DP World, Svitzer add towage to carbon-inset campaign

The programme began on 1 January 2025 at DP World’s container import terminals in Southampton and London Gateway and was initially set six months. It has now been extended to run until 31 December 2025 due to a strong uptake.

In August, DP World UK expanded the scope of its carbon inset programme to include emissions associated with tug and pilot boat operations. From 1 October 2025, importers registered for the programme and moving cargo through its terminals will qualify for 250 kg CO2e carbon inset credits for every import-laden container, up from the original 50 kg CO2e at the launch of the scheme.

“This expansion highlights our continued commitment to making the port call process more sustainable and reducing the environmental impact of cargo arriving at DP World’s UK terminals,” says DP World. From January to August 2025, more than 200,000 TEU worth of containers were registered to the programme.

DP World has partnered with AP Moller Holding subsidiary Svitzer for this programme, enabling tugs to use lower-carbon sustainable fuels such as hydrogenated vegetable oil in the UK.  

“Tugboats are essential to assist in manoeuvring container ships into London Gateway and Southampton, and their inclusion in the programme creates the world’s first carbon inset lanes for the last nautical mile,” says DP World.

“This expansion builds on the strong momentum of the programme, driven by growing demand from importers seeking practical, tangible and pragmatic ways to decarbonise their supply chains.”

The additional credits are enabled using lower carbon fuels by DP World’s subsidiary Unifeeder across its northern European shipping network and Svitzer.

Svitzer says expanding this programme will enable lower carbon fuels to be used across port ecosystems in the UK.

“This supports our towage decarbonisation roadmap and customers’ Scope 3 goals, with the first rollout in the UK,” Svitzer says.

Carbon insets generated via Unifeeder are tracked via its GreenBox platform, while Svitzer utilises 123Carbon. Both platforms record the deployment of lower-carbon fuels and generate tokens for each tonne of CO2 saved. These tokens are managed independently by the 123Carbon platform, following the Smart Freight Centre’s methodology and are certified by Bureau Veritas for Unifeeder, and by one of 123Carbon’s approved certifiers for Svitzer.

Customers who register for this programme automatically receive certified carbon-inset credits from DP World UK.