17 companies will together save 2023 tonnes of CO2 this year by providing several vessels owned by shipping company Samskip with biofuel, according to Port of Rotterdam's release. Companies that import or export their freight by vessel generally have little influence on the container shipping company’s fuel choice. GoodShipping aims to change this with the ‘insetting’ concept.
In December, the Port of Rotterdam Authority and GoodShipping announced the ‘Switch to Zero’ campaign to encourage companies to have their sea freight transported using sustainable fuel.
Insetting reduces carbon dioxide emissions by using sustainable fuel for shipping. This in contrast to offsetting, which involves CO2 being compensated by, for instance, planting trees. Shippers often transport small numbers of containers on different vessels and can use insetting to reduce a certain amount of CO2 via GoodShipping, which allows for the CO2 neutral transport of cargo. GoodShipping ensures that this CO2 reduction is achieved by providing a vessel with sustainable fuel. This does not need to be the same vessel on which the containers are transported.
This makes it easy for sea freight shipping companies to make a concrete contribution to reducing CO2 emissions. GoodShipping ensures that several Samskip vessels will be provided with biofuels, which will achieve a CO2 reduction of 2023 tonnes. This is comparable to the amount of CO2 released when transporting some 15,000 TEU containers between Rotterdam and Gothenburg.
The participating companies are Dille & Kamille, Swinkels Family Brewers (known for Bavaria and Cornet, among others), Yogi Tea, Beiersdorf, Bugaboo, Otto Group, K2 Forwarding, Yumeko, NINE & Co., De Kleine Keuken, Royal van Wijhe Verf, Intersteel, OMyBag, Regent Ingredients, Dopper, Johnny Cashew and Anchor International.
Dutch company GoodShipping is one of the market leaders in insetting, the service that enables shippers and producers to transport sea-going freight using sustainable fuels instead of traditional fossil fuels. This form of insetting accelerates the energy transition in the transport sector. The initiative does not lie with shipping companies, but with freight owners.
GoodShipping already works for companies including DHL, IKEA, BMW, Tony’s Chocolonely, Beiersdorf and Bugaboo. The fuel is produced from certified sustainable flows including frying oils and animal fats that are labelled as 100% waste and cannot be used in higher grade products. These so-called advanced biofuels also do not compete with the food chain and production does not affect important ecosystems such as the rain forest. This is monitored by an independent sustainability board.