A Marketing Manager colleague who markets to our marine customers has shared a white paper by Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping. She told me that all Sustainability Champions could relate to its decarbonization pathways principles even though the center targets the Marine sector. I’ll share three excerpts, three suggestions from the center, and three personal reflections.
Three Excerpts
- “It (current decarbonization efforts model) shows that if we do not change course the path we are on will lead to around 20% more GHG emissions by 2050. This is very far from the 1.5-degree and well below the 2-degree pathways outlined by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change).”
- “The main risk is that industry leadership could lead to margin erosion for the front runners if customer willingness to pay is weak, and the substantial cost gap between fossil and alternative fuels is not closed by regulatory intervention.”
- “Fossil fuels are the least costly, they are easy to handle, energy-dense, well understood and regulated, and available in most all ports globally. This makes fossil fuels a tough competitor to beat.”
Three Suggestions From The Center
- Focus on energy efficiency since it can maximize primary energy conversion to new energy carriers. The barriers that need to be addressed include technology adoption, effective regulation, and efficiency innovation.
- Scale-up and lower down the costs of alternative fuels.
- Support first movers in demonstrating projects, establishing collaboration platforms, and learning from all players in the industry.
Three Personal Reflections
- We have seen progressive companies employ “new” roles ranging from Sustainability Managers to Chief Sustainability Officers. However, in-company and industry leadership are not enough. Sustainability Champions need to be involved in the entire value chain to push for the green agenda. The white paper mentioned that regulation could be the missing puzzle for the whole decarbonization efforts to work. Industry Lobbying is needed.
- Energy Efficiency is critical for carbon reduction and new energies transition. If you put this in a dual transformation model, Transformation A is Energy Efficiency while Transformation B is the Net Zero ambition. Firms need to transform their status quo and find the capabilities link, which is more likely technology and innovation.
- Gone are the days that first movers and industry leaders are there for the show. The onus is on them to propagate new technologies and management practices to the whole industry.
You can read the whole report here: https://www.zerocarbonshipping.com/
Migo Aguado 