Latest / Technology Now / What can we learn from maritime shipping's journey to net zero?
Transcript
- Aubrey Lovell (00:10): Hello friends and welcome back to Technology Now. A weekly show from Hewlett Packard Enterprise where we take what's happening in the world around us and explore how it's changing the way organizations are using technology. It's so great to be back. We're your hosts, Aubrey Lovell... Michael Bird (00:24): And Michael Bird. And in this episode, we're taking a look at the world of sustainability in shipping and the difficult task of making one of the world's dirtier industries more environmentally friendly. We'll be looking at the challenges the industry is facing in its transition to sustainability. (00:42): We'll also be examining how tech, in particular, data insight and analytics is making that goal more realistic. And of course, we'll be taking your questions to the expert on shipping's green transition. Aubrey Lovell (00:55): So if you're the kind of person who needs to know why, what's going on in the world matters to your organization, this podcast is definitely for you. Oh, and if you haven't yet, subscribe to your podcast app of choice so you don't miss out. All right, let's get into it. Michael Bird (01:09): Yep, let's do this. Aubrey Lovell (01:12): Okay. So first up, let's share a few stats to set the scene with the world shipping industry. So according to the International Maritime Organization or IMO, there are more than 50,000 commercial ships registered in the world today, which combined carry over 90% of the goods produced on Earth. (01:32): So oceanic shipping that is transporting things by ship rather than road, rail, or aircraft, creates over a billion tons of CO2 per year. That's around 3% of global CO2 production. And according to most estimates, if nothing is done, this number is likely to rise. Michael Bird (01:50): And that's a problem because there's an awful lot of international agreements and legislation going around, which is encouraging if not forcing shipping to be more sustainable. In January 2024, for example, the EU will force ship's docking in its ports to comply with its emissions trading system for at least half their journey. We've linked to the relevant details about this in the show notes. So it's fair to say that the problem is recognized and there are attempts to do something about it, even if that might feel like turning around an oil tanker. Aubrey Lovell (02:22): Well, today's guest is at the forefront of that movement to decarbonize shipping. Lora Jakobsen is Chief Purpose Activist at ZeroNorth, a climate tech company, which in their own words offers a software platform that helps the global shipping industry achieve optimal commercial performance and reduce its carbon emissions by blending advanced data-driven technology with human expertise. (02:45): Hi Lora, welcome. Lora Jakobsen (02:46): Oh, hi. Thank you so much. Aubrey Lovell (02:48): Okay. Just to kind of kick us off here, what are some of the major environmental challenges when it comes to shipping? Lora Jakobsen (02:55): Well, shipping has a direct impact on the health of both our oceans, port communities, and our atmosphere. So the industry, as you said, is responsible for around 3% of global greenhouse gases, which is primarily broken into carbon dioxide, but other pollutants like sulfur oxides and nitrous oxides, which contribute to the global warming and air pollution. (03:19): But the challenge when it comes to driving environmental change mainly comes down to cost and to availability of solutions. This is why it's critical to look at ready to adopt solutions that can drive immediate impact. Cutting emissions while ensuring the green transition is also financially viable. Michael Bird (03:40): What sort of technology can shipping companies implement? I guess there are some short-term things of using data more efficiently. Are we also talking about electric ships or going back to using sales or any of those radical things that shipping companies are doing? Lora Jakobsen (03:57): Absolutely. Sales are coming back, but they're a whole new way. There are these rotor sales that are 30 meters high. And what's interesting is there's many vessels on the water that are utilizing this, but you have to find the right sailing patterns to find the wind and everything. So there's a lot of pilots that are going on to test different ways, but from my point of view, being a climate tech company, it's really important that we utilize technologies that are available today. (04:30): And the most exciting thing is that we actually through data and through technology, we know where a vessel is, we know how it should be sailing, we know how much the market rates are and the fuel prices and how that affects how a vessel should be sailing. So data and technology is really what's driving the immediate emissions today. (04:50): And what we do is we drive not only efficiencies, but we drive profitability and sustainability. Now, software really is utilized in weather forecasting in fuel models, which help with the prediction of fuel consumption. It's critical for us to create baselines so that we can mark improvements, but they're also utilized in routing and optimizations, planning where and when and how much to fuel the different kinds of predictive maintenance, like the whole fouling, how much barnacles are on the front of ships. So there's so many different efficiencies by understanding the data and utilizing technology to help us move forward. Michael Bird (05:31): And is it all about trying to make the ship more efficient so therefore to use less fuel and sail in this direction or go and stop at this port again, we use less fuel? Is that sort of the calculations you're trying to figure out? Lora Jakobsen (05:47): That's definitely part of it. If we look at the decarbonization journey, their short, medium, and long-term goals and the medium goals are really about the vessel itself and how you do improvements on the vessel. And the long-term goals are about the transition to green fuels, but the short-term goals are these efficiencies that you're talking about, the technologies and the software that are helping you decide the route to take, how best to sail your vessel. So yes, what you've said is definitely what's possible today. Aubrey Lovell (06:19): So Lora, what still needs to happen to make shipping more sustainable? From your perspective, what are the next steps? Lora Jakobsen (06:26): It's really a complex challenge. So it will require a lot of technological advances, it will require regulatory changes and also industry-wide collaboration and bold leadership. We talk a lot about how five years ago the industry didn't come together and wasn't collaborating, and now people understand that you can't do it alone. (06:49): So even a technology software platform like ZeroNorth has, you're gaining such a huge benefit by being part of it because you're bringing all the different players together and all of their data into the platform creating this data flywheel that then perpetuates better outcomes and better solutions. So what needs to happen next is there needs to not only be more regulations, but there also needs to be investment, there needs to be alignment with contracts and there also needs to be change mindset because business as usual is really what is stopping the industry from moving forward. Michael Bird (07:30): So why should other large organizations care about what's happening with regards to sustainable shipping? Lora Jakobsen (07:37): Well, you've mentioned that global trade is really, 90% of it is shipped on the water. So we're not only talking about... most people think about shipping, they think about a container where something a finished good is moving, but think about all the raw materials those are also shipped. So you have not only your wet goods like your oils and your fuels, but you also have your raw materials like grains and wood and all of that, which is called dry bulk. (08:10): It's kind of like in everything that we do and the fabric of our society is really based on global trade and access to things in commodities. So large organizations have a part to play in this because they interact with shipping companies. We're at the earliest stages of scope three emissions, which is basically each corporation out there has to understand what their environmental impact is by them doing business. (08:37): So scope 3 emissions are going to be something that they have to start measuring. And if I'm to explain what scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions are, scope 1 emissions are direct emissions owned and controlled by the company. For example, the burning of fuel in the company's fleet of vehicles. (08:56): Now, scope 2 and scope 3 are indirect emissions that are consequences of the company's activities. And scope 2 specifically as an example, these are the emissions caused by the generation of electricity that's used in the company's buildings. And then scope 3, which are the ones that are just in the infancy stage but are going to even be more increasingly important, are indirect emissions. (09:21): As an example, when a company buys or uses or disposes of products from suppliers, so for example a ship on the sea, what their emissions are? And if you're shipping something in a container on that vessel, what is your emissions of that, either raw material or product? Michael Bird (09:40): That makes a lot of sense. Thank you so much. And we'll be back with Lora in a moment. So do not go anywhere. Aubrey Lovell (09:48): Okay, next up, it's time for Today I Learned, the part of the show where we take a look at something happening in the world we think you should know about. And this week I've got one for you, Michael. Michael Bird (09:58): All right then let's hear it. Aubrey Lovell (10:00): All right. So how about this the first ever fine for space littering, which I find is a very fascinating topic. So the Federal Communications Commission in the U.S. has fined a satellite operator for not moving an old satellite far enough away from the planet when it was at the end of its serviceable life. (10:19): The satellite was launched in 2002 and sat in a geostationary orbit some 22,000 miles, or I believe that's 36,000 kilometers above the Earth's surface. So under the rules around satellites, once it was too old to maintain it, it was supposed to be moved a further 136 miles or 218 kilometers away, but it had such little fuel left, it could only propel itself for around 76 miles or 122 kilometers, leaving it at a risk of causing an obstruction to other satellites. (10:53): So as you know, space junk is a potentially huge issue. So you have lots of metal whizzing around the Earth at thousands of miles an hour, which have the potential to cause a devastating chain reaction if one hits another, which then kind of hits another. And with space getting even more crowded, that's ever more likely. And just by the way, the fine was $150,000 and that might've been more of a signal to satellite operators than anything considering how much they cost to launch and maintain. But it's interesting nonetheless. Michael Bird (11:27): Okay, so it's time for questions from the audience. You've been sending in your questions to Lora Jakobsen on sustainable shipping. And we have pulled out a couple. And the first question comes from Andre, a marine engineering student in Portsmouth who asks why there has historically been resistance to reform in shipping and where the drive to change is now coming from? Lora Jakobsen (11:49): Thank you so much for your question. I don't know if I think necessarily that there's been resistance historically. For me, it's because it's an industry that's so complex and the complexity makes it hard to change. It's a very fragmented industry with not only different types of ownership, but different types of operating models, different contracts, which are supposedly protecting each party's interest, but they also keep change from happening. (12:19): So the incentives are not aligned, which makes it very hard when money's involved for change to happen. And when you're talking about why is the change now coming, it could be societal pressure. We're all experiencing the extreme weather, but there's also new regulations coming in. But what's really exciting is that the technology exists today, which tells us exactly where a vessel is, how many millions of data points that we have, which let us know exactly the right route to sale, the speed to sale. (12:53): So it's really technology, I think that is driving the change and the adoption of that change is what's necessary. Aubrey Lovell (13:01): So Lora, the second question comes from Carl living in Amsterdam, who wants to know, this is kind of interesting. What one piece of technology you think could have the greatest chance of reforming shipping in an ideal world? Lora Jakobsen (13:15): It's hard to say, I would say, because really alternative fuels present the most exciting opportunity. But is that a technology in itself? Data, if you can call data a technology or some sort of technology that will bring data transparency will be what's the most transformative for the industry. What we really need are to build baselines. (13:39): Baselines, let us know what good looks like, and it builds data upon data that will help us create better solutions and understanding. So the data flywheel effect is really about the more data you have, the better your solutions are and the better outcomes that come. So I think that having a platform or some sort of technology that allows this data transparency will be the thing that actually helps propel the industry forward fastest. Aubrey Lovell (14:07): Perfect. Fantastic. Thanks so much, Lora. It's been great to talk with you. And for our listeners, you can find more on the topics discussed in today's episode in the show notes. Michael Bird (14:19): All right. Then we're getting towards the end of the show, which means it is time for this week in history. Aubrey Lovell (14:25): This week in history. Love the delay. Michael Bird (14:25): Which is look up monuments, events in the world of business and technology, which has changed our lives. Aubrey Lovell (14:36): So we didn't have a clue last week as we've taken a little while off. So here's this week's clue and we'll leave a kind of suspenseful gap to give you time to think. So it's 1998 and no, I am not going to talk about my crushes on bands like Hanson or the Backstreet Boys. The clue is, drum roll please, TikTok. (14:57): Well, it's the signing of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, DMCA, this week in 1998. The law was one of the most far-reaching anti-piracy and digital copyright bills in the world at the time, and has proven to be controversial over the years with some claiming it stifles competition. Michael Bird (15:15): Next week, the clue is it's 1938 and the Martians aren't coming. Know what it is? Tune in next week to see if you are right. Okay then, that brings us to the end of Technology Now for this week. Aubrey Lovell (15:29): Thank you so much to our guest, Lora Jakobsen, Chief Purpose Activist at ZeroNorth. And to our listeners as always, thank you so much for joining us. Michael Bird (15:37): Technology Now is hosted by Aubrey Lovell and myself, Michael Bird. And this episode was produced by Sam Datta-Paulin and Zoe Anderson with production support from Harry Morton, Alicia Kempson, Alison Paisley, Alyssa Mitri, Camilla Patel, Alex Podmore, and Chloe Sewell. Aubrey Lovell (15:51): Our social editorial team is Rebecca Wessinger, Judy Ann Goldman, Katie Guarino, and our social media designers are Alejandra Garcia, Carlos Alberto Suarez, and Ambar Maldonado. Michael Bird (16:02): Technology Now is a lower street production for Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and we'll see you next week. Thank you.