Carbon insetting drives port decarbonisation

The initiative, introduced by DP World at its Southampton terminal in April 2026, converts operational emissions reductions into tradable certificates.

“At DP World, we believe decarbonising global supply chains requires practical solutions that deliver measurable impact today,” said John Trenchard, vice president – sustainable international supply chains, Europe at DP World.

”This scheme will turn real emissions reductions at Southampton into verified savings our customers can count towards their Scope 3 targets.”

Green supply chains

DP World first began carbon insetting at its UK operations of London Gateway and Southampton back on 1 January 2025.

The scheme is designed to help customers address Scope 3 port emissions by embedding carbon insetting directly into green supply chains.

Using biofuels, electrification and renewable energy, the port generates measurable savings that are allocated per container movement.

The Container Terminal Inset Certificates are issued under DP World’s wider Carbon Inset Programme, developed with 123Carbon and independently verified. Customers automatically receive certificates for qualifying cargo, enabling transparent sustainability reporting.

The programme builds on more than 250,000 TEU registered and over 9,000 tonnes of CO₂e savings issued since its 2025 launch.

The UK rollout is supported by an Energy Transition Contribution applied to import containers, while verification partners including Bureau Veritas ensure integrity.

The model positions ports as critical nodes in reducing port emissions through scalable carbon insetting across multimodal logistics networks.