• January 12, 2022
• Environment, News, Shipping

Soren Skou, CEO of A.P. Moller - Maersk: “The science is clear, we must act now to deliver significant progress in this decade.”

“If we all want a sustainable future this is it. We need to act now and act here,” said Soren Skou, CEO of A.P. Moller – Maersk, as the company unveiled a dramatic ramp up of its greenhouse gas reduction targets—across its entire business and supply chain.

It now aims for the entire A.P. Moller – Maersk business to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions in one decade ahead of its initial 2050 ambition. It has also set 2030 targets aimed to achieve significant emissions reductions within the current decade.

The aim is to align the company with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) pathway to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

The targets go beyond previous efforts to reduce emissions related to the ocean fleet as they cover all direct and indirect emissions across the entire Maersk business.

“As a global provider of end-to-end logistics services across all transport modes, it is a strategic imperative for Maersk to extend our net zero ambition to the total footprint of the business,“ says Skou. “The science is clear, we must act now to deliver significant progress in this decade. These very ambitious targets mark our commitment to society and to the many customers who call for net zero supply chains.“

2030 TARGETS

Maersk has set near-term targets for 2030 thatinclude a 50% reduction in emissions per transported container in the Maersk Ocean fleet and a 70% reduction in absolute emissions from fully Maersk-controlled terminals.

Depending on growth in the ocean business, this will lead to absolute emissions reductions between 35% and 50% from a 2020 baseline, says Maersk.

“Our updated targets and accelerated timelines reflect a very challenging, yet viable pathway to net zero which is driven by advances in technology and solutions,” says Henriette Hallberg Thygesen, CEO of fleet and strategic brands, A.P. Moller – Maersk. “What is needed is a rapid scale-up which we will strive to achieve in close collaboration with customers and suppliers across the entire supply chain.”

Maersk says it will invest in building a portfolio of natural climate solutions that will result in around five million tons of CO2 savings per year by 2030.

Targets are being set for a range of green product offerings covering its Ocean, Air, Contract Logistics (warehouses and depots) and Cold Chain businesses (see fact box below). These products will utilize green technologies and solutions to ensure that they provide real emission reductions within the supply chain.

With coverage including indirect emissions, the targets also address emissions from sources provided by third party suppliers. such as inland transportation services and vessel building. Maersk says that tackling this challenge will require extensive data insights and close collaboration with local and regional suppliers of products and services across the Maersk business footprint.