Maersk Line, the global containerized shipping division of A.P. Moller-Maersk Group (Copenhagen, Denmark), will refrain from purchasing containers with floors made from uncertified tropical hardwood, according to a corporate release. With the switch, the company hopes to reduce demand for illegally logged tropical hardwood.
Maersk Line, the global containerized shipping division of A.P. Moller-Maersk Group (Copenhagen, Denmark), will refrain from purchasing containers with floors made from uncertified tropical hardwood, according to a corporate release. With the switch, the company hopes to reduce demand for illegally logged tropical hardwood.
With the new policy, all Maersk containers will have floors made of responsibly harvested timber, bamboo or recycled plastic. For 2011, some FSC-certified tropical hardwoods will be allowed while other floor types are scaled up in production. The company vows that within 18 years, all of the floors in its containers will be legally certified.
"Illegal logging is widely recognized as a serious threat to forests, people and wildlife," said Maersk's Jacob Sterling. "We feel obligated to use our purchasing power to push for higher standards and ensure that the timber we use for container floors come from responsible forestry."
According to Maersk, containers have traditionally been fitted with tropical hardwood floors. It takes two cubic meters of hardwood to produce floors for three 40-foot containers, and the container industry uses approximately 1.2-1.5 million cubic meters of hardwood annually to meet demand for new containers.