Swiss freight forwarder Kuehne+Nagel has announced that it has secured the same amount of green-fuel capacity to replace the conventional amount of fuel that would be required for shipping 40 000 TEUs.
A company statement said: “Kuehne+Nagel has secured the equivalent volumes of a waste-based next-generation biofuel to save CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) emissions of 40 000 TEUs.
The move is in line with the multinational’s emission targets, enabling customers to participate in neutralising the CO2e emissions from their own shipments on any trade or service worldwide.”
The statement said the Kuehne+Nagel biofuel concept was based on next-generation biofuels according to RED II* and allocated fully traceable contingents of biofuel to the customer’s cargo.
“Biofuel is currently the most effective measure to transport goods at zero CO2e emissions in container shipping.
“In contrast to fossil fuels, which are an exhaustible resource and release additional CO2e emissions, next-generation biofuels are produced from renewable feedstocks only and have a circular carbon lifecycle aimed at reusing waste or biomass.”
Kuehne+Nagel added that it “guarantees its customers a 100% avoidance of greenhouse gases (CO2e) in sea transport, as the biofuel's production emissions and lower density compared to conventional fuels are overcompensated.”
Otto Schacht, a member of the management board of Kuehne+Nagel International AG overseeing sea logistics, said the company was committed to saving the emissions of 40 000 TEUs through the use of biofuel.
“We have secured this as the first of several high-volume options to offer our customers easy access to direct CO2e emissions-free transport. We would like to encourage our customers to join us on the path to a zero carbon future."
* The EU Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) defines a set of sustainability and greenhouse gas emission criteria that biofluids used in transport must meet.