Maersk Line Hits CO2 Target Ahead of Schedule

Image courtesy Maersk Line

Maersk Line, the world’s largest container shipping company by teu capacity, has reached its own 2020 target of reducing its fleet-wide CO2 emissions by 25% from its benchmark 2007 levels, the Danish shipper said Monday.

“We are proud to hit this mark 8 years ahead of schedule. It is confirmation we’re on the right track. And to keep that momentum we’re raising the target to a 40% reduction in CO2 by 2020,” says Morten Engelstoft, Chief Operating Officer, Maersk Line.

It is estimated that shipping carries 90% of globally traded goods, contributing to approximately 3-4% of the global annual CO2 emissions.

Not only are Maersk’s ambitios CO2 cutting initiatives beneficial for the company’s own environmental performance, but the targets also help Maersk Line pass on CO2 savings to its customers to help lower their carbon footprint as well.

“Maersk Line’s focus on energy efficiency has made the company significantly more cost competitive. And by cutting our CO2 we’ve also lowered the CO2 emissions of our customers, thereby helping them meet their own CO2 targets,” said Engelstoft. “We see an increased environmental awareness among our customers, so when we improve our environmental performance, we also improve our customer relationships,” he added.

Maersk Line’s CO2 target is an efficiency target measured using the Clean Cargo Working Group’s methodology (grams of CO2 per container carried 1 kilometre) and is independently verified by Lloyd’s Register.

“We reached this target largely from a combination of operational efficiency, network and voyage optimisation, slow steaming and technical innovation. We will hit the 40% target with more of the same,” Engelstoft says. “Other important factors will be the continued cooperation with our vessel leasing partners to retrofit their ships, and the arrival this year and next of the Triple-E vessels, which will be the largest and most energy efficient ships on the water.”

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