The Sea Cargo Charter (SCC) is pleased to announce the addition of South32 as its newest signatory. Headquartered in Australia, South32 is a globally diversified mining and metals company. It produces commodities including bauxite, alumina, aluminium, copper, silver, lead, zinc, nickel, metallurgical coal and manganese from operations in Australia, Southern Africa and South America.
“With the inclusion of South32, the Sea Cargo Charter now represents over 20 percent of bulk goods transported by sea annually, marking a significant milestone in our growth and influence,” said Sea Cargo Charter chair, Rasmus Bach Nielsen, global head of fuel decarbonisation at Trafigura. “This demonstrates our collective commitment to promoting sustainable shipping practices across the industry.”
Maritime freight is an integral part of South32’s supply chain. The company has a long-term goal to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 2050 and a medium-term target to halve operational GHG emissions by 2035, compared to its FY21 baseline.
“Joining the Sea Cargo Charter is another step in our decarbonisation journey,” said Matthew Gillespie, vice president and head of marketing at South32. “By aligning to the Sea Cargo Charter’s global framework, we can better track our decarbonisation progress against the International Maritime Organization’s decarbonisation trajectory and our net-zero goal.”
In its 2023 Sustainability Development Report, South32 highlighted its ongoing efforts to reduce emissions from shipping, which include monitoring emissions data to understand costs and identify opportunities for increased efficiencies in shipping products and raw materials economically and responsibly. Additionally, South32 is partnering with suppliers and collaborating with customers to further GHG emissions reduction efforts throughout the value chain.
“The inclusion of South32 is another testament to the Sea Cargo Charter’s goal of a collaborative approach and ambition to enhance transparency in shipping emissions, fostering an environment where decarbonisation can thrive,” said Sea Cargo Charter vice chair Eman Abdalla, global operations and supply chain director at Cargill Ocean Transportation.
As a global framework to assess and disclose the climate alignment of ship chartering activities, the Sea Cargo Charter aims to reduce global shipping’s annual greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by around 2050. This initiative aligns with the goals of the International Maritime Organization, the United Nations agency responsible for regulating global shipping. Its recent scope expansion to fully include ship owners underscores its ambitions.