Dive Brief:

• The Panama Canal has launched an Emissions Calculator, a tool that offers shippers a highly accurate assessment of their carbon emissions, ranks those who have reduced the most emissions by transiting the Canal versus alternate routes, and encourages action to further reduce carbon footprints, according to a Canal press release.
• The Emissions Calculator operates by leveraging existing technology to capture relevant data, such as vessel type, size, capacity, speed, fuel consumption and route, and then calculate levels of emitted GHG, in addition to the total emissions saved by transiting the Canal versus other routes. The data will then enter the CO2 Emissions Reduction Ranking, designed to rate customers by their emissions levels.
• The CO2 Emissions Reduction Ranking will serve as the public-facing platform of the Emissions Calculator. 

Dive Insight:

The push for sustainability is expanding into cargo shipping.

Massive post Panamax ships are hardly fuel-friendly, with the average cost of fuel running to 46% of total annual operational costs. The movement toward conserving energy via flettner rotor systems makes sense. With transport shipping found to be one of the world's worst polluters at last year's Paris Climate Conference, the introduction of a new source of power could be positively received.

Until that time, however, initiatives such as the Emissions Calculator are a move in the right direction, creating awareness where it may previously not have existed.

"The Calculator is another example of the Panama Canal’s commitment to finding innovative ways to support our customers and the global maritime community’s efforts to protect the environment," Alexis Rodriguez, Environmental Protection Specialist for the Panama Canal told Supply Chain Dive. "It is our goal to provide our customers with the tools they need to choose the most environmentally friendly routes when planning their itineraries, and to advance the Canal’s ongoing Environmental Recognition Program."