• NORDEN has become the first maritime carrier to deliver verified emissions reductions through the RSB Book & Claim registry.
• Microsoft is the first company to use the RSB registry to address shipping emissions through a Book & Claim transaction.
• RSB plans to update its Book & Claim procedures following the pilot, opening the framework to wider maritime industry adoption.

NORDEN has delivered the first verified maritime emissions reductions through the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials’ Book & Claim registry, working with Microsoft and RSB on a new shipping decarbonisation model.

The pilot extends a system already used in aviation into maritime transport. It allows companies to finance verified emissions reductions from sustainable marine fuels without requiring those fuels on their specific shipping routes.

For companies facing difficult Scope 3 emissions across global supply chains, that distinction matters. Sustainable marine fuels remain constrained by availability, geography and infrastructure. Book & Claim separates the environmental benefit from the physical fuel transaction.

Companies can therefore purchase verified emissions reductions associated with sustainable fuels consumed elsewhere within the maritime sector.

Opening maritime decarbonisation beyond direct fuel use

The model is aimed at both NORDEN customers and companies that rely heavily on ocean freight but have limited control over vessels or fuel procurement.

Anne Jensen, COO at NORDEN, commented: “For many companies, some of the most difficult emissions to address are those embedded deep within global supply chains, where they often have little visibility or direct influence over how goods are transported. This transaction demonstrates how Book & Claim can help bridge that gap. By enabling companies to invest in verified emissions reductions from maritime transport, regardless of where the fuel is used or where they sit in the value chain, we can help accelerate decarbonisation across industries.”

Shipping remains one of the harder sectors to decarbonise because vessels have long operating lives and low-carbon fuels remain scarce. Corporate buyers are also under growing pressure to address logistics emissions within their climate strategies.

Book & Claim could provide an interim mechanism for directing corporate spending toward lower-emission shipping while fuel markets continue to develop.

RELATED ARTICLE: Microsoft, Aker Solutions Advance Global CCS Projects

Microsoft targets value chain emissions

Microsoft became the first company globally to use the RSB registry’s Book & Claim framework for shipping emissions.

The transaction forms part of the technology group’s broader work on value chain emissions, where transportation and purchased goods can sit outside a company’s direct operational control.

“Decarbonising supply chains requires solutions that are both credible and scalable. This collaboration with NORDEN and RSB shows how Book & Claim can help accelerate progress in sectors where change is otherwise complex and demonstrates that companies don’t need to wait to start reducing their shipping emissions in a verified and meaningful way,” said Bella Horstmann, Senior Manager, Market Development, Microsoft.

The approach could be particularly relevant for large multinational companies purchasing significant volumes of maritime transport indirectly through suppliers, freight forwarders or logistics providers.

RSB builds governance framework for wider adoption

NORDEN became the first maritime operator to obtain RSB Book & Claim trader certification. The certification is required before a company can issue and sell verified emissions reductions through RSB’s registry.

RSB developed the maritime certification with NORDEN by adapting its existing aviation framework to shipping and maritime carriers.

“Developing market-enabling tools for decarbonisation across hard-to-abate sectors is a priority for RSB and extending the RSB Book & Claim framework to maritime transport is a direct response to that goal. This collaboration with NORDEN and Microsoft marks a significant milestone in making that a reality. NORDEN’s certification is exactly the kind of collaboration that will open this solution to the wider shipping industry,” said Max Eichelbaum, Director – Digitisation and Book & Claim.

Following the pilot, RSB plans to update its Procedure for Book and Claim Chain of Custody. The revision is intended to support broader adoption across maritime transport.

NORDEN will also continue working with customers and industry partners to scale the model.

For corporate sustainability teams, the attraction is flexibility. Companies could support maritime emissions reductions without waiting for sustainable fuel to reach every trade route they use.

The larger test will be governance. Buyers and investors will need confidence that reductions are credible, traceable and protected against double counting.

If those safeguards hold as the market scales, Book & Claim could give companies another route to address shipping emissions while the maritime fuel transition catches up with corporate climate ambitions.