FAQ EcoCalc

As an environmentally committed company, Hapag-Lloyd places high priority on environmental issues in managing our business.

The worldwide reduction of emissions like CO2 is one of the most important challenges of our time. Hapag-Lloyd strives to reduce emissions continuously throughout the entire transport chain and in particular on our ships.

We developed EcoCalc not only for our customers, partners and colleagues but also for all people and groups which are interested in sustainable transport solutions and are supporting our green approach.

The online tool EcoCalc calculates the environmental impact of freight transports worldwide. Not only the emitted emissions of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) are evaluated, but also the emissions of Nitrogen Oxide (NOx), Sulphur Dioxide (SO2), and Particulate Matter (PM10) are indicated. In addition the distance of your transport is shown.

The use of EcoCalc is very easy. To start the calculation of your transport emissions you have to fill in the transport details. The boxes marked with an * are mandatory in order to calculate your emissions.

Valid input parameter for “Start/End of Transport”, “Port of Loading/Discharge” are names or LoCodes, e.g.: Hamburg or DEHAM.

After you have completed the input for the transport chain please choose whether the Cargo Volume should be TEU or Tons. Only integer numbers without commas or periods can be entered.

Please confirm your input by clicking on the button Calculate. Based on set parameters EcoCalc will then calculate the environmental impact of the transport. The result is shown on the lower part of the page. Additionally you can download your results as a PDF file.

The Hapag-Lloyd EcoCalc considers the different sections of the transport chain which are being calculated as follows.

For seaborne transportation, emissions of carbon dioxide are calculated according to the method developed by the Clean Cargo Working Group. Hapag-Lloyd provides the basic calculation data for all of our own container ships and long-term charter ships employed. This data have recently been verified by Germanischer Lloyd. Other ocean data are based on Clean Cargo Working Group average data.

Nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide and particulate matter emissions are calculated according to the methods of EcoTransIT. Full utilization of capacities is assumed.

For pre- and oncarriage all emissions displayed for CO2, NOx, SO2 and PM10 are calculated according to the EcoTransIT methods.

EcoTransIT (Ecological Transport Information Tool) provides an online tool to calculate emissions and energy consumption per transport worldwide and for all transport modes.

The Methology of EcoTransIT was developed by the internationally recognized Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (ifeu) Heidelberg and the Institute for Applied Ecology in Berlin. EcoTransIT already fulfills the requirements of the future European CEN-Standard 16258 “Methodology for calculation and declaration on energy consumptions and GHG emissions in transport services”. More information and the scientific basis behind EcoTransIT are provided on the project's website.

The Clean Cargo Working Group is a section of the US “Business for Social Responsibility” (BSR) organization. The members consist of numerous major shipping lines - more than 70% of all global container shipments covered under CCWG processes - in addition to globally active trading companies and producers. The Clean Cargo Working Group works to investigate, optimize, and reduce the ecological and social impacts during the exchange of goods worldwide.

The Clean Cargo Working Group developed an outstanding calculation model to indicate CO2 emissions for shipping lines, which Hapag-Lloyd already employs for many years.

The ocean routes are based on direct port-port connections. Actual routes taken during shipment may differ from these values.

No liability is accepted for the completeness and accuracy of these calculations.

In case of an error message please check if all mandatory input parameter are inserted. If the problem persists, please contact us.

This problem mainly appears with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer when the zoom is above 100%. To change the setting please click on “View” in the top menu bar and then select the entry “Zoom”. From here you should set the zoom to 100%.

In case of questions please do not hesitate to contact us via email. You may of course also contact your local sales person in case of questions.

Hapag-Lloyd sets itself high standards in terms of quality and international environmental protection. In many cases this entails adhering to stricter rules than those in force around the world. In addition to climate protection, we attach great importance to running our business sustainably and conserving resources – two traditional principles of the shipping industry.

This is laid down in our Sustainability Mission: “It is our current and future commitment to protect the environment, provide the highest service quality, and care for employees’ health and safety.

Therefore, our overall goals are to conserve natural resources, to develop environmental awareness, to ensure high quality services and safe operations.”
We strive to reach our mission by adopting various technical, operational, and shore based measures such as deploying state-of-the-art technology, minimising the impact on maritime flora and fauna, and reducing greenhouse gas and other emissions along the transport chain by lowering vessel fuel and energy consumption. An up-to-date overview about Hapag-Lloyds current environmental commitment and our activities can be found on our webpage under Sustainability.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a non-flammable, colourless and odourless gas. In a concentration of 0.03% it is a natural component of the air and in this low air volume concentration has no negative effects of any kind.

CO2 emissions result from the combustion of heavy fuel oils as well as diesel oils when operating vessels. The amount of CO2 emissions are directly related to the amount of fuel burned. Therefore, marine fuel consumption is the basis for CO2 calculation. Carbon dioxide is the dominant greenhouse gas worldwide with regard to climate change.

Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) emissions in shipping result from the combustion of sulphur in heavy fuel oil or diesel oils. The amount of SO2 emissions are directly related to the amount of fuels burned and hence, from its sulphur content. These factors are  the basis for the calculation of SO2 emissions.

Sulphur oxides contribute to “acid rain” and hence forests dying and over-acidification of soil and ground water. High concentrations can also lead to respiratory illnesses.

In shipping operations, nitrogen oxides (NOx) are generated in the combustion chambers of vessels' engines. The formation of nitrogen oxides is therefore directly dependent on the manner of combustion and thus on the technical parameters of the engines. The nitrogen content or the amount of fuel has only a slight influence on the amount of nitrogen oxides generated during combustion. Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are mainly to blame for the overfertilisation of soil and ground water that accelerates the pollution of lakes and rivers. Furthermore, NOx emissions are partly responsible for the creation of ozone in the lower strata of the Earth’s atmosphere and thereby for summer smog.

The dust fraction known as fine dust (PM10) contains 50% of particles with a diameter of 10 µm, a higher proportion of smaller particles and a lower proportion of larger particles.

Fine dust in ships is generated mainly during starting and stopping of the engine, which leads to incomplete fuel combustion.

A high concentration of fine dust emission leads to smog and then poses a serious health threat.