Hapag-Lloyd, Forto partner up on biofuel offering

German container shipping company Hapag-Lloyd and compatriot digital freight forwarder Forto have partnered up to launch a biofuel program for ocean shipping customers who seek to reduce their transport emissions.

Customers booking full container load (FCL) sea freight shipments with Forto can now add the use of advanced biofuel to their bookings, effectively reducing 100% of their transport’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

As Hapag-Lloyd has extended its biofuel strategy to work with selected key partners, Forto has delivered the first customer in Hapag-Lloyd’s biofuel program.

As explained, shipping goods with second and third-generation biofuel options through Forto and Hapag-Lloyd is designed to make it easy for customers to reduce scope 3 emissions and achieve emission reduction goals. When selecting a biofuel option, customers receive data-based visibility over the impact of biofuel on sea freight-related greenhouse gas emissions and certificates issued by a third-party monitored process.

“Making the shift away from the logistics industry’s reliance on fossil fuels is an essential step towards a greener future. We see it as our responsibility to continue to deliver transparent and credible solutions that can help our customers navigate this journey as they strive to reduce their environmental impact,” Michael Wax, CEO and Co-Founder of Forto, said.

“Hapag-Lloyd has made a decisive investment in a commercially available biofuel product and their sustainability strategy is amongst the boldest steps towards the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the industry.”

“The biofuel offer for our customers plays an important role as a first step on our journey towards being net-zero. It is through close collaboration between Hapag-Lloyd and our customers to jointly tackle the challenges ahead of us. Thus, we are very happy to work together with Forto on this important topic,” Mirja Nibbe, Managing Director Area Germany and Central Europe for Hapag-Lloyd. commented.

In November 2021, Hapag-Lloyd announced its new sustainability strategy with the target to be net zero carbon by 2045. As part of Hapag-Lloyd’s commitment to decarbonisation and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the company has announced plans to reduce CO2e intensity (EEOI) of its entire fleet by 30% by 2030 as compared with 2019.

The new Forto biofuel initiative is the next step in the company’s strategy to drive transformation towards sustainable supply chains, with the ultimate goal of helping customers make the sustainable transport option their default choice.

In related news, Hapag-Lloyd is on track to become the first shipping company in the world to outfit all of its standard containers with technology for real-time data transmission. The move will enable the carrier to track its containers around the globe and collect data from them. The mass installation of tracking devices in Hapag-Lloyd’s depots worldwide is scheduled to begin at the end of August 2022.

Hapag-Lloyd, which is currently the world’s fifth-largest container shipping company in the world according to Alphaliner data, closed the first half of this year with a significantly higher result compared to prior-year period. This was mainly driven by improved freight rates in the first part of the year.

EBITDA rose to EUR 10 billion ($10.9 billion) in H1 2022 from EUR 3.5 billion seen in H1 2021, while revenues increased to EUR 16.9 billion from 8.7 billion reported in the corresponding period last year.