Dive Brief:
- Ikea signed an agreement to use HMM’s Green Sailing Service in a move to decarbonize its ocean transportation, HMM said in a June 10 press release.
- The HMM service offers a low-carbon transport solution by substituting conventional fossil fuels with waste-based biofuels. The ocean carrier deploys sustainable biofuel for its services that connect Far East, India and the Mediterranean.
- The agreement is expected to reduce around 11,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions from March 1, 2024, to February 28, 2025. That amount can transport 14,534 TEUs worth of zero-emission cargo from South Korea to the Netherlands, HMM said.
Dive Insight:
Ikea is a big shipper, moving about 1.7 million shipments across land and ocean, according to a 2023 Ikea climate report. As the company works on its transport-related decarbonization goals, biofuels are playing a growing role in its supply chain.
“We see biofuels as an important piece of the puzzle to reduce emissions here and now in the shorter term perspective. It’s not the ultimate solution we need to work towards zero emissions,” Global Sustainability Manager Elisabeth Munck af Rosenschöld said at a conference in March.
The furniture and home goods retailer began using biofuels to transport some of its inventory through a collaborative pilot project with CMA CGM, the Port of Rotterdam and GoodShipping in 2019.
Since then, Ikea has been able to make progress on its decarbonization goals.
Between fiscal year 2017 and fiscal year 2023, the company reduced ocean transport emissions by 22% due to improved vessel efficiency within the industry and the use of biofuels, according to the climate report. It also cut 25,500 metric tons of CO2e emissions in fiscal year 2023 through the use of biofuels, Ikea said in a supply chain catalog from March 2024.
Overall, Ikea’s goal is to reduce 70% of GHG emissions from transportation of their products by 2030 versus a 2016 baseline and be a zero emissions cargo owner by 2040.
The ocean transport industry has been eyeing methods to reduce emissions as more customers like Nike and Nestlé request sustainable services. Several ocean CEOs, in a joint declaration, also vowed to decarbonize maritime shipping and called for an end date to building vessels powered only by fossil fuels during the COP28 UN Climate Change Conference in December 2023.
