DHL, CMA CGM accelerate decarbonization of ocean freight with joint biofuel initiative

Photo: DHL Global Forwarding

DHL Global Forwarding announced Dec. 22 that it and CMA CGM have taken a significant step toward decarbonizing global container transport.  

The two companies have agreed to jointly use 8,990 metric tons of biodiesel made from used cooking oil, enabling an estimated 25,000 metric tons of CO2e well-to-wake emission reduction for ocean freight transported under DHL’s GoGreen Plus service.  

This initiative empowers DHL customers to significantly reduce the carbon intensity of their international supply chains while accelerating the industry’s transition to alternative marine fuels. 

“This collaboration marks another milestone in our mission towards low-carbon supply chains,” said Casper Ellerbaek, the head of global ocean freight at DHL Global Forwarding. “By leveraging sustainable marine fuels, we help our customers achieve their climate goals and drive real progress toward decarbonization.”  

Through DHL’s GoGreen Plus and CMA CGM's “ACT+” low-carbon transport offering, shippers can integrate sustainable maritime transport into their logistics operations.  

CMA CGM will physically bunker the biofuel across its fleet, ensuring that emission reductions correspond to DHL’s book-and-claim approach.  

DHL’s GoGreen Plus service enables customers to cut well-to-wake emissions by selecting sustainable marine fuel options for their transport, allowing reductions of up to 80 percent greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions compared to conventional maritime fuel. 

While DHL aims to reach net-zero GHG emissions by 2050, Olivier Nivoix, executive vice president of shipping for CMA CGM Group, said, “Our partnership with DHL demonstrates how collaboration can accelerate the shift to low-carbon shipping. ‘ACT+’ offers reliable and scalable solutions backed by our fleet designed for alternative fuels. CMA CGM, committed to net-zero carbon by 2050, has already cut the carbon intensity of its shipping activities by 57 percent since 2008 and is investing heavily in alternative fuels and dual-fuel vessels.”  

Both companies will continue to explore opportunities to scale up lower-carbon fuel usage and develop collaborative approaches to decarbonize international supply chains. 

DHL’s GoGreen Plus products provide decarbonized solutions across DHL’s core offerings by leveraging sustainable fuels and low-carbon technology.  

GoGreen Plus products are based on true value-chain decarbonization.  

This is enabled by the book-and-claim approach, which enables DHL to directly replace fossil fuels with sustainable fuels within the logistic company’s network and allocate environmental benefits to paying customers, even when their shipments are not physically transported with the assets using these fuels.  

GoGreen Plus allows DHL’s customers to reduce their indirect scope 3 emissions in their value chain arising from upstream and downstream transportation and distribution.  

It also helps customers with voluntary reporting of GHG emissions and progress against their decarbonization targets.