On a climate change (e)mission!

Walking the talk with its climate change message, Maersk Line is fielding an unusual participant – the Climate Box – in this year’s VELUX 5 OCEANS yacht race which began in La Rochelle, France and leaves from Cape Town on the second leg on December 12. The Climate Box – a container-turnedshowroom – is an interactive exhibition housed inside a prototype container being developed by Maersk Line to have minimum impact on the environment. It was on show at the V&A Waterfront. Every aspect of the container has been designed with sustainability in mind, from the 100% recycled plastic flooring to the water-based paint. Maersk Line is providing complimentary shipping services to the skippers, partners and stakeholders before and during the 30 000 nautical mile round the world yacht race. The container is split into three sections. The first shows the CO2 emissions produced by transporting various products to South Africa by sea and compares the level of CO2 produced by five different types of transportation. The middle section of the Climate Box gives visitors the chance to have a go at steering a Maersk Line container ship across the Atlantic in a special simulation. The idea of the game is to make the journey as environmentally friendly as possible, taking into account your speed and the effects of weather on the ship. In the third compartment visitors can sit in comfort and watch a film preview of the VELUX 5 OCEANS on a huge LCD screen. “It’s an opportunity to communicate our sustainability strategy as well as efforts and innovation in order to continuously make shipping an even more sustainable mode of transportation,” says Lars Sinnerup, sustainability event manager at Maersk Line.