Baleària collaborates with the Spanish Business and Biodiversity Initiative

Since 2016, Baleària has worked closely with the Spanish Business and Biodiversity Initiative (IEEB), a public-private platform coordinated by the Fundación Biodiversidad of Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), which seeks to involve the business sector in improving and preserving biodiversity and natural capital.

The programme is aimed at businesses interested in learning more, exploring opportunities, making progress and demonstrating their commitment to nature conservation. Member companies such as Baleària therefore have access to a shared advanced knowledge centre and a forum for dialogue between the public and private sectors, where they can explore opportunities for collaboration, access up-to-date information on the regulatory context, learn about relevant initiatives and tools and exchange best practices.

As a responsible company committed to the environment, Baleària has been addressing challenges such as climate change for years. Baleària is a pioneering shipping company in its commitment to eco-efficient mobility powered by cleaner, more planet-friendly energy sources, with the aim of advancing decarbonisation.

In this regard, we have a fleet of ten vessels with dual-fuel gas engines — with an eleventh under construction — as well as an electric ferry, the Cap de Barbaria, representing an investment of around €500 million. The shipping company considers natural gas to be a transition fuel because it is currently a genuine alternative for helping to cut emissions, as the cleanest and most mature option presently available for maritime transport.  In recent years, Baleària has also invested in dual-fuel engines, a versatile technology which, in addition to allowing vessels to alternate between fuel oil and natural gas, is ready to run on 100% biomethane or synthetic methane, as well as green hydrogen blends of up to 25%.

Baleària has also developed its own Control Tower to monitor and improve the fleet’s eco-efficiency, and takes part in projects linked to the use of renewable energy sources, such as green hydrogen and biomethane, with the aim of achieving zero-emission navigation by 2050. 

Over the years, the shipping company has carried out numerous environmental initiatives with third parties, raising awareness among thousands of students and introducing biodegradable tableware and natural straws on 90% of the fleet, among other measures. Baleària has also worked with Ecoembes to install recycling points for 100% of packaging, participated in the EcoPort project to raise awareness of eco-efficiency measures and sustainable management of water, electricity, fuel and paper, and collaborated with Tursiops and the Life Conceptu Maris project on marine wildlife sightings in open waters and water sampling to obtain environmental DNA, among other initiatives.