NORDEN has delivered the first verified maritime emissions reductions processed through the RSB Book & Claim registry, completing a landmark pilot in collaboration with Microsoft and the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB). The initiative demonstrates how companies can begin meaningfully reducing and accounting for their shipping emissions today, without waiting for sustainable fuels to become physically available on individual voyages.

The transaction marks the first time a maritime carrier has issued and delivered verified emissions reductions through the RSB Book & Claim registry. The solution was developed to serve NORDEN's direct customers as well as businesses in other industries that depend on marine transportation and are seeking to decarbonise their supply chains. The need is significant: international shipping carries roughly 90% of world trade and accounts for close to 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and low-emission fuels such as green methanol and ammonia remain expensive and in limited supply, which makes fleet-wide physical adoption a longer-term proposition for most carriers and cargo owners.

Book & Claim allows companies to purchase verified emissions reductions linked to sustainable fuels, regardless of where those fuels are consumed within the industry. Building on the RSB Book & Claim registry's established use in aviation, NORDEN, Microsoft and RSB have jointly extended the framework to maritime transport for the first time. The approach mirrors chain-of-custody models already used in sectors such as renewable electricity certificates and sustainable aviation fuel, where credits for environmental attributes are separated from the physical product to overcome availability and geography constraints.

Anne Jensen, COO at NORDEN, commented: "For many companies, some of the most difficult emissions to address are those embedded deep within global supply chains, where they often have little visibility or direct influence over how goods are transported. This transaction demonstrates how Book & Claim can help bridge that gap. By enabling companies to invest in verified emissions reductions from maritime transport, regardless of where the fuel is used or where they sit in the value chain, we can help accelerate decarbonisation across industries."

"Decarbonising supply chains requires solutions that are both credible and scalable. This collaboration with NORDEN and RSB shows how Book & Claim can help accelerate progress in sectors where change is otherwise complex and demonstrates that companies don't need to wait to start reducing their shipping emissions in a verified and meaningful way," said Bella Horstmann, Senior Manager, Market Development, Microsoft.

"Developing market-enabling tools for decarbonisation across hard-to-abate sectors is a priority for RSB and extending the RSB Book & Claim framework to maritime transport is a direct response to that goal. This collaboration with NORDEN and Microsoft marks a significant milestone in making that a reality. NORDEN's certification is exactly the kind of collaboration that will open this solution to the wider shipping industry," said Max Eichelbaum, Director – Digitisation and Book & Claim.

To enable the book and claim maritime transaction, NORDEN became the first maritime operator to obtain RSB Book & Claim trader certification, a prerequisite for issuing and selling verified emissions reductions via RSB's Book & Claim registry. The certification was developed in close collaboration with RSB, which extended its existing aviation framework to cover maritime transport and carriers.

Microsoft is the first company globally to use Book & Claim for shipping emissions through the RSB registry, as part of its broader efforts to address value chain emissions. The registry's third-party verification structure is designed to give such claims auditability, a key consideration as scrutiny of corporate emissions accounting intensifies.

Following the pilot, RSB will update its RSB Procedure for Book and Claim Chain of Custody to enable broader adoption of Book & Claim across the maritime industry. NORDEN will continue working with customers and partners to scale the solution, with the goal of making verified emissions reductions a standard offering in ocean transport.

Source: Norden via Hellenic Shipping News