A group of green companies working together all along the
shipment process is claiming the honors of having completed the world’s first
carbon neutral-certified container shipment. From the exporter to the port and
the distributor each of the companies working in the logistic process was
environmentally certified.
“It’s such a source of pride for us that Contecon Guayaquil
S.A., concessionaire of Guayaquil’s public port, has achieved this milestone,
and that it has been the first to do so,” said Ecuadorian Minister of Transport
and Public Works Gabriel Martínez. He also highlighted the $170 million of
investment being made in the port operations along with the extension of the
port concession for an additional 19 years.
The shipment of Ecuadorian bananas came from TropicalFruit,
an Ecuadorian company exporting tropical fruits. The company places an emphasis
on environmental preservation, social responsibility, health, and safety. They
have been certified as carbon neutral since 2015.
The container was loaded by Contecon Guayaquil (CGSA) at the
Port of Guayaquil in Ecuador. By adhering to the principles of environmental
stewardship and through the use of clean technology, CGSA became the first port
operator in the Americas to obtain ISO 14064 carbon neutral certification from
TUV Rheinland. CGSA’s certification and compensation process was performed
locally by Sambito S.A.
CGSA loaded the container on the Antwerpen-bound vessel MSC
Geneva. While the shippers did not discuss the issues of carbon emissions from
the containership during the voyage to Europe, MSC does offer customers carbon
offset programs.
The bananas shipment’s destination was France where it was
distributed and marketed under the SIIM brand Selvatica. Societe International
d’Importation (SIIM), a French wholesale distributor of fruits and vegetables,
is also certified carbon neutral and since 2014 has also been developing
sustainable agriculture through its foundation.
While it was a smaller milestone in the global efforts to
decarbonize, the companies said it demonstrates how exporters can certify their
supply chain processes to achieve greater competitiveness in the most exacting
markets and at the same time be in compliance with global regulations to
successfully meet consumer demand for products from sustainable processes.