Why transparency is the key to reducing carbon emissions

It’s not possible to meet maritime decarbonisation goals if we can’t see where we sit presently or shine a spotlight on where we’re going. We know that a key to meeting ambitious IMO emissions reductions targets relies on all of us sharing insights and developing tools to measure our environmental impact.

At RightShip, we have been working to improve the transparency in the data we provide our customers so that they’re well placed to understand and reduce their emissions over time.

We believe that Carbon Accounting is among the most transparent emissions calculation tools in the sector, because we are able to analyse the emissions impact across specific voyages, cargo types and ship types.

This in turn enables us to understand the performance of the supplier and enables charterers to work with their suppliers to improve their efficiency across the supply chain.

How does transparency work?

Our team has been gathering GHG Rating and Carbon Accounting data for almost a decade. In this time, every vessel insight has been collected in our database, helping us to build a comprehensive picture of the global fleet’s carbon footprint.

But there is no benefit in holding the data closely. We share the information that we have with absolute transparency so that the industry can make informed decisions.

We hope that the information we provide helps charterers to make sustainable choices. This process also rewards the shipowners who are making conscious energy saving equipment installations to their vessels.

The data we supply includes vessel, cargo and route types, supplier comparisons and a goal tracker to help customers see incremental progress.

In addition, the easy “one click reporting” which makes it easy to share your carbon accounting results internally across your company, with stakeholders and customers, which improves your own transparency.

The market is driving transparency

We are seeing increased demand from charterers and banks to deliver transparency in emissions reporting.

Take for example initiatives such as the Sea Cargo Charter. Major charterers have become committed signatories and we are working with some of them to ensure they meet the emissions reporting requirements associated with associated with their shipping activities.

With these reports in hand, they are well placed to play their part in global decarbonisation goals. As more key players step up to the challenge, we believe emissions accounting in maritime will be a central component in delivering the transparency required to stay ahead of market expectations.

The future of Carbon Accounting

Since launching our Carbon Accounting tool in 2016, we’ve helped several customers to understand their present position and reduce their emissions impact. However, we seek to do more.

That’s why we have moved the Carbon Accounting tool into the RightShip Platform, so we can provide greater levels of reporting detail, the full data and easy-to-understand benchmarking to more customers as part of the complete due diligence process.

Our commitment transparency means being open to feedback and constant iteration to ensure we’re meeting industry expectations. In July 2021 we launched a pilot program so that customers could use Carbon Accounting within our Platform. In the coming months, we will roll it out to more customers.

The enhancements include:

• Access to holistic due diligence across safety and sustainability 
• A clear display of emissions impact on individual journeys  
• Efficiency filters for cargo types, volumes and vessel types 
• Supplier comparison
• Real-time goal tracking