Danish bunker supplier Monjasa is aiming to help customers quantify their carbon output through bespoke reports of their fuel use.

The information covers emissions from well to wake and breaks this down into Scope 1 to 3 throughout the supply chain.

Group responsibility director Jesper Nielsen told TradeWinds this was "an extensive piece of work, putting together all three Scopes".

"We wanted to fully understand the overall context before we rushed to deployment of any initiatives," he added.

The company felt it needed answers as to what its current impact was and where it should prioritise to reduce or expand this impact.

Experts on board

Monjasa partnered this year with Deloitte to prepare its first complete group carbon accounts.

Nielsen explains that when the fuel and tanker group finished analysing the results of its carbon accounts, one of the realisations was that it was not easy to obtain the upstream data for the products that it acquires from providers.

Which Scope is which?

Scope 1: Direct emissions from owned or controlled sources.

Scope 2: Indirect emissions from purchased energy sources.

Scope 3: Various other indirect emissions in a company’s value chain.

But Monjasa was able to collaborate with the oil companies on the data to ensure accuracy.

"If the transparency already stops before our position in the supply chain, this means that downstream, no one has this level of accuracy," Nielsen said.

The group has now achieved a level of detail that enables it to provide clients with CO2 reporting linked to each individual order.

But the company quickly realised it cannot deliver green transition for shipping itself.

Ideal position in the chain

Monjasa operates its own fleet of bunker tankers. Photo: Monjasa

"We don't produce fuels, we don't decide on which type of fuel to use in the end," Nielsen added.

But he said Monjasa has a good overall view from its position as a supplier.

"What we can do and what we think is very valuable right now is provide transparency for the entire supply chain," the executive said.

Nielsen has noted a need for overall industry "literacy" on the subject of carbon emissions.

"You need to establish a uniform language," he said. "Everyone needs to be able to understand carbon accounts if we want to do something about it."

Detailed breakdown

A sample report seen by TradeWinds breaks down the stages of fuel consumption from well to tank, upstream transport, direct emissions from ships, downstream distribution through bunkering operations and the use of the fuel in the end vessel.

The report shows use by volumes and geographical area month by month, with emissions reported in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

There is also a section explaining how 3.255 tonnes of CO2 is formed from 1 tonne of gasoil, for example, with information about the atomic weight of carbon and oxygen.

"For starters, we manually presented this to our largest customers. We were overwhelmed with the positive reception," Nielsen told TradeWinds.

"We have quickly automated how we produce these reports. There is actually a need from a much larger pool of our clients than we probably anticipated," he added.