Setting sail for carbon neutrality in 2040
Climate change is a monumental challenge. It is clear that without action in the near term, the impact of humans on our planet will lead to irreversible shifts to ecosystems, cities, and our way of life.
We all have to do our part to avoid warming the planet and that also includes Svitzer. As the world’s largest towage provider, we recognise that we have an important role to play and a position to influence industry standards.
Towage plays a small yet significant role in the global supply chain. We link the first and last mile of shipping to the remainder of the chain but, paradoxically, are not always bound by shipping regulations. This is particularly true on the environment, where we find ourselves having to create our own momentum for sustainability change.
We recently unveiled Svitzer’s new decarbonisation strategy to become fully carbon neutral by 2040. This is an ambitious goal, far outstripping the current IMO target of a 50% reduction in emissions by 2050. We are dedicated to investing time and capital to embed sustainability throughout our business.
The work has already begun to progress towards the first phase of the strategy, which is to reduce the CO2 intensity of the entire Svitzer fleet by 50% by 2030.
In this paper, we will outline how we intend to reach these goals and dive into some of the tangible progress we have already made. We will talk about the key pillars of our strategy and think about next steps on the road to the future. You will hear more from Gareth Prowse, Svitzer’s Head of Decarbonisation, on the scale of the task and the challenges of decarbonising our fleet and operations.
We fully recognise that this isn’t something that we can do alone. Decarbonising towage – let alone all of shipping – will require new partnerships so we are actively looking for new partners to co-create the road to success. We want to partner not just on the things we know and, in the sector, we occupy, but to draw on learnings from other industries that are experiencing the same transition. We are ready to be challenged and to rapidly innovate as we scale up our quest for sustainable towage and greener ports.
On a personal note, announcing the 2040-goal and taking actions every day that take us closer to achieving the target is very satisfying on a professional level. I am excited to lead all of the team here at Svitzer as we evolve our business around environmental considerations whilst also continuing to deliver the safe and high standard of service that we are known for.
I will state it again: we all have to do our part. I hope that through these pages you will feel the passion that the Svitzer team has for our decarbonisation ambitions, and I hope you share our desire for a sustainable towage industry and greener ports.
