Integrated container logistics company A.P. Moller-Maersk announced that its greenhouse gas emissions targets, including its aim to achieve net zero by 2040, and a series of new goals to reduce emissions across its operations and supply chain, have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

The announcement makes Maersk the first company to have its climate targets validated under the SBTi’s Maritime Guidance, launched in late 2022, and aimed at enabling companies in the maritime transport sector to set near-and long-term science-based targets in line with 1.5°C.

Rabab Raafat Boulos, Chief Operating Officer at A.P. Moller – Maersk, said:

“At Maersk, we feel a strong responsibility to take action in the climate crisis. The Science Based Targets initiative represents the highest standard for corporate climate targets, and we are very proud to have obtained validation. We are committed to do our share to reach these targets, but we cannot do it alone. To succeed, we are dependent on and working with the ecosystem that we are part of, including customers, suppliers, industry peers and regulators.”

In addition to its ambition to achieve net zero across the value chain by 2040, including a 96% absolute reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions and 90% in Scope 3, Maersk’s climate goals include interim targets to reach 100% renewable electricity sourcing, and to reduce absolute Scope 1 and 3 emissions by 35% and 22%, respectively by 2030.

Maersk said that the primary levers to reduce emissions in its own operations will include green fuels and improvements in fuel efficiency, while its supply chain solutions will require engagement and collaboration with suppliers. The company has announced a series of moves over the past few years to enable the use of green fuels, including ordering 25 vessels capable of running on green methanol, recently announcing the industry’s first-ever retrofit to convert an existing fossil fuel-powered container vessel to dual-fuel methanol-powered vessel, as well as entering several major green fuel purchase agreements.

Morten Bo Christiansen, Head of Energy Transition, A.P. Moller – Maersk said:

“These new targets are a proof-point that even as a company in a hard–to-abate sector, it is possible to adopt ambitious science-based targets and get them validated. We know that delivering on them will be a very difficult task, however, setting ambitious targets, both near- and long-term, is critical to our energy transition efforts as they drive action to secure material impact in this decade.”