Climate change
The world is facing a climate emergency. We see it as our obligation - as an industry leader and with the resources available to us - to do all we can to get to net zero operations as fast as possible and to help our customers decarbonise their global supply chain end to end.
Why action on climate change matters
Transport and logistics emit 3.5 billion tonnes of CO₂ every year. Maersk contributes about 1% of this total – nearly 0.1% of all global emissions. Our priority is to support the transition to a net zero economy by eliminating emissions in our sector.
In 2018, we led the climate response in our industry by committing to decarbonise our shipping operations by 2050 and develop scalable solutions to help our entire sector reduce its footprint. We have since accelerated our actions and brought this target forward by a full decade to prove that while shipping is often called a ‘hard-to-abate industry’, low climate impact solutions are already available.
Our race to net zero
We have accelerated our net zero targets and expanded their scope to cover all emissions related to our activities. Our roadmap sets clear milestones for our operations and customer offerings towards 2030, to make sure we stay on track.
Our ambition
Our targets
Highlights in 2022
Action on climate change
Priorities and actions
Growing the market for green solutions
Investing in green fuels and technologies
Stakeholder engagement targeting strong policies
Explore our greenhouse gas emissions footprint
A detailed overview of our emissions footprint is critical for guiding our decarbonisation efforts.
The sourcing, trading and use of marine fuels is the primary source of our greenhouse gas emissions, impacting both scope 1 and scope 3 emissions.
Scroll down to explore our emissions by scope.
Featured highlights and case stories
Maersk ECO Delivery: supporting our customers’ decarbonisation journeys
We are working closely with a broad range of customers to expand our green fuel offerings. Maersk ECO Delivery substitutes fossil fuels with low-GHG alternatives and harnesses our new technologies and vessels to provide an easier option for customers seeking to ship their cargo sustainably.
While Maersk currently offers ECO Delivery for Ocean, we are currently piloting future low carbon solutions for air, landside transportation (including truck, barge and rail) and Contract Logistics.
Climate-related risks
The impacts of climate change, and government and market actions to mitigate them, will in turn impact our operations and demand for Maersk products and services. We do our utmost to abate transition risks through best-in class decarbonisation strategies, proactively aligning with national and international regulations, and by transitioning our business in a responsible manner.
Building on our extensive 2021 physical risk analysis, in 2022 we initiated onsite risk and mitigation assessments at our most vulnerable land-based assets, and further studied the disruptions that climate-related physical risks may have on global trade flows.
The need for a just transition
At Maersk we understand that our ambitious and accelerated decarbonisation strategy may have unintended impacts on peoples’ rights and livelihoods, and that new supply chains (for example biofuel sourcing) may affect communities. For these reasons we are working to ensure that the energy transition is a just transition.
We believe that a just transition should be based on respect for human rights, social dialogue and stakeholder engagement. We engage in policy debates, as well as multi-stakeholder initiatives that work to ensure that no one is left behind.
Advocating for policies that accelerate change
Our size and reach enable us to impact the level of decarbonisation in the shipping industry, but are dependent on policy frameworks and commitments to further this process.
A package of regulatory decarbonisation measures is needed to drive a faster switch from black to green solutions. This includes market-based pricing of CO₂ emissions, a lifecycle perspective on decarbonisation, and accounting for greenhouse gases beyond CO2 – most notably methane and nitrous oxide.
Sustainability Report 2022
Explore more Environment topics
En savoir plus sur Maersk
Carrières
Suivez-nous sur LinkedIn
