Sustainable Logistics Is Feasible, Says Maersk

A recent news article published in the Maersk talks about sustainable logistics can be achieved. Here’s proof from our customers.

Consequent industry disruptions

Despite the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, global geopolitical instability, and the consequent industry disruptions, our customers have expressed tremendous interest in available sustainable solutions that can facilitate the decarbonization of their supply chains. This trend, started in 2019, is now well established and spread across all industries championed by some of the biggest brands that are partnering with Maersk on sustainable logistics.

Two-thirds of our top 200 customers have established ambitious Science-Based or Net-Zero targets, compared to half of them just a year ago. Their environmental commitment, clearly embedded within their business strategies, is now also part of their brand’s core values and even their personal responsibilities as entrepreneurs, shareholders and/or employees.

Customers’ ambitions that became reality

Our global integrator ambition, connecting and simplifying logistics through one partner that can cover from end-to-end, relies on strong partnerships with customers globally. 2021, and the first half of 2022, offered multiple ways for our customers to access the support and cooperation necessary to fuel their sustainable logistics, from a dashboard to count emissions, to the investment in green fuels and low carbon shipping.

Through partnership, we agreed upon the need to create an ambitious and effective solution to decarbonize ocean logistics and work towards expanding this across the entire supply chain. Our customers also see the benefit of choosing a low emission shipping solution, as it proves their ambitions towards sustainable logistics to their own customers and can provide them with a competitive advantage in front of their competitors.

Ocean freight is one of the lower carbon emission transport methods, yet leading shippers, such as A.P. Moller-Maersk, are leaning in to invest in more sustainable ways to operate their vessels. HP, for example, is collaborating with Maersk on alternative fuel solutions for ocean shipments. In early 2024, Maersk will introduce the first carbon neutral methanol-operated large ocean-going container vessels. Starting with eight vessels to replace older ships, Maersk estimates it will reduce about 1 million tonnes of CO2 emissions. Those savings will contribute toward HP’s science-based and zero-carbon targets.

VF is committed to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions throughout our owned operations and supply chain to reach our science-based targets. Minimizing carbon emissions related to our shipping and transportation is an important lever to reach these goals, Maersk’s ECO Delivery program is one of the most effective solutions we have found to work towards decarbonization. We are proud to be investing into this innovative program to use and advance alternatives to fossil fuels for shipping our products.

At Electrolux, we aim to decarbonize our entire supply chain by 2050. One way in which we are significantly reducing our greenhouse gas emissions is by using Maersk’s ECO Delivery, a sustainable and low-carbon biofuel for sea transport, Our partnership with Maersk marks a significant step in our journey to minimize the impact of our logistics and across our entire value chain already in 2022. Partnerships like this help us lead the transition to a more sustainable society and inspire other industries and players.

The strong customer demand for sustainable logistics and the uptake of Maersk ECO Delivery also prompted:

• The exponential growth (a three-times increase year-on-year since 2019) of customers choosing to transport their cargo using green fuels from Europe, North America and Asia.
• An increasing demand in new industries that are investing in sustainable logistics, such as Chemicals, Retail, FMCG and Pharmaceuticals, that join existing ones like Lifestyle, Automotive and Tech customers.
• The cooperation between thirteen sustainability-minded customers, that joined Maersk’s recent order of twelve larger ocean-going vessels, powered by green methanol and committing to actively use and scale low emissions solutions for their ocean transport.
• The commitment of Maersk proudly joining more than 300 companies globally signing The Climate Pledge, a commitment co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism, to be net-zero carbon by 2040.
• The establishment of collaborative initiatives like coZEV, that unifies leading companies across the sectors joined forces to establish a demand for decarbonized ocean shipping by 2040. Members sent a signal to supply chain partners and policymakers around the world to take swift and ambitious action to bring low emission shipping solutions to scale.

A plethora of opportunities for sustainable logistics

Last year, we launched a new Emissions Dashboard that helps customers reach their increasingly ambitious GHG (greenhouse gases) emission reduction targets. The dashboard gives customers the visibility of their GHG emission footprint across Maersk-controlled, as well as non-Maersk controlled logistics, including all transport modes such as truck, train, airplane, and vessel. This allows customers to spot emission hotspots in their supply chains, and start perfecting their sustainable logistics, and helping companies in the yearly reporting of their emissions.

Ocean was not the only part of the supply chain that was considered. To ensure a more sustainable transportation end-to-end, Maersk has started to develop green solutions for airfreight and inland as well. For air transportation, Maersk joined United’s Eco-Skies Alliance in autumn 2021 and committed to using sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for transporting our customers’ air cargo.

For inland, we have partnered with Volvo to deliver 126 electrical trucks in our North American fleet, by the end of Q1 2023, to support increased demand from customers. In addition, we will now add 300 electric trucks, delivered between 2023 and 2025, to be used by our North American warehousing, distribution and transportation business. The trucks will be operated using Einride’s digital road freight operating system and charging solutions.

Looking ahead

To fortify this and advance it further, there are plans for more developments on sustainable logistics that are currently set to be designed and delivered to our customers. The initiatives rolled out last year now lay the foundation for what is to come in 2022, focusing on Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives as a strategic priority for our company.

On green fuels, for example, we see Maersk ECO Delivery as a framework. Whilst today the solution uses biodiesel, in the future additional sources will be added (as they become available). Based on our pathway analysis of viable future fuels for net-zero ocean shipping, we are actively pursuing the use of biodiesel (already used to power our fleet through Maersk ECO Delivery), green methanol (ensuring a positive impact on the sustainability of global supply chains this decade) and green ammonia (a zero-greenhouse gas solution in the long-term, but still far away from being ready). Future investments will also see our customers benefitting from the use of green fuels such as Prometheus, European Energy, etc. Prometheus Fuels is developing an innovative technology to produce carbon-based electro fuels from direct air-capture of CO2, supporting our efforts with electro fuels which include alcohol produced from renewable energy. European Energy will be its partner to produce green fuel for its first vessel to operate on low emission methanol. Moreover, to boost the global production capacity of green methanol, Maersk recently entered strategic partnerships with six leading companies (CIMC ENRIC, European Energy, Green Technology Bank, Orsted, Proman, and WasteFuel) with the intent of sourcing at least 730,000 tonnes/year by end of 2025. With this intended production capacity, by the end of 2025 at the latest, Maersk will reach well beyond the green methanol needed for the first 12 green container vessels currently on order.

The second half of 2022 will also be the year where to support the realization of integrated logistics – a convenient simplification for our customers – more sustainable initiatives will be suggested covering all steps of the supply chain.

Finally, to ensure that all innovations meet our customers’ needs and expectations, we will make sure that all pilots will be developed in collaboration with them, using their valued insights and feedback along the way.

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