Sustainability at Costa Cruises
With a fleet of 15 ships and 21,000 employees, Costa Cruises is Europe's largest cruise line. When it comes to sustainability, Costa Cruises is well aware of the responsibility that rests on its shoulders. They call themselves responsible explorers. We will tell you all about what that means in practice and how they contribute to a more sustainable world.
The most advanced technology for emission reduction
Energy and emission
One of the most important goals of Costa Cruises' sustainability policy is to reduce CO2 emission. That is why Costa Cruises has made considerable investments in alternative fuels research. They were the first cruise company in the world to start using Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) as their primary fuel. LNG has the smallest environmental impact of all fossil fuels. All new ships are built based on this technology and several existing ships will be converted to use this relatively clean source of energy. The cruise company has implemented a Ship Energy Efficiency Management Plan, aiming to consume energy as efficiently as possible while filtering out all harmful substances from their emissions as much as possible.
With these measures, Costa Cruises aims to reduce their CO2 emission by 40% in 2040.
Reducing consumption and reusing wherever possible
Water and waste management
Costa Cruises aim to reduce water consumption on all their ships and purify and reuse water wherever possible. This now involves over three quarters of the water, reducing the amount that needs to be purchased at ports to less than a quarter. This protects areas where water is scarce. In addition, Costa Cruises encourage their employees and guests to be careful with their water consumption. The use of water also results in waste water, a small percentage of which is heavily contaminated. Costa Cruises always aims to prevent this so-called bilge water from being dumped into the sea directly.
The waste policy takes after the water policy; aiming to reduce consumption and recycling. This means a continuous reduction of disposable products and separate waste collection on board. Waste that cannot be recycled is disposed of ashore.
Part of the community
Social responsibility
The ports and communities visited by Costa Cruises are an important part of the cruise experience. That is why the cruise company wants to support those communities and collaborate wherever possible to allow for the continued improvement of the sustainability of cruise holiday. The cruise company has several projects where left-over food from ships is donated to food banks, and projects are kicked off with more and more ports to allow for the use of green port energy. Furthermore, Costa Cruises is committed to sustainable tourism. They drafted a special manifesto, recording several principles aiming to increase understanding and respect for the communities that the ports are a part of.
Increasing awareness and active contribution
Biodiversity and marine life
Protection of marine biodiversity, the welfare of marine life and the ecosystems of the destinations visited by Costa Cruises are the pillars of their sustainability policy; one reason why the cruise company founded the Costa Cruises Foundation. The Foundation created the project Guardians of the Coast to raise awareness among young people of the importance of protecting nature. They also make a scientific contribution by collecting data to monitor whether the environment or vulnerable ecosystems are harmed. In addition, the Foundation recruits people to help clean up the coastline and keep it clean.
Strengthening respect and appreciation for each other
The people behind the cruise company
Costa Cruises has over 21,000 employees with 70 different nationalities and speaking over 35 languages. The company considers this diversity a key strength of the organisation and aims to strengthen mutual respect and understanding as much as possible. They want to prevent discrimination and promote equal opportunity at work. Costa Cruises was one of the first cruise companies with a separate transgender policy. Another top priority is female empowerment. That is why the cruise company has signed the Manifesto for Female Empowerment as well as the Charter for Equal Opportunities and Equality at Work.
More information
Costa Cruises publishes a sustainability report every year, clarifying the subjects above and substantiating them with numbers. Download the sustainability report now.