Since 2021, the business operations of Meelunie have been carbon-neutral by compensation for our scope 1 and scope 2 emissions. To calculate these emissions we use the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. We are also increasingly addressing our scope 3 emissions. For this we are partnering with BigMile, who supply software that calculates and analyses transport-related carbon emissions, and GoodShipping (part of GoodNRG), who decarbonise supply chains by replacing fossil fuels with sustainable alternatives.

Shipping on sustainable biofuels

“We joined forces with GoodShipping in 2019 to help us achieve our ambition of a 100% carbon-neutral supply chain by 2030,” explains Jeroen de Waaij, Meelunie’s Global Sustainability Manager. “On joining, we committed to a reduction in carbon volume that corresponds with the annual freight we ship from Rotterdam to Hong Kong. We chose this route for its historical significance for Meelunie: it was the very first shipping route for Meelunie products back in the middle of the 20^th Century. Next, we focused on our Rotterdam to Shanghai route, partly because this is an important trade lane for our flagship Windmill products and partly because our Chinese office is in Shanghai. We’re now investigating the possibility of adding a route to the US as our second carbon-neutral trade line.”

GoodShipping implement the emission reduction on Meelunie’s behalf by substituting fossil fuels with biofuels, thus decarbonising a portion of Meelunie’s scope 3 emissions. The switch to sustainable fuel facilitated by GoodShipping is made possible by sister company GoodFuels and provides an 80-90% carbon reduction from well-to-exhaust. All biofuels used are derived from certified feedstocks, which are labelled as 100% waste or residue. As Jeroen points out, “This obviously drastically reduces our carbon footprint on any shipping route where biofuel is used.”

More sustainable value chain

Pilots are currently being conducted for carbon-neutral shipments. “The main focus is on the deep-sea leg, but we’re also looking into including pre- and on-carriage,” explains Jeroen. “By offering our supply chain partners this service we want to raise awareness and involve them in sustainability initiatives within our value chain, such as fuel switches. The next step is to include the carbon footprint of the cultivation and production stages. We can then communicate the carbon emissions of a product once we’ve delivered it and offer customers cradle-to-gate carbon-neutral options. With the ultimate goal of making our entire supply chain carbon neutral!”

Joining the slow lane

In another initiative, Meelunie is supporting GoodZero, a recently-launched GoodNRG programme. One of the GoodZero projects, being run by US-based Running Tide, aims to move fast-cycle carbon back into the slow carbon cycle, which is anything up to a thousand times slower than the fast carbon cycle. The ingenious means by which Running Tide will do this is by steering floating carbon buoys with kelp growing on them into the open ocean. The kelp-covered buoys will eventually sink, so that the carbon will lie buried deep in ocean sediments, creating a slow-carbon cycle and helping reduce the carbon in our atmosphere.

“With this GoodZero project, we broaden the geographical spread of our positive impact initiatives to include the US,” explains Jan van Vilsteren, General Manager Meelunie America. “This will strengthen our position as a sustainable frontrunner in the US market. Our hope is to involve and engage our US customers in our sustainability journey, and so inspire them to take steps themselves.”