Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance launched to boost net-zero drive

The Aspen Institute, Amazon, Patagonia, and Tchibo have launched the Zero Emission Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA) with the aim to accelerate maritime shipping decarbonisation.

As informed, the announcement of the launch was made during the Aspen Ideas: Climate event in Miami Beach, Florida, USA on 8 March.

 As a non-profit organization and initiative of Cargo Owners for Zero Emissions Vessels (coZEV), the mission of ZEMBA is to enable companies to access zero-emission shipping solutions that are not currently available.

Through ZEMBA, freight buyers will accelerate the commercial deployment of zero-emission shipping, enable economies of scale, and help minimize maritime emissions.

“The Aspen Institute is inspired by industry leaders like Amazon, Patagonia, and Tchibo who are advancing solutions that will help us achieve full maritime decarbonization,” said Dan Porterfield, President and CEO of the Aspen Institute.

“Through ZEMBA, we look forward to partnering with additional freight buyers to catalyze the maritime industry’s clean energy future.”

By providing committed demand for new fuels and technologies needed for the nascent market for clean shipping, ZEMBA’s efforts can also help create new and sustainable worldwide economic models in renewable energy, zero-emission fuel production, infrastructure, and clean maritime services.

“Removing the climate impact of hard-to-abate sectors, such as maritime shipping, requires continuous collaboration, investment, and innovation – which is why we joined ZEMBA,” said Kara Hurst, Vice President of Worldwide Sustainability at Amazon.

“Through ZEMBA, we are taking important steps forward together with other cargo owners to unblock challenges, accelerate solutions, and create the demand needed to decarbonize maritime shipping and support a clean energy transition.”

“The climate crisis is an existential threat, and we need all sectors of society working together to save the planet,” said Todd Soller, Head of Global Supply Chain at Patagonia.

“Patagonia relies on ocean cargo shipping to transport materials and finished products around the world, and we depend on partners and initiatives like ZEMBA to help scale solutions for businesses to radically reduce their carbon emissions.”

“Tchibo is on a great path to achieve our own emission targets by 2030,” said Werner Weber, CEO of Tchibo GmbH.

“But for Scope 3, we need scalable solutions now. Supporting ZEMBA gives us the opportunity to address the emissions from our logistics, which represent approximately 13% of our overall footprint. The entire maritime value chain, including cargo owners like Tchibo, has to demonstrate leadership in creating a decarbonized maritime sector. ZEMBA represents an actionable pathway to join forces with other cargo owners to lower and eventually eliminate our Scope 3 emissions from maritime.”

ZEMBA plans to issue a Request for Proposal (RfP) in 2023 to forward procure maritime shipping services that achieve zero or near-zero emissions on a lifecycle basis, for all greenhouse gases, not limited to carbon dioxide.

The delivery of these services will be expected to start in 2025 or 2026. Freight buyers are invited to join ZEMBA as a way to access zero-emission shipping.

Furthermore, shipping lines, in partnership with their fuel suppliers, are encouraged to prepare to participate in the RfP.

“Our goal is to enable any company that is interested in showing leadership to be able to access affordable zero-emission solutions as quickly as possible,” said Ingrid Irigoyen, President and CEO of ZEMBA and Director of the Aspen Shipping Decarbonization Initiative at the Aspen Institute.

As ZEMBA membership grows in the coming years, ZEMBA plans to run similar tenders with larger volumes of demand until zero-emission shipping becomes mainstream in the industry.

Through ZEMBA, cargo owners aim to kickstart the clean energy transition in an essential industry that supports 90% of all global trade and services millions of communities worldwide.

However, global, regional, and domestic policymakers are also needed to support the smooth scaling and economic viability of these zero-emission solutions so that they become the new normal.

“Decisively shifting to zero emission maritime alternatives makes good business sense in a changing world where the business-as-usual approach no longer aligns with the values of many consumers around the world,” said Irigoyen.

“ZEMBA’s co-founders realize that we have an opportunity now to ensure that this clean energy transition in shipping works for businesses that depend on reliable, affordable, and environmentally responsible maritime transport into the future.”

In addition to facilitating ZEMBA, the Aspen Institute organizes the coZEV 2040 Ambition Statement, where 19 global brands to date have announced their ambition to exclusively use zero-emission shipping for their ocean freight by 2040.

coZEV released the Roadmap to 2040 at COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, which includes action on policy, green corridors, and the launch and continued growth of ZEMBA.  Subsequent announcements will be made by ZEMBA in the coming months.