Japanese trading company ITOCHU Corporation and shipping major Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) have signed a memorandum of strategic partnership to advance the use of environmental attribute certificates for decarbonization in the transportation sector.

By leveraging their respective strengths and collaborating in the air and maritime logistics fields, the partners are working to establish a framework that supports companies using transportation services in reducing their Scope 3 emissions and to realize decarbonization through collaboration across the entire transportation supply chain.

The cross-industry partnership between the air and maritime transportation sectors represents a new model for decarbonization in Japan and will see the companies collaborate in marketing, PR, sales and other activities to promote the use of environmental attribute certificates as a means for companies using transportation services to reduce their Scope 3 emissions.

Both companies, acting as user companies, traded environmental attribute certificates and reduced their respective Scope 3 emissions. ITOCHU purchased marine environmental attribute certificates generated by MOL to reduce GHG emissions associated with marine transport services (Scope 3 Category 4), while MOL purchased air environmental attribute certificates generated by ITOCHU to reduce GHG emissions related to employee air travel (Scope 3 Category 6).

This transaction was performed using the platform provided by Dutch environmental technology company 123Carbon.

Of note, MOL and ITOCHU in August 2025 concluded a joint development agreement (JDA) which envisions them collaborating on joint development initiatives to conduct a ship-to-ship ammonia bunkering demonstration in Singapore by utilizing their owned ammonia bunkering vessel and ammonia dual-fuel Capesize bulkers.

The demonstration is scheduled to take place in the second half of 2027.