Workshop to develop book and claim as a tool to accelerate climate solutions for heavy transport and beyond
Amsterdam, 21 November 2022 - Smart Freight Centre (SFC) convened a workshop as part of New York Climate Week to discuss advancement of a book and claim chain of custody system for transport decarbonization. Some of the workshop topics included a review of potential challenges associated with book and claim as a tool for transport decarbonization, the controls that would need to be implemented to address these challenges, and next steps towards broad uptake of a common book and claim framework for transport decarbonization.
Stakeholders participating in the workshop included corporates like Alaska Airlines, Amazon, DPDHL Group, and World Energy LLC, as well as nongovernmental organizations like RMI, Science Based Targets initiative, and World Resources Institute. The workshop was facilitated by Reos partners and hosted by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
About Book and Claim
A chain of custody system is a set of measures underlying the process by which materials or products (and information on those materials or products) are transferred, monitored, and controlled as they move through each step in a supply chain. Under a book and claim chain of custody system, the records documenting the characteristics of a material or product are not connected to the physical flow of materials or products through a supply chain.
As such, under a book and claim chain of custody system, an organization may purchase the attributes of materials or products with specified characteristics, even if the organization does not take physical custody of a material or product with those specified characteristics.
This flexibility inherent in a book and claim chain of custody system can significantly accelerate transportation decarbonization.
The following image is a simple representation of a book and claim chain of custody system for a low emission liquid fuel:
Outcomes of the Workshop
Workshop attendees developed a common understanding of the need for a book and claim system. Many participants committed to continue working together in the development of a high integrity book and claim framework for the transportation sector.
“This workshop is an example of the cross-sector collaboration needed to decarbonize hard-to-abate industries such as aviation and maritime shipping. We look forward to continued joint efforts to establish a book and claim system with integrity that will help scale the availability and use of sustainable fuels as Amazon works toward our commitment of net-zero carbon by 2040.”
- Chris Atkins, Director of Worldwide Operations Sustainability at Amazon
“In our joint efforts to drive sustainable solutions and make them manageable also for our customers, we need pragmatic solutions. We want to enable our customers to actively contribute to emission reductions by a robust and fraud-resistant system. A book and claim mechanism, and a transparent registry for emission reductions offers an opportunity for customers to contribute to decarbonization without the necessity to establish an own separate green infrastructure. We firmly believe this is the way forward in decarbonizing our industry.”
- Andreas Muendel, Senior Vice President Strategy & Operation Programs, DPDHL Group
“Participants built mutual trust and recognized shared objectives to address harder to abate aviation and shipping emissions. It is a promising start to launch future efforts. An effective book and claim system is essential to scale renewable fuels at the speed we need to secure climate stability.”
- Adam Klauber, VP Sustainability & ESG World Energy
For more on the workshop and its outcome, download the workshop summary here.