DHL Global Forwarding, one of the leading ocean freight forwarders worldwide, will neutralize the carbon emissions of its less-than-container load (LCL) ocean freight shipments by using maritime biofuels starting January 1 2021.

"Even though we are in unprecedented times, due to the ongoing pandemic, we have to make sure that climate protection and sustainability efforts remain at the forefront," says Tim Scharwath, CEO DHL Global Forwarding, Freight. “This is why we have taken the decision to neutralize the carbon emission of all our LCL shipments.”

The company’s new green service also helps customers reduce their carbon footprint. At no extra cost to the customer, the heavy oil that would ordinarily be used is replaced with sustainable marine biofuel onboard a preselected container vessel. In this way, true carbon neutralization is achieved. The CO2 reduction benefits are allocated to the customer.

In addition, DHL Global Forwarding has a GoGreen carrier evaluation programme, which allows the freight forwarder to give preference to carriers with strong environmental performance.

"The Asia-Pacific region plays a key role in global trade and is in a unique position to advance the sustainability agenda in freight transportation,” notes Kelvin Leung, CEO, DHL Global Forwarding Asia-Pacific.  “The introduction of our decarbonization initiative is in line with the United Nation's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which has been adopted by many countries in the region, and we hope that our commitment will inspire other industry players and customers alike to demand greener services to build a sustainable future."

Key criteria in evaluating the suitability of renewable fuels are that they are produced sustainably and do not compete with other needs, for example with food production for land use. Following strict sustainability standards, the waste-based biofuels must meet the requirements to be qualified as the cleanest biofuels currently available on the market.