MSC expands its Carbon Neutral Programme with South Pole

June 15, 2020, by Jasmina Ovcina Mandra

Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has partnered with a climate solutions provider South Pole to develop the MSC Carbon Neutral Programme.

The deal comes on the back of a similar program implemented in 2019 in selected countries, which is now being extended worldwide throughout 2020.

Under the programme, MSC offered its customers an option to fully compensate the unavoidable carbon emissions caused by the transport of their cargo through supporting climate protection projects managed by South Pole.

The climate action projects developed by South Pole deliver benefits aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

It has delivered over 700 projects in over 40 countries that include protecting animals from extinction, conservation farming, generation of renewable energy, and providing carbon credits to corporate businesses enabling them to invest in carbon offset projects.

South Pole cancels the same amount of carbon credits generated by these projects, which are audited and third-party certified according to the most stringent international standards, the Verified Carbon Standard (Verra), the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standards and the Social Carbon.

“In addition to running the biggest fleet investment programme in the industry, MSC has ensured that customers have an option to compensate CO2 emissions through the global MSC Carbon Neutral Programme. We have partnered with South Pole, a leading, certified third party to extend the MSC Carbon Neutral Programme and help bridge the gap between shipping today and the zero-carbon future we all aspire to,” says Claudio Bozzo, Chief Operating Officer, MSC.

“MSC clients are given the opportunity to contribute to projects that not only mitigate global CO₂ emissions, but also improve lives on the ground in communities in China and Zimbabwe – from the development of cleaner energy and to combating poverty, improving skills and ensuring food security,” said Natalia Gorina, Commercial Director at South Pole.

The cooperation has already provided support to:

MSC recently completed the launch of the largest class of container ships which produce the lowest CO2 emissions per container carried by design – MSC’s Gülsün Class. Furthermore, the company is exploring and trialling a range of alternative fuel and propulsion technologies to support the container shipping industry’s long-term goals to decarbonise.