DHL And Hapag-Lloyd Partner To Cut Shipping Emissions
DHL and Hapag-Lloyd sign three-year deal to reduce Scope 3 emissions using sustainable marine fuels.

Freight company DHL Global Forwarding and vessel shipping mammoth Hapag- Lloyd have entered into a new three- time agreement to advance the decarbonization of ocean shipping through the use of sustainable marine energies. The cooperation, blazoned on September 26, 2025, focuses on enabling compass 3 hothouse gas( GHG) emigration reductions for DHL’s guests, while supporting the wider transition toward low- carbon logistics.
The collaboration is centered around the deployment of alternate- generation biofuels in Hapag- Lloyd’s line. These energies are deduced from pukka force chains and waste- or residue- grounded feedstocks, similar as brown grease and used cooking oil painting, rather than conventional reactionary marine energy oil painting. According to both companies, second- generation biofuels represent a further sustainable result as they avoid direct competition with food product and make use of waste aqueducts that would else have limited operations.
A crucial point of the deal is the relinquishment of a “ book and claim ” chain of guardianship system. This medium allows guests to claim emigration reductions for their transport, indeed if the sustainable energy is n't physically used on the specific vessel carrying their weight. By divorcing the environmental benefit of biofuel use from its factual consumption, the book and claim approach provides inflexibility in spanning decarbonization sweats despite the current limited global vacuity of sustainable marine energies. Hapag- Lloyd has formerly been working with sustainable energy results for several times. Since 2020, the company has been planting second- generation biofuels across its line, and in 2023, it introduced “ Boat herbage, ” a transport product that offers emigration- reduced shipping through the use of biofuel composites. This action enables guests to choose varying situations of emigration reduction for their ocean transport. The collaboration with DHL further builds on these sweats, extending the use of Boat herbage within large- scale freight forwarding operations.
Both companies have formerly seen palpable results from the new agreement. In July 2025, DHL and Hapag- Lloyd executed their first common order under the frame, achieving 25,000 tons of CO2e emigrations reductions. The achievement has been stressed as a practical illustration of how hookups across the logistics chain can deliver measurable climate benefits while supporting companies in meeting their sustainability targets. opining on the advertisement, Danny Smolders, Managing Director Global Deals at Hapag- Lloyd, said that the collaboration demonstrates both the feasibility and the effectiveness of sustainable marine energies. “ We're pleased to have completed this order with DHL, demonstrating the feasibility and effectiveness of using sustainable marine energies to reduce compass 3 emigrations through our Boat Green product. Partnering with DHL shows how important collaboration can be. Together, we're creating real instigation in farther decarbonizing force chains, one bold step at a time. ”
DHL Global Forwarding has also emphasized the significance of the deal in shaping the future of logistics. Casper Ellerbaek, Head of Global Ocean Freight at DHL Global Forwarding, said that the three- time agreement represents a significant corner in advancing sustainable shipping. “ The signing of this three- time frame agreement marks a pivotal step toward realizing our participated vision of a decarbonized shipping assiduity. We're thrilled to mate with Hapag- Lloyd in driving the relinquishment of sustainable marine energies and the book and claim medium, eventually empowering our guests to achieve their climate pretensions. ”
The collaboration comes as the shipping assiduity faces adding pressure to reduce its environmental footmark. Ocean shipping is responsible for nearly 3 of global GHG emigrations, and while effectiveness measures have helped reduce the carbon intensity of shipping over recent decades, further transformative results are demanded to align with transnational climate targets. Sustainable marine energies, including biofuels, methanol, and ammonia, are seen as a pivotal part of the pathway toward net zero, though challenges remain around vacuity, scalability, and cost competitiveness.
Both DHL and Hapag- Lloyd have set long- term climate targets. Hapag- Lloyd is aiming to achieve net zero line emigrations by 2045, a thing that will bear not only the expansion of sustainable energy use but also the integration of indispensable propulsion technologies. DHL, part of Deutsche Post DHL Group, has set a target of achieving net zero hothouse gas emigrations by 2050 across its operations. Offering guests greener logistics options, similar as sustainable ocean freight, is one of the regulators the company is using to move toward this ambition.
The cooperation reflects a broader trend of collaboration between freight forwarders and shipping lines to accelerate the relinquishment of low- carbon results in maritime transport. With sustainable energies in limited force, hookups like the one between DHL and Hapag- Lloyd are seen as essential for spanning up demand signals, which in turn can drive investment in product and force structure. The use of book and claim mechanisms further enables companies to share in emigrations reduction programs indeed when physical energy allocation is constrained.
As sustainable shipping results continue to evolve, both DHL and Hapag- Lloyd see the agreement as an important step in demonstrating the practical operation of alternate- generation biofuels and in enabling guests to integrate emigration reductions into their own climate strategies. The original emigrations savings achieved through the cooperation point toward the eventuality for larger- scale impact as force chains decreasingly shift toward lower- carbon models.
The companies note that offering further sustainable logistics results is n't only central to meeting their own net zero commitments but also critical in supporting global trade to align with climate pretensions. By standardizing amulti-year frame, DHL and Hapag- Lloyd are motioning that sustainable energies will play a growing part in the future of shipping, despite current challenges in force. In taking this step, both companies are situating themselves at the van of assiduity sweats to reduce the climate impact of maritime transport, pressing how hookups across the value chain can drive meaningful progress toward decarbonization.
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