Norwegian Aquaculture Firms’ Emphasis on Environmental and Social Sustainability Compared to Firms in Other Industries

Abstract

Background: There has been a strong focus on environmental sustainability in the aquaculture industry, but we do not know how firms in this industry emphasize the issue compared to firms in other industries. Methods: Responding to this research gap, we compared survey data of Norwegian firms in the (1) aquaculture industry with those in the (2) manufacturing industry, (3) the consulting, finance and insurance industry, and (4) the hospitality, tourism and culture industry. Results: We found that firms in the aquaculture industry emphasize environmental sustainability more than those in the other industries do. Likewise, firms in the aquaculture industry emphasize social sustainability more than those in the other industries do, but the difference is less marked. Across industries, knowledge-intensive firms emphasize environmental sustainability and social sustainability to a lesser extent. Additionally, firms with local or regional major ownership emphasize social sustainability more than those with international major ownership do. Conclusion: Firms in the aquaculture industry have a relatively strong emphasis on environmental and social sustainability, which may be due to the industry’s environmental challenges. Similarly, aquaculture firms have a relatively strong emphasis on social sustainability, which may be due to the industry’s geographic and sociocultural proximity to numerous small local communities.