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Maersk Line has released its first Sustainability Progress Report, which describes the company’s progress towards more sustainable and energy-efficient cargo transportation and elaborates on the performance data in the A.P. Moller – Maersk Sustainability Report 2010.

In the new report Maersk says that last year it reduced its relative CO2 emissions by 4.6 percent, and cut sulphur emissions by 80-95 percent in Houston and Hong Kong.

“We must grow responsibly and continue to improve our environmental performance. It is not only a top priority for us, but also for our customers who depend on us in their supply chain,” said Eivind Kolding, CEO of Maersk Line.

The decline in CO2 emissions is said to be a result of ‘slow steaming’ and operational efficiencies. The reductions in sulphur to the air is part of a global 'fuel switch' programme under which the shipping line has committed itself to the use of cleaner fuels at 10 global locations by 2015.

“42 percent of our customers systematically use ‘sustainability’ as a key sourcing criterion, balanced with cost, service and other commercial parameters, when selecting their supplier. It is important for us to give them the data they need to benchmark our performance,” said Hanne B Sørensen, Chief Commercial Officer at Maersk Line.

Key clients of Maersk Line could in 2010 track their shipments’ CO2 emissions, independently verified, and compare it to the industry average.

“Our first Sustainability Progress Report sets the stage for benchmarking. We will use it to drive transparency in the industry,” said Soren Stig Nielsen, Head of Sustainability at Maersk Line.