Japanese shipping giant unpacks carbon insetting program to slash GHG emissions

Japanese shipping heavyweight Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has unveiled a new carbon insetting program that aims to help shipping companies and non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs) that use ocean transport cut Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

According to MOL, the Blue Action Net Zero Alliance program revolves around a vision to accomplish net zero operations by ‘enhancing’ low-emission marine transportation services using alternative fuels.

It is understood that one of the stepping stones that helped launch the program were the transactions of the issued environmental attributes certificates (EACs) with three ‘major’ NVOCCs, namely, logistics corporation Nippon Express Holdings, the US-based transport company C.H. Robinson Worldwide and MOL’s subsidiary, MOL Logistics.

Giving insight into how net zero marine transportation services can be accomplished via the Blue Action Net Zero Alliance, MOL representatives elaborated that the EACs traded with customers contain environmental attributes (containing GHG emission reduction data quantified in t-CO2e units being allocated to the EACs buyers) of specific low-emission voyages performed by the MOL Group-operated fleet.

As explained, actual shippers and NVOCCs that have been allocated EACs can reflect