With over 187 years of experience, Wilson Sons takes another step forward in its sustainability journey: for the first time, it has released its Scope 3 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions inventory, based on 2024 data. This publication is in line with the Brazilian GHG Protocol Program guidelines. It increases the company’s transparency and reinforces its commitment to increasingly more strategic and comprehensive climate management.
Recognized for the fifth consecutive year with the Gold Seal of the GHG Protocol Program, Wilson Sons has solid maturity in the management of its direct and indirect emissions (Scopes 1 and 2). This certification is a recognition for corporations that transparently report their independently audited emission sources. It is an important step towards combating climate change. The inclusion of Scope 3, which considers emissions throughout the value chain, including suppliers, clients, distribution, and leased assets, represents a necessary evolution to tackle the challenges of transitioning to a low-carbon economy.
Wilson Sons’ decision to map out and report emissions throughout its value chain voluntarily is in line with the best global practices, such as Net Zero targets (GHG emissions from international shipping by 2050) and Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). The result demonstrated that Scope 3 represents the largest portion of Wilson Sons’ total emissions, highlighting the importance of its integration into the company's decarbonization strategy.
To ensure assertiveness and focus, this first inventory focused on businesses with the greatest impact, and the analyses prioritized relevant categories, namely:
● Category 1 – Purchase of goods and services: inputs used in daily operations;
● Category 2 – Capital goods: assets incorporated into equity;
● Category 3 – Activities related to energy and fuel: emissions from the production and transport of purchased energy and fuel;
● Category 11 – Use of goods and services sold: with the greatest weight in the inventory, it includes the consumption of diesel by client-owned vessels in towing and port operations;
● Category 13 – Leased assets: fuel consumption on support vessels leased for offshore activities.
By including Scope 3 in its emissions inventory, Wilson Sons reinforces its climate leadership role in the logistics and port industry. In a national context that is still developing in terms of measuring these emissions, the company takes on a leading role, promotes transparency, and boosts good practices across the industry.”More than merely passing a technical milestone, it demonstrates Wilson Sons’ firm commitment to the sustainable transformation of the value chain and the development of Brazil’s port and logistics industry, promoting Brazilian foreign trade and competitiveness in the global market,” says João David Santos, Sustainability Manager at Wilson Sons.
Decarbonisation actions
Over the past few years, the company has conducted various studies to implement innovations to reduce fuel and electricity consumption in its operations. The new technologies and equipment used in Wilson Sons’ business units, such as the Towage division and the container terminals in Salvador (BA) and Rio Grande (RS), which are capable of operating the largest vessels in the world, make operations safer, more efficient and with lower emissions, supporting the decarbonisation of port and maritime logistics in Brazil.
Between 2022 and 2024, the company built six tugboats with more sustainable technology at its shipyard in Guarujá (SP), in the Santos port complex, renewing its fleet of more than 80 vessels that operate along the Brazilian coast. Their innovative hull design leads to reduced greenhouse gas emissions and an estimated decrease of 14% in the consumption of fossil fuels, supporting the improvement of air quality in the ports where they operate. In 2025, Wilson Sons started building a new range of three super powerful tugboats with sustainable technology at its shipyard in Guarujá.
Wilson Sons: business units Salvador Container Terminal (BA) and Rio Grande Container Terminal (RS)
Other actions include: the use of shore power in tugboats (prioritising the consumption of renewable energy) and biofuels; tracking the tugboat fleet at the Operations Centre in Santos (SP), which optimises travel speeds; and, at container terminals, the acquisition of 100% renewable electricity (Rio Grande Container Terminal) and the replacement of diesel-powered with electric equipment (Rio Grande and Salvador Container Terminals). Pioneering tests with drones were also initiated at the Port of Salvador for onboard cargo delivery and collection, which further reinforces its leadership in port innovation.
Source: Wilson Sons