June 16, 2008 - U.S. shipping giant Horizon Lines has unveiled a companywide plan to boost performance in the areas of environmental protection and climate management.

The company's new corporate environmental initiative, called Horizon Green, tackles the key areas of marine habitat protection, greenhouse gas emissions, and fuel efficiency. Conservation efforts focus on better managing vessel water use and waste streams, switching to low-sulfur diesel fuel, and reducing pollution while ships are docked. Climate management initiatives include optimizing truck and rail routes and improving vessel fuel consumption and truck efficiency. The company is also exploring other ways to boost environmental performance, such as build shipping containers from recycled materials.

To coincide with these sustainability programs, Horizon has introduced a new carbon offset shipping program, Aero Green. The program enables retailers and manufacturers to offset the carbon emissions from shipping by supporting forestation and alternative energy projects.