and carbon emission control has been a common issue to the whole human society, and subsequently become systematic risk factor to business and economic activities. With rapid development of literature framework since recent years, it is regretful to find that controversy is broadly existing at many sectors of relevant empirical studies. We aim to investigate shipping industry as an instance and examine the potential correlations between shipping corporates’ green initiatives and the metrics of their finance and operational performance. We consider shipping industry as an appropriate object for our empirical study because it is an industry with moderate exposures of CCR and GHG emission risks and under increasing pressure from governing bodies, investors and the public to achieve the unambiguous goals of GHG emission control in accordance with the Paris Agreement 2015 and the following strategies specifically set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). It is observed that both governing bodies and investors are tightening their hands in order to encourage the shipping industry being green at sector of GHG and carbon emission. Meantime, it is also observed that a growing number of leading shipping corporates start announcing their green initiatives by manners of ordering new building vessels with green fuels or technologies. During developing green fuels and technologies, green patents may be worked out and registered. Since granted green patents can be easily found, it can overcome the disadvantages of green initiatives at empirical studies because green initiatives are usually announced in textual with difficulties to be measured and interpreted consistently. Since the incumbent literatures arguably support that the financial market can identify firms’ CCR and GHG emission risks individually and take actions to some extents, we therefore set the hypothesis that shipping corporates can commercially benefit from their green initiatives represented by granted green patents. Our empirical study focuses on entire shipping corporates listed in Shanghai Stock Market. Data in terms of granted green patents are obtained from Wind Financial Terminal while dependent variables and control variables are obtained from either Winds Financial Terminal or CSMAR. There are total 202 observations during period of sampling between 2011 and 2019. However, the baseline tests demonstrate significant positive correlations between shipping corporates’ green initiatives and costs of capital (save to costs of debts) and significant negative correlation with operational performance results represented by roa and roe respectively. The empirical results indicate that shipping corporates don’t commercially benefit from their green initiatives represented by granted green patents save to the costs of debts which shows significantly negative correlations with granted green patents. The Heckman Correction Model is involved to examine the potential issue of sample selection bias and the robustness of the Heckman test result provide confidence in the validity of the results of baseline tests. We also examine the real effects by the Paris Agreement 2015 as an exogenous events and individual shipping corporates’ financial slack, and the interesting results of which indicate that both of the moderators had material influences upon the hypotheses. This empirical investigation can fill into gap of literature framework where there has not been study whether individual corporate can commercially benefit from its green initiatives represented by granted green patents by lower costs of capital and higher operational performance result. Moreover, this empirical investigation will also be a good reference to those who would like to further investigate real effects by either exogenous shocks or some features of shipping corporates’ performance. It also provides governing bodies, investors and shipping corporates with precise indications on correlations between green initiatives and financial metrics, which will be useful reference when they consider moving forward at sector of green initiatives. Further researches are suggested to cover a range of aspects. For instance, we can examine real effects by the IMO Initial Strategy and the IMO GHG Strategy 2023 as exogenous events, and how individual fleet’s CII performance moderate the correlation between green initiatives and shipping corporates’ operational performance results. Additionally, it is suggested to consider enlarge sample base to those global shipping corporates other than Shanghai Stock Market listed shipping corporates only. Besides, it will also be interesting to examine whether similar empirical studies focusing on other industry indicate the similar results. |
Rights: | All rights reserved |
Access: | restricted access |
Files in This Item:
File | Description | Size | Format | |
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7918.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 1.23 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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