Norden becomes 1st maritime carrier to deliver verified emissions reductions through RSB book-and-claim registry

Norden announced Sept. 2 that it has delivered the first verified maritime-emissions reductions through the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials book-and-claim registry, in a landmark pilot completed in collaboration with Microsoft and RSB.

The transaction is the first time a maritime carrier has issued and delivered verified emissions reductions through the RSB book-and-claim registry.

It demonstrates that companies can begin meaningfully reducing and accounting for their shipping emissions now without requiring sustainable fuels to be physically available on their specific voyages.

The solution is developed to enable Norden’s direct customers and clients in other industries that are dependent on marine transportation and seeking to decarbonize their supply chains to credibly invest in maritime decarbonization.

Book and claim allows companies to purchase verified emissions reductions linked to sustainable fuels, regardless of where those fuels are consumed within the industry.

Building on the RSB book-and-claim registry’s established use in aviation, Norden, Microsoft and RSB have now jointly extended the RSB book-and-claim framework to maritime transport for the first time.

“For many companies, some of the most difficult emissions to address are those embedded deep within global supply chains, where they often have little visibility or direct influence over how goods are transported,” said Anne Jensen, the chief operating officer at Norden. “This transaction demonstrates how book and claim can help bridge that gap. By enabling companies to invest in verified emissions reductions from maritime transport, regardless of where the fuel is used or where they sit in the value chain, we can help accelerate decarbonization across industries.”

Bella Horstmann, Microsoft’s senior manager of market development, added, “Decarbonizing supply chains requires solutions that are both credible and scalable. This collaboration with Norden and RSB shows how book and claim can help accelerate progress in sectors where change is otherwise complex and demonstrates that companies don’t need to wait to start reducing their shipping emissions in a verified and meaningful way.”

Max Eichelbaum, RSB’s director of digitization and book and claim, said, “Developing market-enabling tools for decarbonization across hard-to-abate sectors is a priority for RSB and extending the RSB book-and-claim framework to maritime transport is a direct response to that goal. This collaboration with Norden and Microsoft marks a significant milestone in making that a reality. Norden’s certification is exactly the kind of collaboration that will open this solution to the wider shipping industry.”

To enable the book-and-claim maritime transaction, Norden became the first maritime operator to obtain RSB book-and-claim trader certification, a prerequisite for issuing and selling verified emissions reductions via RSB’s book-and-claim registry.

The certification was developed in close collaboration with RSB, which extended its existing aviation framework to cover maritime transport and carriers.

Microsoft is the first company globally to use book and claim for shipping emissions through the RSB registry as part of its broader efforts to address value-chain emissions.

Following this pilot, RSB will update its RSB procedure for book-and-claim chain of custody to enable broader adoption of book and claim across the maritime industry.

Norden said it will continue working with customers and partners to scale this solution with the goal of making verified emissions reductions a standard offering in ocean transport.