New EAC matchmaker service joins decarbonization race

A new independent matchmaker service for verified Environmental Attribute Certificates (EACs) has made its foray into the market with the goal of supporting companies in reducing their Scope 3 emissions across their supply chains.

As disclosed, Carboninsets was created and launched to ‘unite’ cargo owners and freight forwarders with stakeholders from all transportation modalities, fuel types, regions and technologies in accordance with globally accepted standards, such as those defined by the Smart Freight Centre’s Market Based Measures (MBM).

As a multimodal partner, Carboninsets said it would support a wide range of EACs, including sea, air, road, rail and inland waterways. As informed, the service is to accommodate all ‘major’ low-carbon solutions, including biodiesel, hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), bio-LNG, electrification, hydrogen, bio-methanol, and wind propulsion.

“By enabling organizations to support real decarbonization projects within their supply chains, we’re bridging the gap between ambition and impact,” Maria Lacalle Muls, Head of Customer Decarbonization at Carboninsets, commented.

Carboninsets has reportedly been working together with the Dutch company 123Carbon to ensure the integrity and quality of the EACs. The company’s representatives have expčained that all claims are based on “globally accepted” book and claim methodologies, like the Smart Freight Centre and the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RBS).

With supply chain emissions accounting for more than 80% of most corporations’ carbon footprints, conventional carbon offsets have been seen as an increasingly inefficient means of reducing emissions, with data suggesting that a good portion of the largest corporate offset purchases are low‑quality and unlikely to yield real reductions.

On the other hand, carbon insetting, which is applicable to all green fuels, has gained significant momentum in the maritime industry. With a focus on investing in carbon dioxide reduction within a company’s own supply chain or operations, insetting is believed to facilitate a direct impact within that company’s sphere of influence.

By contrast, offsetting involves funding external projects like reforestation or renewable energy to compensate for emissions.

The ‘first’ insetting program for zero emissions shipping was launched in April last year by Dutch companies Future Proof Shipping (FPS), Zero Emission Services (ZES) and 123Carbon. South Korea’s maritime transportation major HMM, Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL), and Denmark’s Unifeeder and Svitzer have also set their sights on this solution.

In addition to this, in December 2024, the UAE-based logistics giant DP World launched what it hailed as the “world’s first” container port carbon inset program as part of a carbon reduction vision at its UK-based logistics hubs.