The Decade of "Clean Tech"



The Decade of “Clean Tech”
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At Green Shipping Line, we believe that carbon is the new currency of the “clean tech” revolution. Investors and companies are looking for transformative ventures that will reduce or eliminate carbon emissions in the era of “decarbonization” and “net zero emissions." 

That being said, we at Green Shipping Line believe the best carbon emission is one that is never emitted.

One of the simplest ways for companies to decarbonize and meet a goal of net zero emissions is by reducing or eliminating carbon emissions from their supply chains, which are known as EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Scope 3 emissions. As more than 90% of manufactured goods are now shipped in standardized containers, transporting containers by water instead of land-based alternatives will substantially reduce the carbon footprint of every container’s journey from its origin to its destination.

In fact, MIT studied the emissions based on different forms of transportation and summarized their results in the following graphic:


As an illustrative example, let’s say a company would like to move 100 40’ containers that each weigh 48,000 pounds (standard weight for that size of container) from Boston to New York. The company could choose to move those 100 containers by one ship or 100 trucks.

The following summary is based on the most recent EPA attributes of diesel fuel. Even though the vessel uses a different blend of fuel than trucks, which is why the CO2 emissions per gallon are higher. The ship requires about half the amount of fuel the trucks do to move the same amount of goods. The vessel proves to be a more efficient, economic, and green form of transportation, reducing CO2 emissions by about half.


Shipping cargo by water is the most environmentally friendly method of transport. Ironically, the most environmentally friendly, fuel-efficient truck, is a ship. 
Most of the world uses its waterways to transport significant numbers of containerized cargo from origin to destination. The United States with the largest and longest waterways and most developed port network in the world does not! Not because we can’t or don’t know how to, but because we don’t have the equipment to do so. Therein lies the opportunity.

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