First Mover, Hardest Route
How A.P. Moller-Maersk Is Decarbonising the Industry That Moves the World, Before the World Is Ready for It
Summary
Container shipping moves over 80% of global trade and produces roughly 3% of global CO2 emissions, with no clean alternative to heavy fuel oil at commercial scale when Maersk committed to net zero by 2040 in 2021.
Maersk ran a market-creation strategy: ordering dual-fuel methanol vessels and signing offtake agreements before green fuel was price-competitive, redesigning routes through the Gemini Cooperation, and moving ESG governance under its Board Audit Committee.
By 2024, seven dual-fuel methanol vessels had joined the fleet, Maersk became the first shipping company with SBTi validation, and it delivered USD 6.5 billion EBIT, its third-best financial result on record.
What makes Maersk's disclosure unusually credible?
In 2024, absolute emissions rose to 83.5 Mt CO2e and a safety metric worsened, and Maersk reported both in its CSRD-compliant Integrated Annual Report with the same audited rigour as its financial results.
Full Case Study
Read the complete methodology, results and roadmap in the PDF.
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