SMART Freight Centre offshoot Global Ro-Ro Community has established a member-led group to advance a harmonised approach to greenhouse gas emissions accounting.
The Global Ro-Ro Council brings together carriers, independent verifiers, cargo owners, and other stakeholders to improve the accuracy, transparency, and comparability of emissions reporting across the ro-ro sector.
The initiative includes deep-sea and short-sea ro-ro operators collectively representing nearly 80% of global car equivalent unit (CEU) capacity, giving the GRC the scale needed to develop representative industry benchmarks and credible emissions data, it says.
Published in 2025, the GRC methodology is aligned with ISO 14083 and the GLEC Framework and enables the calculation of ship-specific and tradelane-level greenhouse gas emission intensities using verified primary data.
The establishment of the Council marks the next phase of this work, giving participating carriers and verifiers formal responsibility for the methodology’s continued development, data governance, industry benchmarking, and strategic direction.
The Council has elected:
The Council will guide the methodology’s evolution in response to industry needs, emerging regulation, and increasing expectations for credible primary emissions data, it says.
“This work is becoming increasingly important as maritime stakeholders respond to developments including FuelEU Maritime, the IMO Net-Zero Framework, SBTi’s Corporate Net-Zero Standard Version 2.0, corporate sustainability reporting requirements, and growing Scope 3 data expectations.
“As demand for accurate primary emissions data continues to grow, harmonised emissions accounting is becoming increasingly important for cargo owners seeking to quantify Scope 3 emissions, compare transport options, and track decarbonisation progress.
“Broader participation by carriers will further improve the representativeness of industry benchmarks and strengthen the quality of emissions data available to the market.
“As participation grows, the GRC aims to become the industry’s most representative source of verified primary emissions data for Ro-Ro shipping, supporting more transparent reporting and more informed decarbonisation decisions across the sector.
“The GRC invites additional deep-sea and short-sea Ro-Ro operators to join the initiative, contribute verified operational data, and participate in shaping the future of internationally aligned emissions accounting.”
The Global Ro-Ro Community is an SFC-led collaborative program bringing together deep-sea Ro-Ro carriers, independent verifiers, cargo owners, and other stakeholders. It develops harmonised methods, verified primary data, and representative emission-intensity factors to support transparent and consistent greenhouse gas accounting across the Ro-Ro transport sector.