Ocean Cargo Players Key to Meeting Climate Change Goals

When President Biden hosted a virtual Leaders Summit on Climate last week, global supply chain managers were paying close attention to efforts being made by key stakeholders championing sustainability.

We were heartened to learn that to mark the 51st World Earth Day event, CMA CGM Group, was among those players reiterating its commitment to protecting the planet.

In the firm belief that it needs to go above and beyond the target set by the IMO of halving overall CO2 emissions by 2050, the Group has undertaken to become carbon-neutral by 2050.

On its path towards achieving these targets, the Group has cut its overall CO2 emissions by 4% in 2020 after a 6% reduction in 2019. Since 2008, the Group has lowered its CO2 emissions per container-kilometer by 49%. In addition, CMA CGM has pledged that alternative fuels will cover at least 10% of its consumption by 2023.

Practical, ground-breaking initiatives are a distinctive feature of the CMA CGM Group’s commitment to reducing the footprint of its activities on the climate, air quality and biodiversity:

• Back in November 2017, Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of the CMA CGM Group, made the visionary decision to order nine 23,000-TEU vessels powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). By 2022, 32 of the Group’s vessels will be LNG-powered. LNG is currently the most effective industry solution for preserving air quality and also provides an initial means of helping to combat global warming since a ship powered by liquefied natural gas emits up to 20% less CO2 than a fuel-oil propulsion system.
• In 2019, CMA CGM announced that none of its ships would use the Northern Sea routes in order to protect the Arctic’s unique but fragile ecosystems.
• In late 2019, Rodolphe Saadé initiated the “Coalition for the Energy of the Future” made up of 14 global companies committed to accelerating the energies and technologies of the future, supporting new green mobility models and curbing the impact of shipping and logistics on climate change.
• CMA CGM is the first shipping company in the world to have successfully tested a biofuel consisting of 20% recycled vegetable oil and forestry waste from 2019 onwards.
• In December 2020, CMA CGM launched Reef Recovery, a vast regeneration program for coral reefs with an initial project on the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia.
• In 2021, CMA CGM has embarked on a global reforestation plan, planting 110,000 trees—one for each of the Group’s employees—in 12 countries under local agro-forestry programs that aim to regenerate nature and support the development of local populations.
• In April 2021, the CMA CGM Group decided to support the production of 12,000 tonnes of biomethane, which will be injected into the European network via the guarantees of origin system. As a result, it can offer its customers reductions of at least 67% (well-to-wake basis) in the carbon footprint of its shipping services.

As our readers know, ocean cargo shipping is the backbone of global supply chains. We therefore endorse and champion those players committed to protecting the environment and advancing the shipping industry’s energy transition…pressing ahead with its efforts to look after the planet.

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