Consumer and Shipping Companies Offset CO2 Emissions Through Biofuels
A new partnership of 18 leading companies in shipping and consumer goods is working with the GoodShipping initiative to substantially reduce emissions from the cargoes they ship. The cargo owners and other partners are undertaking a commitment to promote sustainable marine biofuel in a campaign that will reduce around 4,000 tons of emitted carbon dioxide.
The Ship to Zero initiative brings together organizations spanning a range of nations and industries, including food production, consumer goods, chemicals, textiles, machinery, and logistics, and all of which are united in their commitment to making an immediate and tangible climate impact. The campaign intends to show that making real climate action is already possible and to provide an example for policymakers and other companies to follow.
Each partner has committed to a specific reduction in Greenhouse Gas emissions related to the transport of their products or services. Translating these pledges into tangible, traceable, and demonstrable climate impact, GoodShipping completed the first bio-bunkering of the container ship Samskip Innovator, during which fossil fuels were replaced by 100 percent sustainable biofuels. The partnership will see advanced biofuels used for a total of four or five trips from Rotterdam to Hull (UK).
Tina Trinks, Commercial Manager at GoodShipping, said, “The Ship to Zero initiative demonstrates that concrete climate action is possible now and that a tangible impact can be achieved by taking small steps together and breaking down collaborative barriers across industries. Given the urgency of the climate crisis, there is no time to waste, and cargo owners have a unique opportunity to move from intentions to action.”
Samskip reported that the Samskip Innovator, an 800 TEU containership that normally runs on traditional fuel, will conduct the trial running on biofuel until mid-December. The usage of biofuel on the vessel maybe be extended given a successful trial run. It marks the company’s second effort as they announced last week another vessel, Samskip Endeavour, will use sustainable biofuels as its new standard fuel.
The refueling of the Samskip Innovator was achieved in partnership with GoodFuels, whose renewable biofuels deliver an 80-90 percent well-to-exhaust CO2 reduction and are produced from certified sustainable feedstocks. These include among others used cooking oil and waste animal fats, which are labeled as 100 percent waste or residues that cannot be used for any higher quality application or recycling. These renewable feedstocks are approved by an independent sustainability board, to ensure all biofuels meet the highest sustainability requirements.
GoodShipping is based on the mass balance principle, a concept that all carbon is emitted into the same atmosphere and where the vessel being refueled will not necessarily carry the cargo that the partner companies have decided to transport carbon neutrally. The CO2 reductions can be enabled on another ocean going vessel, with GoodShipping’s strict sustainable accountability criteria ensuring that the partners’ decarbonization commitments are delivered.
The initial partners of the initiative are Bugaboo, Cocoasource, DHL Global Forwarding, Dille & Kamille, Dopper, Geelen Counterflow, Lenzing, Loods5, Lush, Matsen Chemie, Nine & Co, Regent Ingredients, Samskip, Sipsmith, Tony’s Chocolonely, YOGI Tea, Yumeko, and Zaytoun. Companies of all sizes, industries, and locations are encouraged to join in the program to offset carbon emissions for their cargoes.