Tag Archives: Recycling

MSC’s Cruise Brands Join Green Marine Europe Label

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MSC Group’s cruise division has announced that it had become the first major global cruise company to join the Green Marine Europe Label.

According to a press release, Green Marine Europe Label is a voluntary environmental certification program for the maritime industry that was launched in 2020 to “create a mechanism to support shipowners in demonstrating their environmental performance on a European scale.” It follows the success of Green Marine’s North American environmental certification program, MSC said.

MSC Group said that it has pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and its two brands, MSC Cruises and Explora Journeys, are “committed to measuring their environmental performance annually.”

The cruise brands are using the Green Marine Europe Label’s program guidelines to track progress across eight key performance indicators: aquatic invasive species, pollutant air emissions – sulfur oxides and particulate matter -, pollutant air emissions – nitrogen oxides -, greenhouse gas emissions, oily discharge, waste management, underwater noise and responsible ship recycling.

MSC Grandiosa class photo credit Spacejunkie2

The two brands have committed to submit their annual environmental performance results to an external accredited verification party and publish them.

“Even while we tackled the many challenges of the past two years, we never lost sight of our responsibilities in the long term. In line with our commitment to sustainability and our pledge to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, the Green Marine Europe Label will help us demonstrate our progress and share this with our guests, the communities that we serve and all other stakeholders. All of this, while we continue our work on several projects studying the development of green fuels and technology solutions and we look forward to bringing them to life soonest,” Executive Chairman of the Cruise Division of MSC Group, Pierfrancesco Vago, said.

‘’Certification to the Green Marine Europe Label across our entire fleet will further demonstrate our commitment to environmental sustainability as it also reflects our desire to continually improve our performance in that space,” MSC Cruise Management’s Vice President Environmental Operations and Compliance Minas Myrtidis added.

According to the press release, the Green Marine Europe Label is the result of a partnership of the North American environmental certification program Green Marine, which has been operational for 10 years, and the Surfrider Foundation, a leading NGO in the ocean and maritime protection in the European Union.

The partnership was established in 2019, and the program was launched in the spring of 2020.

MSC said that in recent years it has made considerable advances across all areas of its cruise operations thanks to the deployment of some art environmental technologies, fuels and solutions. These include advanced emissions control systems, ballast water treatment systems and advanced wastewater treatment systems.

The first two vessels of Explora Journeys, which are currently under construction, will feature these and other environmental solutions.

Sticking to lockdown washing routines could cut Britain’s long-term carbon footprint

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  • Changes to our daily routines as a result of lockdown could shrink the nation’s carbon footprint by reducing pressure on energy demand at peak times
  • EDF estimates that if a third of households continue to use their dishwasher and washing machines at non-peak times, annual CO2 emissions could reduce by half a million tonnes – equivalent to more than 750,000 cars switching to electric vehicles
  • 8 in 10 Brits keen to see lifestyle changes that have had a positive impact on the planet continue post-lockdown

Changes to our daily household routines could have a long-term positive impact on our carbon footprint – as data from EDF reveals households continuing to take care of chores throughout the day could reduce the need for fossil-fuelled generation at peak times once industries power up again.

Historically, households created additional demand for energy at peak times, typically between 4 and 7pm, as people returned home from work and started to tackle these day-to-day chores at the same time. However, since lockdown began, demand for energy throughout the day has smoothed.

The data, released as part of work by the low carbon electricity supplier to assess the impact of lockdown routines on energy efficiency, estimates that if just over a third of households continue to use their dishwasher and washing machines at non-peak times in the future, as they have been doing during the lockdown, annual CO2 emissions could reduce by half a million tonnes – the equivalent to more than 750,000 cars switching to electric vehicles (EVs)*.

The announcement comes as consumer research** undertaken by EDF reveals 8 in 10 of us are keen to see environmentally-friendly lifestyle changes continue after restrictions are lifted.

The study of 2,000 UK residents found that lockdown restrictions have caused the nation to reassess the impact of their daily habits on the environment, with 40% planning to take steps to reduce their carbon footprint post-lockdown, rising to 51% of those under the age of 34. The most popular steps were:

  • Walking more (67%)
  • Recycling more (52%)
  • Purchasing more locally produced products (47%)
  • Using the car less (46%)
  • Unplugging electronic devices when not in use (37%)

The reduced pollution levels resulting from dramatically fewer vehicles on the road have also sparked an increased interest in EVs, with 1 in 5 (19%) more likely to consider switching to a low emission EV in the future.

78% of people believe we can all do more to reduce our carbon footprint once restrictions are lifted. However, despite the potential impact on CO2 emissions, less than a third (31%) are aware that the time of day they do household chores, such as washing dishes and laundry, impacts their carbon footprint.

There is a strong demand for more advice on living greener, with nearly two thirds (62%) wanting information about how to reduce their carbon footprint.