Will the ship energy efficiency management plan reduce CO₂ emissions? A comparison with ISO 50001 and the ISM code

The Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan (SEEMP) is the sole international regulatory instrument expected to affect rising CO₂ emissions from shipping in the short-term. In this article, we discuss present gaps in the SEEMP guidelines through a comparison with the international standard for energy management systems (EMS), ISO 50001, and with the International Safety Management (ISM) code, which sets requirements for safety management systems in shipping companies. We show that the SEEMP lacks crucial features found in typical management system standards, such as requirements on policy and management reviews. Moreover, best-practice in the form of the ISO 50001 addresses important aspects, such as monitoring, energy auditing, design, and procurement processes in much more detail. In the context of previous research on these instruments and on energy efficiency in general, we argue that these gaps may be detrimental to the success of the SEEMP, both from the societal perspective of CO₂ abatement and from the perspective of companies’ success in energy management. This requires further attention by academia, policy-makers and industry.