Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL), a global shipping and logistics company, reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 32 percent in 2009, according to the company's 2009 Environmental and Social Responsibility Report.
Despite overall lower CO2 emissions in 2009, relative emissions per unit carried per kilometer increased 17 percent, which is above WWL's goal to reduce g/tkm CO2 emissions by 10 percent compared to the company's average in 2005-2006. WWL attributes the increase to significantly lower cargo volumes in 2009.
The company also cut its sulphur dioxide emissions (SO2) emissions by 135,000 tonnes over a nine-year period from 2000 to 2009, an amount nearly equal to all the SO2 emissions from road vehicles in the U.S. for an entire year, according to the report. The reduction is attributed to the WWL's 1.5 percent global low sulphur fuel policy. NOx emissions in g/kwh remained steady in 2009 compared to 2008.
A consortium of shipping industry entities recently announced a goal to reduce operational fuel consumption by 15-25 percent, and cut emissions of nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides and particulate matter from ships.
WWL claims its emissions figures are the shipping industry's first emissions inventory report to receive third-party verification that it conforms to the accounting requirements of ISO 14064-1 and the GHG protocol.
WWL is participating in several projects that address supply-chain carbon emissions, invasive species and conservation. As an example, WWL's Supply Chain Optimization study with Indian automaker Tata Group and energy consulting group Xyntéo is aimed at identifying opportunities to reduce both carbon emissions and costs from the automaker's outbound supply chain.
WWL is also working on a collaborative project with the 2008/09 Volvo Ocean Race to study invasive species and the impact of international shipping on the oceans. The company also partners with WWF as the sole sponsorship of the WWF High Seas Conservation Programme.
Wallenius Marine expects to turn its ship's waste heat into onboard electricity with the installation of a waste recovery system on one of its new or existing ships by Fall 2011. The shipping company targets an initial four to six percent fuel savings, which also translates into a reduction of carbon emissions by about 37,000 tons per year and sulphur dioxide by about 150 tons per year.
