Henkel and DHL Global Forwarding have announced a substantial expansion of their sustainable marine fuel (SMF) partnership, with the logistics provider set to use waste- and residue-based marine fuels for the majority of the consumer goods company’s ocean freight volumes in 2025.
The agreement covers around 9,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of ocean freight to be transported through DHL’s GoGreen Plus service. Utilizing SMF is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 4,700 tonnes of CO2 equivalent on a well-to-wake basis — claimed to represent around an 85% reduction compared to conventional marine fuel.
The initiative builds on a pilot project conducted in 2024, when Henkel and DHL Global Forwarding tested SMF on selected volumes, with most of the 2025 shipments originating in Europe.
Under the arrangement, ocean carriers will utilize sustainable marine fuels on behalf of DHL Global Forwarding, which then allocates the resulting emissions reductions to Henkel via a book-and-claim system. This approach enables DHL to replace fossil fuels with sustainable alternatives within its network and allocate environmental benefits to paying customers — even when their specific shipments are not physically transported using vessels running on these fuels.
The emission reductions are to be verified by independent certification body SGS.
Ondrej Slezacek, global category manager sea & air freight at Henkel, commented: “Working with DHL Global Forwarding on sustainable transport solutions is an important part of our strategy to reduce emissions within our logistics processes. Simultaneously, it helps accelerate the overall transition to low-emission logistics in our industry.”
“This expansion of our partnership is another milestone in our joint decarbonization journey,” said Amanda Rasmussen, chief commercial officer at DHL Global Forwarding. “By combining Henkel’s ambitious climate strategy with our sustainable logistics solutions, we are demonstrating that progress toward decarbonizing supply chains is possible today.”
DHL’s GoGreen Plus service is designed to provide decarbonized solutions across the company’s core offerings by leveraging sustainable fuels and low-carbon technology. The service aims to help customers reduce their indirect Scope 3 emissions arising from upstream and downstream transportation and distribution, whilst also helping clients with voluntary reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and progress against their decarbonization targets.
Henkel, is a multinational chemical and consumer goods business headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany. The company’s brands include Loctite, Persil, Bref, Dixan, Pril, Somat and Purex.
