With more large retail store chains demanding “greener” supply chains, Maersk Line is becoming the first shipping line to receive independent verification of its CO2 emissions data, vessel by vessel.
Maersk Line is adding the CO2 data -- verified by Lloyd’s Register -- as one of eight performance measures in score cards that are presented to customers.
Maersk is the largest in terms of fleet capacity and market share on the JOC list of Top 15 Container Fleet Operators.
For customers like Starbucks Coffee Company, independent verification means more transparency.
"Being a good environmental steward is important to Starbucks Coffee Company,” said John Bauer, Starbucks’ director of global transportation.
“Our global logistics providers can aid us in lowering the carbon footprint of our supply chain by improving their CO2 emission data. Quantified measurement and verification is a step in the right direction.”
Maersk Line said it hopes other carriers will participate, so it will make independent verification an industry standard.
“This will enable our customers to choose shipping lines based on their environmental performance,” said Jacob Sterling, head of climate and environment at Maersk Line.
“It used to be that ‘you cannot manage what you cannot measure.’ That’s not the case any more. We will work to develop a global industry standard for verification of shipping’s CO2 emissions,” Sterling said.
The standardization effort is focused within the Clean Cargo Working Group, which consists of shipping companies and large customers that are seeking ways to reduce shipping’s carbon footprint.
Before issuing its first-ever verification, Lloyd’s Register checked whether the CO2 emissions calculated in 2009 corresponded with what auditors could find in the comprehensive vessel reporting system at Maersk Line’s central offices.
The audit process also included a visit on board Maersk Clementine to check whether its logs going back over time corresponded correctly with the information in the reporting system.
“If the CO2 data held by the shore office is not supported by a credible reporting system then we would not be able to verify the data and provide an assurance statement,” said Peter Catchpole from Lloyd’s Register’s environmental product development team. “In this instance we also checked onboard records and reporting procedures to give greater confidence in the reported data,” he said.
Maersk Line is adding the CO2 data -- verified by Lloyd’s Register -- as one of eight performance measures in score cards that are presented to customers.
Maersk is the largest in terms of fleet capacity and market share on the JOC list of Top 15 Container Fleet Operators.
For customers like Starbucks Coffee Company, independent verification means more transparency.
"Being a good environmental steward is important to Starbucks Coffee Company,” said John Bauer, Starbucks’ director of global transportation.
“Our global logistics providers can aid us in lowering the carbon footprint of our supply chain by improving their CO2 emission data. Quantified measurement and verification is a step in the right direction.”
Maersk Line said it hopes other carriers will participate, so it will make independent verification an industry standard.
“This will enable our customers to choose shipping lines based on their environmental performance,” said Jacob Sterling, head of climate and environment at Maersk Line.
“It used to be that ‘you cannot manage what you cannot measure.’ That’s not the case any more. We will work to develop a global industry standard for verification of shipping’s CO2 emissions,” Sterling said.
The standardization effort is focused within the Clean Cargo Working Group, which consists of shipping companies and large customers that are seeking ways to reduce shipping’s carbon footprint.
Before issuing its first-ever verification, Lloyd’s Register checked whether the CO2 emissions calculated in 2009 corresponded with what auditors could find in the comprehensive vessel reporting system at Maersk Line’s central offices.
The audit process also included a visit on board Maersk Clementine to check whether its logs going back over time corresponded correctly with the information in the reporting system.
“If the CO2 data held by the shore office is not supported by a credible reporting system then we would not be able to verify the data and provide an assurance statement,” said Peter Catchpole from Lloyd’s Register’s environmental product development team. “In this instance we also checked onboard records and reporting procedures to give greater confidence in the reported data,” he said.