MSC and DB Schenker Launch Model Biofuel Program to Reduce Emissions
MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company and a freight forwarder have struck an innovative deal that calls for one of the largest uses of biofuel addressing the growing concerns of shippers to reduce their total carbon footprint. Pressure has been growing on large shippers to address carbon emissions across their supply chains including elements such as shipping which so far has been largely beyond their control. Under the agreement, MSC is creating a carbon reduction program broadly available to the shipping customers of DB Schenker that results in an immediate reduction in emissions. Environmentalists have been critical of some of the early biofuel efforts pointing out that the waste cooking oil used in the production can be high in palm oil which is associated with deforestation. MSC highlights that for this program it will be using a second-generation biofuel, also known as advanced biofuel. It ensures at least 80 percent reduction in CO2e emissions (well-to-wake). The oil is also guaranteed to be palm oil free, including no palm oil waste and no indirect land use change. The oil is devised from used cooking oil and becoming increasingly popular in the shipping industry as a near-term opportunity to improve emissions. MSC has been actively testing and using biofuel as a drop-in blended into fuels for several years and points out that the biofuel is not only well-regarded as a decarbonization transition fuel but can be used for regular ocean freight operations without adjusting a ship’s infrastructure or supply chain.