Henkel & DHL Shift to Renewable Marine Fuel Cutting Thousands of Tons CO₂

Post by : Avinab Raana

Henkel and DHL Global Forwarding have teamed up in a bold move to green the seas. For 2025, Henkel will source most of its ocean freight through DHL’s GoGreen Plus service using Sustainable Marine Fuel (SMF), leading to a projected reduction of 4,700 metric tons of CO₂e. This well-to-wake emissions cut shows just how far ocean freight can move toward sustainability when big players commit.

What Exactly Is This Initiative

Under the new agreement, about 9,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of Henkel’s ocean freight shipments will run on marine fuels derived from waste and residues, instead of conventional fossil marine fuels. These fuels, verified by independent auditors, promise to reduce emissions by roughly 85% for the main haul portion of shipments. It’s a leap from pilot tests to broad deployment, bolstering efforts to decarbonize global supply chains.

How the Emissions Reduction Adds Up

Replacing old-school marine fuels with SMF means cutting down on both the carbon inside the fuel and the emissions during combustion. The “well-to-wake” metric considers emissions from fuel production through its actual usage. For Henkel, the result is nearly 4,700 tons of greenhouse gas emissions avoided in 2025 thanks to this shift. That’s the equivalent of taking several thousand passenger vehicles off the road for a year.

Where It Happens and Why It Matters

Most of Henkel’s SMF-powered shipments will depart from Europe. But the ripple effect is global, especially for regions like India which are tightly woven into global trade flows. With both DHL and Henkel having operations involving India, this shift contributes to sustainable logistics practices that affect how goods move into and out of the country. The move highlights increasing pressure and opportunity to reduce Scope 3 emissions, those related to supply chain transportation, which many companies are now accountable for.

Build-Up and Verification Oversight

This large-scale rollout follows a successful 2024 pilot where Henkel and DHL tested SMF on select shipments. That test forged confidence, demanded rigorous tracking, and paved the ground for the bigger 2025 plan. Emission savings will be independently verified by SGS, a global certification body. That adds credibility and ensures reported figures reflect actual environmental benefits, not just green claims.

GoGreen Plus: DHL’s Tool for Cleaner Freight

SMF is channeled through DHL’s GoGreen Plus offering, a “book-and-claim” model that enables customers to replace fossil emissions in DHL’s shipping network with cleaner alternatives. Under this mechanism, Henkel’s emissions related to freight are replaced “on paper” with SMF emissions reductions—allowing Henkel to claim progress against sustainability goals. It’s one of the more feasible routes for companies facing tight timelines to report lower emissions, especially in areas beyond their direct control.

Leadership Voices and Strategic Commitments

Amanda Rasmussen, Chief Commercial Officer at DHL Global Forwarding, emphasized that this partnership marks a key decarbonization milestone. She noted that combining Henkel’s climate strategy with  DHL’s sustainable fuel supply demonstrates that reducing emissions in global supply chains is a practical step today, not a distant aspiration. Meanwhile, Henkel’s Global Category Manager for Sea & Air Freight, Ondrej Slezacek, framed this initiative as central to accelerating low-emission practices in logistics and transport. For them, sustainability isn’t a side project—it’s integral to the procurement, operations, and strategic planning of global trade.

Impacts for Industry & India’s Role

While this announcement centers on European departures, its effects are felt globally. For India, where import/export and ocean freight volume are massive, the adoption of SMF elsewhere adds pressure and possibility. It becomes a reference case: companies operating in India can look at this deal as proof that marine fuel alternatives are viable, available, and impactful. Buyers, logistics providers, port authorities, and regulators in India may find this spurs further steps toward cleaner shipping networks.

Supply & Cost of Sustainable Marine Fuel

Transitioning from fossil marine fuel to SMF isn’t without hurdles. Supply of waste or residue-based fuels remains limited in scale. Their cost tends to be higher than traditional marine fuels. Infrastructure for storing, handling, and using SMF safely across ports and shipping lines must be expanded. Also, verifying emissions reductions, managing book-and-claim programs, and ensuring that fuel savings translate to environmental benefit, not just accounting advantages are essential to maintain trust and legitimacy.

Why This Moves the Needle for Global Emissions

Transport, especially shipping, is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions. Ocean freight has long relied on oil-based, high-carbon bunker fuels. Every large-volume initiative to shift fuel source away from fossils helps reduce emissions, improve air quality, and set regulatory precedents. For companies that handle goods spanning continents, such shifts also help reduce their carbon footprints, especially Scope 3 emissions which are often hardest to control.

What to Watch Next

Key indicators to observe include: whether SMF usage scales beyond 2025 for Henkel and DHL; how other companies adopt similar programs; price trends for sustainable marine fuels; regulatory support or incentives in major shipping hubs; and how Indian ports and freight routes integrate SMF or similar solutions. Also, monitoring whether emissions reductions are verified, reported, and transparently shared will shape perception and legitimacy.

A Wave Toward Greener Seas

Henkel and DHL’s SMF commitment paints a future where global trade can be cleaner without sacrificing scale or speed. Cutting almost five thousand tons of CO₂ in 2025 alone may seem modest in the grand emissions landscape, but it's the kind of effort that adds up freight by freight, company by company. As industries, ports, and nations observe, this deal sends a message: sustainable marine logistics are not optional extras, but essential components of climate responsibility. The question now isn’t whether SMF can work, it’s how fast the rest of the industry will catch up.

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