Maersk has launched a $5 billion credit facility with sustainability terms and conditions attached, which is the first of its kind in the shipping industry.

The facility’s credit margin will be tracked against Maersk’s progress to meet its target of a 60% reduction in Co2 emissions per cargo unit moved.

In comparison, the International Maritime Organisation’s target is 40%.

Under the terms of the agreement, the facility has a tenor of five years with a possible extension for two more years.

The $5 billion facility is supported by more than 26 financial institutions including Banco Santander, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citibank, Commerzbank, Credit Agricole, Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered Bank.

This alignment with the banking and shipping portfolios continues a trend started in 2019 with the Poseidon Principles, a global framework for measuring the climate impact of bank’s shipping portfolios. Under the framework, banks will have to measure and report the climate alignment of their individual shipping portfolios.

In an announcement, Maersk said that this is the company’s first significant decision since its transformation from being a diversified conglomerate to a global container logistics company.