We are proud of our commitment to the environment, which includes our longstanding policy of adopting a responsible, farsighted approach to protecting the seas and the planet. Our policy includes compliance with all international environmental standards relevant to our operations, and request that our suppliers and business partners do the same.

The shipping industry faces many environmental challenges specific to the nature of its activities, such as reducing vessel emissions and fuel consumption, minimizing the impact of shipping voyages on the ocean and maritime environment, and others. We aim to act responsibly by taking into account our influence on the environment and striving to reduce it from year to year.

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Environmental management

In keeping with our pioneering tradition, ZIM was one of the world’s first shipping companies to receive the ISO 14001:2004 Standard certification for its company-owned fleet. The standard specifies the requirements for an Environmental Management System (EMS), enabling us to develop and implement a policy and objectives which take into account legal and other requirements as well as information about significant environmental issues.

Our Certificate of EMS Registration has been assessed, certified, and issued by an independent third party (ClassNK).

ZIM is ISO 14001:2015 certified, lastly audited in September 2019 by ClassNK.

Our fleet complies with all mandatory standards and abides by all relevant treaties for the prevention of marine pollution, including IMO resolutions, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) code, flag administration, ballast water management, the Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan (SOPEP) regarding oil spills, and other standards regarding sewage, garbage and air pollution, as well as all national, regional and local regulations.

As a further demonstration of our commitment to eco-friendly operations, we participate in the World Ports Climate Initiative (WPCI) and register our eligible vessels under the Environmental Ship Index (ESI).

Since March 2018, we have been voluntarily and gradually replacing our global car fleet by eco-friendly hybrid or electric models. In 2021 we recorded an increase of 12% compared to the previous year, with hybrid cars measuring 67% of our total car fleet.

Digital Container Shipping Association member

ZIM, together with several of the largest container shipping companies in the world, joined the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) in 2019. One of the programs the DCSA is working on is developing a standardized Just in Time (JIT) port call process via digital information sharing. This will allow vessels to optimize their sailing speed and arrive at the port when there is an available berth. This initiative will potentially have a positive effect on the environment in terms of reducing fuel consumption and thus reducing emissions. ZIM is collaborating with DCSA in order to reduce emissions by streamlining the process of registration in ships in ports.

Read more here.

Reduction of environmental effect

We strive to reduce our impact on the environment and prevent pollution of maritime environments due to our activities as much as possible. We abide by the MARPOL regulations for preventing pollution from vessels by carrying out the following practices:

• Practices to control and manage vessels’ biofouling by hull cleaning to minimize the transfer of non-indigenous aquatic species.
• Strict Ballast water management.
• Strict avoidance of oil and toxic chemical discharges into the sea.
• Implementation of SOPEP (Shipboard Oil Pollution Emergency Plan) onboard vessels.
• Replacing mineral oil lubricants with Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants (EAL) for wire ropes and deck equipment, as well as the stern tube and bow thrusters.
• Sewage treatment and Garbage collection and disposal.
• Strict compliance with the global 0.5% sulfur cap for ship fuels and the regulatory limits for NOx emissions.
• Regular monitoring of exhaust fumes to avoid discharging black smoke from ship funnels.
• Maintenance of books on board in which records of ozone-depleting substances are kept.
• Air pollution management, including the control of ozone-depleting substances.

Read more here.

The future of vessel fuels

ZIM constantly works towards adopting alternatives to reduce its emissions and negative environmental impact. The company strongly believes in the LNG alternative and decided to deploy LNG as a transitional green fuel solution. In early 2021 we concluded a strategic agreement with Seaspan Corporation, a leading independent owner and operator of container ships. This long-term chartering agreement, first planned for ten container ships and later during the year expanded to 25 dual-fuel LNG vessels, includes the construction of new vessels that will be powered by LNG, thus significantly reducing the company’s emissions. Another three LNG-dual fuelled vessels will be chartered from EPS. The new vessels’ operation is scheduled to enter service in the first half of 2023. ZIM is committed to being the company with the highest percentage of LNG-fuelled ships in its fleet within its industry. In addition, ZIM is among the first shipping carriers to have ammonia-ready vessels, an innovative feature that can significantly ease the transition to next-level fuels when they become available.

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Emissions

Since 2013, ZIM has been a member of the Clean Cargo Working Group (CCWG), a global shipping industry initiative dedicated to improving the environmental performance of marine container transport through ongoing measurement, evaluation, and reporting. Every ZIM vessel’s CO2 emissions, NOx and SOx emissions and use of oils, fuel and sewage treatment facilities are continually checked, analyzed and reported to the CCWG and verified by a third party, the Standards Institute of Israel. We strive to reduce fuel consumption and emissions due to inland cargo transportation by selecting rail transportation whenever available.

In 2021 ZIM became a member of the Smart Freight Centre, an international non-profit organization focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from freight transportation, with the goal of reaching zero emissions by 2050 or earlier. The initiative collaborates with global partners to quantify impacts, identify solutions, and advocate logistics decarbonization strategies.

We actively promote container-sharing initiatives with third-party suppliers, such as partner shipping companies, container leasing companies and container traders. This practice is significantly reducing ZIM’s carbon footprint. By sharing the use of container space, we avoid shipping less-than-full containers, thus utilizing their full capacity and reducing the total quantity of containers shipped. This year, ZIM’s operational capacity has increased significantly, ZIM’s total emissions increased compared to the previous year. Many of the new lines opened are operated with smaller, less efficient vessels, resulting in a further increase in fuel consumption and GHG emissions. ZIM also suffered from supply-chain disruptions and congestion causing delays - challenges experienced by the entire shipping industry. Despite these operational challenges ZIM remains committed to its longterm obligation of reducing emissions.

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The (fleet) average CO2 emission factor (g/TEU-km) and average sulphur emission factor (g/TEU-km) for 2020 improved by 11% and 76% respectively compared with the same averages for 2019.

The improvement in the (fleet) average Sulphur Emission Factor was achieved mainly by increasing the use of marine fuels with less than 0.5% Sulphur content for our vessels.

ZIM’s targets for reduction of emissions:

• To improve the fleet’s average environmental CO2 emission per TEU (gCO2 /TEU-km) every year by 2%.
• To aim for a 50% reduction in our Fleet’s Average CO2 Emission Factor by 2050, compared to 2008.

Read more here.

EcoData Emissions Calculator

As part of our ongoing efforts to reduce our operations environmental impact, we encourage all our customers and suppliers to achieve and maintain high standards of sustainability. For this reason, we provide our customers with a convenient way to monitor the ecological impact of their shipments. The EcoData Emissions Calculator is a user-friendly online tool that can be found on our website. It provides CO2 and SOx emissions estimates based on the CCWG methodologies, which are widely recognized in the industry. In this way, our customers benefit from greater transparency relating to all aspects of the shipping process.

For EcoData Emissions Calculator click here.

New IMO regulation

In June 2021, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) introduced a set of measures to achieve a 40% reduction in the carbon intensity of international shipping by 2030. The measures consist of the following two elements:

The Energy Efficiency Existing ship Index (EEXI) aims to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of vessels, and The Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) is an in-service/ operational efficiency indicator that measures a vessel’s carbon intensity over time. ZIM recognizes that EEXI and CII are important steps towards achieving the goal of reducing emissions and is taking the necessary actions to comply with these new measures.

Read more here.

Energy & fuel consumption

We strictly monitor fuel consumption for all operated vessels, both owned and chartered, on a regular basis. Our main organizational fuel efficiency KPI is “Fuel Consumption per 1,000 miles per TEU”, which reflects the amount of fuel a vessel consumes in order to transport one TEU for 1,000 nautical miles. This indicator enables us to measure our fuel consumption efficiency regardless of vessel size and/or potential changes in commercial activity.

Read more here.

Energy Consumption Awareness at ZIM

We honor our commitment to protect people and the environment by tracking and analyzing energy consumption on vessels via best practice methods in order to improve energy efficiency and reduce both fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

We are able to monitor our entire fleet in real time from the Global Operation Center (GOC), located in HQ in Haifa, Israel. The GOC monitors the status and position of all active ships, relevant weather conditions and currents, and effectivity of port operation, among other data. Based on information gathered, the GOC assists operational ships with decisions concerning route and speed adjustment in real time. Moreover, it reveals deviations in vessel performance which may lead to inefficiencies.

Materials & waste management

All our vessels are certified as complying with the mandatory MARPOL and IMO regulations. This includes requirements regarding treatment of sewage, waste, different residuals, and more:

Ballast water is managed according to the Ballast Water Plan, which sets ballasting and de-ballasting procedures.

Sewage is treated in a special treatment system. Sewage is collected on board in specific tanks converted for use as storage capacity.

Bilge liquids are collected and purified through the “bilge separator”.

Sludge is collected in a dedicated tank on each vessel for disposal and treatment at a facility on shore.

Waste on board is separated into types, such as plastics, paper and food waste to allow for the proper treatment of each material.

Recycling

We invest great effort in reducing waste and the resources used in our offices as well. Many of our offices restrict the use of disposable dishes and we encourage the use of biodegradable materials. We have minimized printing by switching to electronic documentation and billing and apply a default setting of double-sided printing. We recycle printing paper, separate waste by type, such as plastic, paper and glass, and collect used batteries.

Ship Scrapping & Recycling

ZIM is fully compliant with the EU Ship Recycling Regulation (EU SRR) for the safe and environmentally sound recycling of ships. All shipyards and facilities that we use for ship scrapping and recycling purposes are verified as meeting applicable international environmental convention standards including the IMO Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (2009).

Used Containers for Sale

Another way in which we try to reduce our ecological footprint and encourage recycling is to extend the lives of our containers by offering a large inventory of used shipping containers for sale at the end of use. After we retire containers from our fleet, they begin new “careers” all over the world, providing outstanding solutions for diverse storage needs. Some are refitted and redesigned as residences, offices, classrooms, and more.

Reefer containers

ZIM is at the forefront of the operation and innovation of refrigerated containers. Our reefer containers are equipped to transport refrigerated cargo of all kinds, whether fruit, meat, medical supplies or any other frozen or refrigerated cargo. By the end of 2021, we achieved an average age of 4.1 years for the entire reefer fleet, thus having the youngest reefer fleet compared to other carriers. We will continue our renovation plan during 2022, further reducing energy consumption and costly maintenance and repairs.

ZIMonitor technology, which enables 24/7 remote monitoring of the refrigerator units by a dedicated service center, including real-time alerts and rapid response should any mishap occur, allows us to remotely monitor the refrigerator unit, on board vessels as well as inland, receive alerts in real time and respond if any error occurs. All the above-mentioned features make these units “smart containers”.

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Biodiversity Conservation

One of the objectives of our cargo policy is to support biodiversity conservation. In order to support our policy and reduce the transfer of non-endemic species, all our vessels undertake ballast water exchange, replacing coastal water with ocean water at mid-voyage. This way, we exchange ballast water where most of the organisms taken in by ballast water in port regions cannot survive, or at least are far from the ecologically more sensitive coastal areas. We also avoid discharging any waste or oily water into the sea, especially in sensitive and protected areas, in accordance with the MARPOL Convention and regulations. For this reason, in accordance with and in addition to international laws, cargo consisting of (but not limited to) the following types of wildlife and wildlife products is prohibited on our vessels: shark fins, ivory, bone, pelts, horns, skins, furs, rugs and other body parts, organs or carcasses of wild animals, illegal trade of plants and wild animals, trophy animals (such as elephants, rhinoceros, tigers, lions, bears etc.), marine mammals, migratory birds, nests, eggs, feathers, other body parts, turtle or tortoise shell etc.

In 2021, EcoOcean and ZIM cooperated in the field of ship research and use of equipment, studies relating to carbon offset, marine nature reserve and deep-sea monitoring. ZIM employees volunteer to support several projects including the Adopt a Beach program, where they participate in waste monitoring, coastal and marine environment monitoring, and more.

Read more here.

Ballast water

The IMO-International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, which regulates the exchange and treatment of ballast water, serves as a binding guideline for all ZIM-operated vessels (owned and chartered). Ballast water may contain invasive aquatic species which present a major threat to marine ecosystems. We have adopted measures that avoid this problem: all vessels manage their ballast water and sediments to a certain standard, according to international regulations. All ships carry a ballast water record book and record all ballast activity onboard. Our vessels comply with the USA, Canada and China ballast water regulations and reporting systems, with records of all ballast activity onboard.

Read more here.