Norwegian shipping company claims a sector “first” for ISO 14064 GHG reporting
by Garry Lambert *
In February 2010, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL) of Oslo, Norway, became reportedly the first shipping company to achieve third-party verification of its inventory processes for greenhouse gas emissions, in conformity with ISO 14064-1:2006, Greenhouse gases – Part 1: Specification with guidance at the organization level for quantification and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals.
MV Talisman, a 39 000 ton RoRo vessel operated by WWL, seen here entering Sydney Harbour, Australia, is capable of transporting nearly 5 500 cars from factory to dealer. (Photo: WWL)
WWL, which operates an ocean fleet of over 60 RoRo roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) and pure car truck carrier (PCTC) vessels providing global factory-to-dealer transportation for the automotive, agricultural and construction equipment industries, also received verification that its Ocean Transportation GHG inventory conformed to the accounting requirements of the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol.
The GHG Protocol is the result of a partnership between the World Resource Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). The protocol is the result of work with businesses, governments and environmental groups around the world to build a new generation of credible and effective programmes for tackling climate change. In 2007, ISO, the WRI and WBCSD signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under which they agreed to jointly promote ISO 14064 and the WRI and WBCSD GHG Protocol (see below).
Zero-emissions future
Melanie Moore, Global Head of Environment at WWL.
“Guided by our future vision of a zero-emissions supply chain, we have adopted rigorous emissions inventory processes based upon the GHG Protocol. This will enable us to better manage and reduce carbon emissions and related costs from our customers’ global supply chains,” said Kai Kraass, Chief Operating Officer of Ocean Services at WWL.
Melanie Moore, WWL’s Global Head of Environment, said: “As an environmental forerunner in shipping, we continue to be bold and transparent in our environmental commitments to customers and the shipping industry at large. We are committed to reducing our customers’ carbon risk by formalising inventories which will, in the near future, be subject to government regulation.”
Transparent procedures
ISO Focus+ asked Melanie Moore to comment on the company’s approach to aligning its GHG reporting with ISO 14064-1 requirements.
“In practical terms, it was to capture the existing reporting process and then use a gap analysis to supplement and improve the process to meet the requirements of ISO 14064-1 and the GHG Protocol. The final product was our GHG Inventory Reporting Manual which is a new addition to our environmental management system. The gap analysis allowed us to pinpoint the improvement areas, for example, documenting the organizational and operational boundaries (ISO 14064-1 clauses 4.1 and 4.2) and clarifying base year calculations (clause 5.3.1/2). Having transparent procedures for these will help us maintain robust systems into the future.”
WWL’s car truck carrier MV Boheme is capable of carrying over 7 000 cars, and has three movable decks that can be raised to accommodate high and heavy cargo such as trucks, buses, tractors and bulldozers. (Photo: WWL)
“It is worth it”
Commenting on the benefits of ISO 14064-1 implementation, Ms. Moore said: “It’s an intensive process but it is worth it! The initial gap analysis presented us with 12 out of 22 findings that were nonconformities with the standard based on our system at the time. We lacked good documentation of the known procedures, and also had to rethink some access to appropriate data.
“The benefits are not immediate; however, shipping will in the near future be subject to carbon regulation and other fuel-based regulation which requires robust management systems for reporting GHG inventories. We wanted to prepare for this future using two globally recognized and complementary standards to continually improve our systems and approach. We think it will benefit our customers and allow us to serve their demands on us for reporting and carbon reduction strategies.”
ISO 14064 and the GHG Protocol
ISO 14064 established in 2006, is consistent and compatible with the GHG Protocol, published by WRI and WBCSD in 2004. The organizations are encouraging corporations, governments, and others to use them as complementary tools. ISO 14064 details internationally agreed requirements on what needs to be done in GHG accounting and verification efforts, while the GHG Protocol outlines, not only what needs to be done, but also how to undertake GHG accounting and reporting.
* Garry Lambert is a Switzerland-based freelance journalist.
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