❓FAQ
General questions
What is Katalist?
Katalist is a book and claim registry. Book and claim is a chain of custody model that allows attributes of a product to be sold separately from the physical product. For Katalist, these attributes are voyage related emission savings within the maritime industry. A registry is a standardized secure electronic ledger that enables booking, transfer and retirement of voyage and sustainable marine fuel (SMF) attributes.
Why did MMMCZCS and RMI develop Katalist?
Book and claim has been used in different industries for decades, but no industry wide nonprofit system exists within shipping. Our team wanted to create a tool that allows the maritime industry to take advantage of the many benefits of book and claim. By connecting supply of low emission transport with the demand for low emission transport, book and claim can help jump start the industry’s energy transition while the infrastructure required for easy access to low emission shipping is developed.
The Center for Zero Carbon Shipping’s knowledge of the maritime industry and RMI’s knowledge of book and claim was a natural match to partner up on this development. Importantly, both our organizations are nonprofits with a shared mission of helping companies with the necessary tools and insights to accelerate a zero-carbon future for the maritime industry.
How is Katalist different from offsetting?
Offsetting is when you purchase carbon reductions from outside your industry (i.e. forest preservation projects). When companies offset, they are not addressing any emissions in their value chain. Money used towards purchasing offsets is channeled to a completely different sector and does not lead to any change in your value chain.
Katalist is insetting – in sector decarbonization. Every token booked on Katalist represents sustainable fuel being used in the maritime industry. Every transaction facilitated by Katalist represents capital being channeled to decarbonizing shipping.
Why should I use Katalist instead of in-house solutions offered by my carriers?
Many carriers offer in house products that their customers can purchase to lower their shipping emissions. While these solutions can have advantages, the details of each differ significantly between carriers. Freight customers are faced with the challenge of learning multiple systems, all with different methodologies, data sets, and outputs. This results in customers spending time and resources on understanding each system rather than focusing on decarbonising.
With Katalist, every carrier adheres to the same data and verification requirements, the same methodology, and customers receive savings in the same format. Katalist eliminates the need to learn 10+ systems and provides uniform, comparable savings across all the carriers you do business with.
How is Katalist working with other registries in the wider book and claim ecosystem?
The Katalist team is in active dialogue with the numerous registry operators and standard setters in the book and claim space. This dialogue centers around ensuring that we are aligned with any new standards or principles that are released. Katalist is not a static product, and we will continue to refine and adapt to ensure that our core mission of being credible and driving real change is met.
Additionally, Katalist has an “Expert Committee” consisting of 7 leading companies with the maritime and book and claim expert space. We meet with this committee on a quarterly basis to discuss potential changes and ensure we are tracking relevant developments.
Who can use Katalist?
Shipping companies, freight forwarders, and cargo owners can use Katalist. Shipping companies are able to “book” emission savings and then transfer them to either freight forwarders or cargo owners who can retire and “claim” these savings. Freight forwarders are also able to further transfer emission savings they receive via Katalist to cargo owners.
How much does it cost to use Katalist?
Katalist is free to use for all companies throughout 2025. Starting in 2026, there will be a subscription fee for shipping companies and freight forwarders, along with a booking fee for shipping companies. Cargo owners will not have any cost associated with the use of Katalist. As nonprofits, the intent of these fees is to ensure we can cover our costs and continue to offer this service to the maritime industry.
How do I get started?
Opening an account on Katalist is a straightforward process that has already been done by 20+ companies across the maritime industry. You begin by reviewing and filling out the subscription form available on our website, which is automatically sent to the Katalist team. Along with this subscription form, there are some documents that need to be provided to the Katalist team. These exact documents likely differ depending on the country your company operates in, and if you have any questions reach out to the Katalist team. Once the Katalist team has reviewed and approved your subscription form and documentation, you will receive an invite to create an account on the registry.
If you are a freight forwarder or cargo owner who doesn’t want to create an account, you can still receive savings from Katalist via carriers who use our registry. These carriers can send you the emission savings directly to your email, along with the official retirement statement, via our retirement on behalf functionality.
Technical questions
What are tokens and how do they work?
Tokens are the book and claim unit used on Katalist. Tokens represent Scope 3 emissions from the use of sustainable fuel on a voyage. Each token contains verified data regarding fuel attributes and other characteristics from the voyage where the SMF was used. Tokens can be transferred downstream in the maritime supply chain and the emission savings can be claimed by both freight forwarders and cargo owners.
How does Katalist ensure that data contained in tokens is correct?
All data uploaded to Katalist by carriers has been verified by a 3rd party to a reasonable level of assurance. Katalist requires all carriers to complete a data questionnaire (DQ) that includes voyage and fuel information. This DQ must be verified to Katalist’s standards by a third party according to our assurance framework. This framework articulates who can verify the data and how it must be verified. Carriers then upload proof of this verification, the DQ, and the Proof of Sustainability and Bunker Delivery Note for the sustainable fuel used to Katalist. The team then checks to ensure that our procedures were correctly followed and the information in the DQ matches the supporting documentation and assurance report.
What is the price of a token on Katalist, and can I log-in to Katalist and find freight customers & carriers?
Katalist is not a marketplace. Creating matches between counterparties and price negotiations are outside the scope of Katalist. Katalist’s role is to ensure that verified, uniform data is available to companies purchasing emission savings from their carriers. Katalist requires 3rd party verification of data and handles this data in a uniform, impartial way. Freight customers receive transparent, comparable savings from any carrier they do business with by using Katalist.
What kind of fuels can be booked on Katalist?
Any fuel that has been produced under a sustainable certification scheme from certification bodies ISCC or RSB can be booked on Katalist. This is not just a bio-fuel system, it caters for any fuel as long as it has been certified and has a corresponding Proof of Sustainability (POS).
How will you ensure that companies aren’t double selling reductions on Katalist and a different platform?
We have several safeguards in place to control for “double counting” on Katalist. The first is that all users of Katalist must pass a KYC screening to verify who they are and that they do not have a history of fraud. The second is that prior to using Katalist companies must sign the “term of use” legal document which forbids selling fuel booked on Katalist outside of Katalist. The third control is an automated check that the registry does on all booked voyages to ensure that the same voyage was not uploaded twice. Katalist is also involved in two separate projects (one with the Book and Claim Community and one with RSB) that are investigating how to check data across multiple platforms that sell green shipping to ensure that the same fuel is not booked twice.
Can shipping companies use Katalist to comply with maritime regulations?
No. Carriers cannot book SMF on Katalist and use it to meet regulatory requirements like FuelEU, EU ETS, or IMO CII.
Part of Katalist’s data requirements are that SMF that is booked cannot be used to meet regulatory requirements. This is a concept called “additionality”, which is further explained in this paper published by GMF and MMMCZCS. It is important for many freight customers to know that by using Katalist they are actually incentivizing carriers to use SMF and not just subsidizing fuel use that was required by regulations.
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