John Swire & Sons Limited, the parent company of the Swire Group, and Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping have signed a partnership agreement, committing to a long-term collaboration for the development of safe and sustainable maritime industry decarbonisation.
Swire will be involved with the team at the Center and will explore opportunities to fund and research practical solutions to accelerate decarbonisation of the shipping industry.
The Group will appoint a representative to the Center’s advisory board and will contribute to the future development of the Center’s activities.
In welcoming John Swire & Sons to the Center, CEO Bo Cerup-Simonsen said: “We welcome Swire to the Center with open arms and have great expectations of what we will achieve together. As a diversified company, Swire brings experience and knowhow from a wide range of segments and can help us bridge learnings across disciplines and sectors which is essential when you are changing an entire business system. We have a shared commitment to fight climate change through innovative and forward-looking solutions and I look very much forward to the collaboration!”
[fl_builder_insert_layout id=”14677″]
Sam Swire, Director of John Swire & Sons Limited said, “Next year, the Swire Group will have been involved in
shipping for 150 years. Becoming a partner in the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping is
an exciting step for us. We are committed to a sustainable shipping industry and this partnership allows us to
work together with like-minded organisations to help the industry achieve that goal. Together with our
partners at the Center, we will collectively address decarbonisation issues, develop new technologies and
exchange views on sustainability best practices at an industry level. We look forward to a fruitful partnership
with the Center.”
According to a statement from the Swire Group and the Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, the world shipping fleet consists of 70,000 ships that consume about 300 million tonnes of fuel a year. The world fleet accounts for about three percent of global carbon emissions.
The statement adds that the long-term target of decarbonisation requires new fuel types and a systemic change within the industry.
“To accelerate the development of viable technologies a coordinated effort within applied research is needed across the entire supply chain. Industry leaders play a critical role in ensuring that laboratory research is successfully matured to scalable solutions matching the needs of industry. At the same time, new legislation will be required to enable the transition towards decarbonisation,” the statement reads.
