Metsä Group and AtoB@C Shipping cooperate on cutting emissions from shipping

Image: AtoB@C Shipping

By 2030, Finnish forest industry giant Metsä Group is aiming to cut fossil-based carbon dioxide emissions from its wood supply by 30% from the 2022 level. The bulk of those emissions derives from wood being transported by truck, train and ship.

Now Metsä Group and one of its key shipping partners for wood transports in the Baltic region, AtoB@C Shipping, have jointly undertaken to reduce wood transport in line with the 30% goal.

“Metsä Group’s emissions reduction target requires tangible plans and committed logistics partnerships enabling us to systematically move towards our 2030 target,” says Hannu Alarautalahti, SVP, production, Metsä Group Wood Supply and Forest Services. “In Metsä Group’s emissions reduction roadmap, the commitments made with our partners now encompass more than 90% of wood transports by sea/“

Sweden-based AtoB@C Shipping, a subsidiary of Aspo Group’s ESL Shipping, is currently running a significant investment program that includes the introduction of 12 hybrid electric Green Coaster vessels to modernize the company’s fleet by 2026. Additional emissions reductions will come from improvements made to operational efficiency using the Virtual Arrival concept, for example, as well as from modern energy solutions in ports and the adoption of renewable bunker fuel.

“Cooperation is key to reducing emissions, and we are pleased that our customers are also committed to ambitious emissions reduction targets,” says Mikki Koskinen, chair of the board of AtoB@C Shipping and managing director of ESL Shipping. “Combined with other measures improving efficiency, the new Green Coaster hybrid vessels will create a good foundation for achieving our targets.”