CMA CGM and DSV have signed an ACT+ agreement aimed at cutting CO2 emissions across the forwarder's ocean freight book with the French carrier.

The deal, announced via a joint headline from the two companies, commits DSV to CMA CGM's ACT+ programme — the carrier's commercial framework for shippers and forwarders who want low-carbon shipping through the use of alternative fuels such as biofuel and biomethane on booked containers.

The agreement names two of the largest operators in their respective modes. CMA CGM, headquartered in Marseille, ranks among the top three container lines by capacity, while DSV, based in Hedehusene, Denmark, is one of the world's largest freight forwarders by revenue and air & sea freight volumes. A deal of this kind therefore touches a substantial share of Europe-bound container trade.

What does ACT+ actually cover?

ACT+ is CMA CGM's suite of decarbonisation options sold alongside ocean freight. Rather than buying a separate offset, customers book specific low-emission fuel solutions on their allocated sailings, with the emission reductions attributed to their cargo under recognised accounting methods. The programme gives forwarders like DSV a way to offer customers verified carbon savings on Asia–Europe, transatlantic and intra-European lanes where the carrier deploys alternative fuels.

For shippers, the commercial significance is straightforward: corporate sustainability reporting requirements in the EU are tightening, and Scope 3 transport emissions are increasingly part of tender scoring. A forwarder with a signed ACT+ agreement can pass audited, fuel-based emission reductions through to cargo owners instead of relying on generic offsetting — a distinction many procurement teams now demand.

For CMA CGM, the deal locks in demand for its alternative-fuel capacity and deepens its relationship with one of its largest customers. For DSV, it differentiates its ocean product at a time when forwarders compete less on rate alone and more on data, compliance and green credentials.

Why carrier–forwarder fuel deals are multiplying

The CMA CGM–DSV signing fits a broader pattern across container shipping. Carriers have rolled out low-carbon fuel programmes over the past two years — Maersk with ECO Delivery, Hapag-Lloyd with Ship Green, CMA CGM with ACT+ — and large forwarders have been signing framework agreements to secure allocations of those products for their customer bases.

The driver is regulatory as much as commercial. The EU's inclusion of shipping in the Emissions Trading System has put a direct price on CO2 from voyages to and from EU ports, and the FuelEU Maritime regulation from 2025 sets progressively stricter greenhouse-guel intensity targets for ships calling in Europe. Forwarders that cannot offer fuel-verified reductions risk losing tenders from large shippers with binding supply-chain emissions targets.

What it means for rates and procurement

For cargo owners booking through DSV, the agreement signals that low-emission options on CMA CGM sailings will become a standard part of the forwarder's ocean offering rather than a bespoke, per-booking negotiation. That typically means:

• Priority access to alternative-fuel allocations on key trade lanes
• Emission reductions documented in a form usable for corporate reporting
• Pricing structured as a premium on top of base ocean freight, per container

Neither company disclosed the value of the agreement, the volumes covered, or the specific trade lanes in scope in the announcement.

The road ahead

Expect more of these framework deals as FuelEU Maritime penalties phase in and carrier alternative-fuel production — CMA CGM has invested heavily in biomethane and methanol capacity — scales up. The CMA CGM–DSV agreement signals that fuel-based decarbonisation has moved from pilot projects into mainstream forwarder procurement, and competitors on both sides of the relationship will likely respond with similar signed allocations.