Hapag-Lloyd Releases New Sustainability Report

The shipping company Hapag-Lloyd has reduced sulfur oxide emissions in 2020 by 70% compared to the previous year. Further fuel savings were achieved through ship optimizations. Additionally, new propulsion concepts were tested and state-of-the-art ships were ordered. A new sustainability strategy with concrete goals will follow later this year.

(Hamburg) Hapag-Lloyd has today published its sustainability report for the year 2020, demonstrating significant progress in ecological, social, qualitative, and economic terms: Since the beginning of last year, the Hapag-Lloyd fleet has been operating in compliance with IMO 2020 using low-sulfur fuel, resulting in approximately 70% less sulfur oxide emissions compared to 2019. Furthermore, a fuel saving of around 15% was achieved on 39 ships by removing biofouling from the hulls. At the same time, Hapag-Lloyd became the first shipping company in the world to retrofit a large container ship with a dual-fuel engine that can be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). In an initial test phase, biofuels based on used cooking oil were also utilized. Additionally, six state-of-the-art container ships with a capacity of over 23,500 TEU each were ordered, which can also operate with LNG through the use of fuel-efficient high-pressure dual-fuel engines, saving approximately 15 to 25% in CO2 emissions. These new construction projects with sustainability references were financed through two green financial transactions completed according to the Green Loan Principles of the Loan Market Association.

Crew Changes Complicated by Travel Restrictions

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the safety of employees was a particularly high priority during the reporting year, leading to over 90% of land-based staff working from home at times. However, seafarers on the ships were also significantly challenged, as crew changes were severely complicated by numerous travel restrictions, forcing many to remain on board much longer than originally planned. Therefore, significant efforts were made to safely and quickly return them to their families.
The greatest challenge in the coming years remains climate change, and to achieve the goal of climate neutrality in shipping, more investment in research and development of propulsion concepts and fuels is necessary. Shipping currently accounts for 3% of all CO2 emissions, and this must be further reduced in the future. For this reason, the new sustainability report is themed “Unlocking the Future of Shipping.” While container ships remain the most efficient mode of transport from an environmental perspective when it comes to transporting large quantities of goods, it is clear that much more needs to be done for climate protection despite these efficiency advantages.

Great Responsibility for Climate Protection

“We have made good progress in all dimensions of sustainability. At the same time, we are aware that we have a very large responsibility, especially in climate protection. Therefore, we will continue to work intensively to modernize our fleet and reduce our CO2 footprint. This remains a key component of our new sustainability strategy, which we will publish later this year. At its core, it is about continuously strengthening our sustainability contribution and achieving gradual improvements,” said Rolf Habben Jansen, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd.
With the new sustainability strategy, Hapag-Lloyd will set concrete goals for the next ten years. One was already announced in March 2021 with the successful placement of a “Sustainability-Linked Bond,” which is tied to a clearly defined sustainability goal: By 2030, the CO2 intensity of the Hapag-Lloyd fleet is to be reduced by 60% compared to the reference year 2008 of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Improvements in CO2 intensity will be measured and published annually according to the so-called Average Efficiency Ratio (AER) indicator, which was 11.68 in 2008 and is to decrease to 4.67 by 2030. The AER provides insight into CO2 intensity, measured in grams of CO2 per ton-mile (gCO2/dwt*nm).
Photo: © Hapag-Lloyd