Classification society ClassNK has introduced what it said is the world’s first notation to indicate that greenhouse gas emissions generated during ship construction have been calculated and undergone third-party verification.
The new notation, called ‘a-EA (CFP)’, has been added to ClassNK’s Environmental Guidelines and is intended to help shipyards, shipowners and shipping companies demonstrate the environmental value of vessels and support disclosure of Scope 3 emissions.
The notation indicates that the carbon footprint generated during ship construction has been calculated and verified by a third party in accordance with ISO 14067, an international standard covering carbon footprint calculation requirements and guidelines.
ClassNK said growing interest in decarbonization and supply-chain emissions reporting has increased the importance of assessing and disclosing greenhouse gas emissions associated with ship construction.
In the shipping industry, emissions related to the construction of owned vessels are classified as Scope 3 Category 2, or capital goods.
According to ClassNK, emissions from ship construction are often calculated using emission factors or default values that may not fully reflect the use of low-carbon materials or emission reduction measures during the construction process.
The new notation is intended to allow shipyards to demonstrate efforts to reduce environmental impacts during construction, including the use of low-carbon materials and measures to lower emissions during the building process.
For shipowners and shipping companies, the framework is expected to support more accurate Scope 3 emissions disclosure by enabling the use of construction emissions data that has undergone third-party verification, ClassNK said.
