ONE: Sustainable Shipping Beyond Alternative Fuel

This role play case study explores a key global issue – the decarbonisation of shipping. In April 2025, Reiko Sim, an executive in Ocean Network Express (ONE), a Japan-based global shipping company with headquarters in Singapore, tried to convince her client to use UCOME (a biofuel) for its shipping needs. ONE has designed digital solutions like the Eco Calculator and alternative fuel solutions like ONE Leaf+ to help its customers make sustainable shipping choices. However convincing clients to make such choices was like pitching vegetables to nursery kids, relevant, but not necessarily what they wanted. Reiko knew that costs were often the main detriment for clients when adopting alternative fuel solutions. ONE had also invested in 12 13,000 TEU methanol dual-fuelled vessels in 2024 and made significant investments in retrofitting many of its existing vessels to accommodate alternative fuels such as ammonia and methanol. These efforts formed part of several broader strategies aimed at achieving Net-Zero emissions by 2050.

Reiko wondered if early successes could provide the required momentum for ONE’s sustainability journey. How could companies like ONE accelerate decarbonisation efforts while remaining competitive in the shipping industry?

This case helps students understand (1) the strategic dilemmas and challenges faced by a shipping companies amidst heavy investments, slowly evolving regulations, and huge dependence on supporting infrastructure and cross-country agreements (2) innovation dilemma of alternative fuels (cost versus benefits) (3) and how digital solutions can drive innovation diffusion in sustainable shipping.

Inspection copies and teaching notes are available for university faculty. To receive an inspection copy and teaching note, please email cmpshop@smu.edu.sg with your registered faculty email ID and a link to your contact information on the faculty directory at your university as verification. An inspection copy and teaching note will then be sent to your faculty email account.

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·      The Case (SMU-25-0031)

·      Teaching Note (SMU-25-0031)

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·      The Case (SMU-25-0031)

·      Teaching Note (SMU-25-0031)