The largest operators in the shipping industry are slowly making their way to the sustainability district. They are endorsing a Sustainable Shipping Initiative (SSI) to reduce carbon emissions in the near future. “Steps to pioneer energy-efficient vessels, make greater of use renewable energy, and design ships that can be reused or recycled are all today included in a new roadmap designed to achieve a “step-change” in the industry’s carbon intensity through to 2040.” This is definitely appealing since as we discussed during our sustainability lecture, most carbon emissions come from transport. Sure enough, ships have huge carbon emissions from a single trip.
The step-change is absolutely a good idea to pursue. Although, this would only be as successful as the industry’s firms make it. Since new technology and further advancements will be added to the new ships, firms that are trying to lower down their costs might not be willing to comply with the initiative. Momentarily, the participating firms are step-by-step figuring out how to put all the pieces together and how to build up the environmental impact of this new project. Taking this opportunity to plan ahead would definitely better the chances of making the SSI very successful.
Link to news article: World’s Largest Shippers Commit to Sustainability Initiatives (10/31/2011)