A report card released by the Ship It Zero campaign suggests carriers are better than retailers when it comes to tracking their shipping emissions. The detailed report will make bad reading however for Evergreen, Hapag-Lloyd, Pacific International Lines and Yang Ming who all scored the rock bottom grade of F.
Ship It Zero’s Shipping Decarbonization Report Card is designed to evaluate major retailers and shipping carriers on their commitment to rapid decarbonization and development of zero emissions fuels for maritime shipping. Of the retailers scored, Amazon (D), Home Depot (F), Lowe’s (F) and Walmart (F) received failing grades, while IKEA received a B+ overall, with no retailer acing their work on addressing their shipping pollution. Among the carrier lines scored, Mediterranean Shipping Company, Ocean Network Express, Hyundai Merchant Marine were in the middle of the pack with Cs, Maersk earned a B and CMA CGM came in with a D.
“Carriers continue to be over reliant on false solutions like liquefied natural gas, a potent fossil fuel, and scrubbers,” the report’s authors claimed.
Researchers reviewed carriers’ corporate social governance geports and press releases to track decarbonisation commitments and emissions disclosures. Carriers were given extra credit for absolute emissions reductions and green fuel contracts, but points were deducted for emissions increases and reliance on LNG and scrubbers.
“While the globe is burning, retailers and cargo carriers are doing little to address emissions from shipping their goods,” said Eric Leveridge, Ship It Zero lead.
“Decarbonising the shipping industry is urgent and we are putting retailers and their cargo carriers on notice. We urge companies to commit to achieving 100% zero-emission, fossil-free ocean shipping by 2030 to ensure a healthier, cleaner tomorrow for our communities and our climate,” said Kendra Ulrich, shipping campaigns director for Stand.earth.
The research for the report is questionable however as other analysis suggests Ship It Zero’s poorest liner performers were in fact far better than their peers.
Xeneta and Marine Benchmark’s Carbon Emissions Index (CEI) for Q1 this year, for instance, has Yang Ming as the cleanest global carrier in the world.
