Smart Freight Centre Publishes First Industry-Average Emission Intensity Factors for Deep-Sea Ro-Ro Shipping

Amsterdam, December 3, 2025 - Smart Freight Centre (SFC) has released the first industry-average greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity factors for deep-sea roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) shipping, providing the automotive and logistics sectors with a consistent and credible benchmark for Scope 3 emissions reporting.

A Unified Benchmark for the Ro-Ro Sector

The industry averages draw on emission intensity results reported by deep-sea Ro-Ro carriers through the Global Ro-Ro Community (GRC), convened by Smart Freight Centre to harmonize GHG calculation and reporting. Carriers applied the Deep-Sea Ro-Ro Ship GHG Emission Intensity Calculation Methods (Oct 2025) to their operational data and submitted aggregated results via the GRC data integration platform for independent third-party verification. Smart Freight Centre maintains the methodology, oversees the submission and verification framework, and integrates the verified results into sector-wide benchmarks.

Global industry-average fossil-baseline emission intensity:

43.10 gCO₂e/t-km

This global value is the publicly available benchmark. GRC participants also have access to tradelane-level fossil-baseline emission intensity values through the GRC data integration platform.

OEM Access Through GRC Participation

OEMs that participate in the GRC gain access—via the GRC data integration platform—to industry-average fossil-baseline emission intensities at global and tradelane levels, enabling more accurate and comparable Scope 3 reporting.

Industry-average actual-fuel-mix values remain visible only to participating carriers. Carrier-specific values remain confidential by default, but can be made available to authorized stakeholders through the GRC data integration platform if the carrier permits it. This ensures meaningful insight for OEMs while preserving commercially sensitive information.

Advantages for Carriers Joining the Initiative

Carriers that join the GRC benefit from access to a harmonized, independently verified methodology that strengthens the credibility of their emissions reporting and reduces duplication in customer requests. Participation also enables carriers to benchmark their performance against sector-wide and tradelane-level averages, helping them communicate transparently with customers and plan decarbonization investments.

By contributing to the further development of the calculation method, participating carriers help ensure the approach remains practical, aligned with evolving regulation, and reflective of real-world operations.

Supporting Decarbonization and Reporting Requirements

The published global benchmark is aligned with ISO 14083 and the GLEC Framework, making it suitable for use in reporting under CSRD, CDP, SBTi, and other disclosure systems. It provides a reliable reference point for assessing emissions from deep-sea Ro-Ro transport and supports coordinated decarbonization planning across the automotive and logistics sectors.

About Smart Freight Centre

Smart Freight Centre (SFC) is a globally active non-profit organization for climate action in the freight sector. Our goal is to mobilize the global logistics ecosystem, in particular our members and partners, in tracking and reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. We accelerate the reduction of logistics emissions to achieve a zero-emission global logistics sector by 2050 or earlier, consistent with 1.5° pathways. www.smartfreightcentre.org