Odfjell: Can The Future of Shipping be Sustainable?
Shipping underpins global trade, but its climate footprint is increasingly under scrutiny.
Odfjell is a Norway-based global shipping company specialising in transporting chemicals in bulk. The company operates around 80 large chemical tankers worldwide, serving industrial customers moving hazardous liquids over long distances.
For Øistein Jensen, Chief Sustainability Officer at Odfjell, climate risk is now a central strategic issue. He distinguishes between physical climate risks and so-called transition risks linked to regulation and market change. “The biggest risk is that we are not able to be compliant,” he says.
On the physical side, more frequent extreme weather, flooding in ports and heatwaves all affect day-to-day operations. These events pose safety, reliability and cost challenges for crews and cargoes positioned across multiple regions. “They are risks that we need to adapt to,” Øistein explains.
Yet it is transition risk that dominates his thinking. Shipping is among the most heavily regulated global industries, and climate rules are tightening at international and regional level. Regulation from bodies such as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the European Union increasingly targets greenhouse gas emissions. Compliance is not just a legal obligation; it is a cost issue and a licence-to-operate issue. “If we are not able to follow these trajectories, it will be expensive,” Øistein says.
