French-based container shipping line CMA CGM will stop carrying plastic waste on its ships from 1 June in a bid heeding the call of NGOs for a ban on such exports.
The decision was unveiled while Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of the CMA CGM Group made the announcement on the company’s ban on carrying plastic waste during the One Ocean Summit held by French President Emmanuel Macron, last week.
With this landmark decision effective 1 June 2022, the shipping major continues to demonstrate its commitment to protecting the environment and conserving biodiversity.
Rodolphe Saadé also announced that the group will host one of the two sites of the French Institute for Decarbonation at Tangram, the group’s major innovation and training center due to open in Marseille in 2023.
Removing plastic waste as a top priority
Every year, around 10 million tons of plastic waste end up in the sea. Unless action is taken, that figure is set to triple over the next 20 years to reach 29 million tons per year, which will cause irreversible damage to marine ecosystems, fauna, and flora.
The causes of this pollution include open-air storage and the absence of processing infrastructure for plastic waste that does not actively get recycled or reused.
No more plastic waste to be shipped aboard CMA CGM’s vessels
CMA CGM committed that it will no longer transport plastic waste onboard its vessels. The shipping line will prevent this type of waste from being exported to places where sorting, recycling, or recovery cannot be assured.
The firm has decided to take practical steps where it has the operational capability to do so, heeding the urgent calls spread by certain NGOs.
With this decision, the CMA CGM is stepping up its efforts to make conserving biodiversity one of the priorities of its CSR policy and to develop a trade that is more responsible and fair for everyone and for the Earth.
During the event “Acting for sustainable maritime transport: the Green Marine Europe label” organized as part of the One Ocean Summit in Brest, CMA CGM also became one of eleven new candidates for Green Marine Europe labeling.
Whilst the ecological transition of shipping is one of the crucial challenges for the protection of the oceans and the planet, this event intended to highlight the GME label initiative and shipowners’ commitments in the framework of the first European environmental certification on maritime transport.
