Maersk Line Plans 60 Percent Cut in CO2 Footprint by 2020

World’s largest ocean container carrier Maersk Line plans to reduce CO2 emissions per container moved by 60% by 2020 compared to levels from 2007, according to the recently launched Maersk Line 2014 Sustainability Update. 

With the launch of this new CO2 reduction target, Maersk Line is accelerating the effort to reduce its carbon footprint whilst growing the business. The impact of this new target is a sustained decoupling of economic growth from CO2 emissions.

To achieve the target, average fleet CO2 performance will have to be below current E-class (15,500 TEU capacity) performance today.

In absolute terms, Maersk Line expects to grow with the market, that is approximately 80% growth in volume by 2020 compared to 2007 while reducing total CO2 emissions by 40%.

Aggregating avoided emissions, Maersk Line says it will have saved the climate approximately 200 million tonnes CO2 from 2007 to 2020. This is the same as annual greenhouse gas emissions from over 35 million passenger vehicles which is approximately the same as all passenger cars in France.

In 2014, Maersk Line also launched the Carbon Pact challenge. The Carbon Pact is a long-term partnership wherein Maersk Line commits to a CO₂ target specifically tailored to the business of the individual customer. As part of the agreement, both companies also pledge to jointly drive transparency and promote more sustainable procurement – raising the bar for the entire industry.

”Maersk Line shares aspirations for sustainable, profitable growth with many of our customers. By committing to reducing supply-chain emissions, we’re demonstrating our commitment to delivering tangible carbon savings,” said Stephen Schueler, Chief Commercial Officer at Maersk Line.