Itochu Corporation and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) have signed a deal to promote the use of environmental attribute certificates (EACs) as a tool to decarbonise the transportation sector, with a particular focus on low-carbon marine fuels.

The Japanese firms will cooperate on marketing, sales, and public outreach to encourage companies using transport services to apply EACs to reduce scope 3 emissions, Itochu said in a press release on Monday. 

The initiative links the maritime and aviation sectors, which the partners described as a new approach to decarbonisation in Japan.

Environmental attribute certificates are used to represent emissions reductions associated with lower-carbon transport services and can be applied by companies to support their scope 3 reporting.

As part of the framework, Itochu purchased EACs generated by MOL to reduce GHG emissions associated with marine transport.

The transactions were carried out using the 123Carbon platform.

Both companies said the partnership is intended to support broader adoption of low-carbon fuels across global logistics.