Final Delivery of MG and CSR Courses
The last of five offerings of a Maritime Governance (MG) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) course took place at WMU from 20-24July with Anne-Marie Warris, Director of Ecoflect, delivering the final workshop to the Maritime and Education specialization students. Since 2014, the course has been delivered to 161 students, across all specializations.
Through an agreement signed in 2013, funding for development of the courses was provided by the Danish Maritime Fund through the Danish Shipowners’ Association and The Danish Maritime Authority. The courses bring forward both theoretical and practical issues that can enhance social, economic, and environmental sustainability in the maritime industry.
Assistant Professor Lisa L. Froholdt was responsible for the overall courses. WMU professors involved in both development and delivery included:
Dr. Olof Linden, Professor, Director of Research
Professor Neil Bellefontaine, Vice President Academics
Dr. Aykut Ölçer, Professor, Director of Post Graduate Diploma Energy Efficiency Management
Dr. Larry Hildebrand, Professor, Head of Ocean and Environmental Management
Dr. Daniel Moon, Professor, Head of Shipping Management & Logistics and Port Management.
Dr. George Theocharidis, Adjunct Professor.
Dr. Lisa L. Froholdt, Assistant Professor, Head of CSR Research reference group, CSR Maritime.
In addition, the prominent reference group included the following:
MAGSAYSAY, Philippines, President Marlon R. Rono
STENA, Sweden, contact person: Head of Communication, Mr. Erik Lewenhaupt
Ecoflect, UK, Director Dr. Anne Marie Warris
Dr. Yoshinobu Takei, Senior Legal Council with the UN Division for Ocean Affairs of the Law of the Sea (DOALOS) in New York
Dr. Ilias Visvikis, WMU, Professor, Director Executive Professional Development
In connection with the courses, several professors from WMU are writing chapters for a new book entitled ”CSR in Shipping” to be published by Springer early next year. A scientific article will be completed as a deliverable within the project.
A CSR exhibition in relation to the course is currently on display in the WMU library and promotes awareness of CSR with CSR and Sustainability reports highlighted from a range of maritime companies, research articles from internal and external academics, and search machines with easy accessible links to aspects of CSR. A string of CSR-related films compiled by the WMU library accompany the exhibition as well as links to e-books and academic articles.
In 2013, WMU arranged the Northern European Shipping CSR Symposium that took place on 12 November in Helsingør, Denmark. The event brought together nearly 200 participants from around the globe including policy makers, academics, and shipping companies to discuss the underlying triple bottom line of CSR that takes into account social and environmental concerns, as well as profit.
Funded by The Nippon Foundation and hosted in cooperation with the Danish Shipowners’ Association, Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), Japan International Transportation Institute, and WMU, the event highlighted the importance and benefits of CSR as part of business strategy for shipping companies.
