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| Photo by Freeimages.com/Andre Schaer |
Costa Cruises has presented its "Sustainability Report -- Results for 2014 and Outlook for the Future" and outlined its corporate social responsibility plan for the coming years.
Divided into three sections titled "SEA," "YOU" and "TOMORROW," the report highlights the main sustainability results achieved by the company. The final section, dealing with the plan, defines Costa's objectives and route for the future in terms of both the product and innovation, and the path to sustainable growth.
"SEA": Costa Cruises is committed to minimizing the environmental impact of its operations. The line achieves that through a series of initiatives aimed at careful use of energy resources, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and water consumption, and efficient waste management.
The main results in the environmental field obtained in 2014 were:
(year-over-year percentage reduction)
- 9 percent decrease in fuel consumption per passenger/day
- 3 percent reduction in the company's carbon footprint
- Emission reductions equal to -4 percent tons of sulphur dioxide, -7 percent tons of nitrous oxide and gases produced during fuel combustion processes
- 9.7 percent reduction in energy consumption
- Installation of the exhaust gas cleaning system for abatement of emissions on seven ships in the fleet
- Replacement of existing light globes with lower-consumption LED lights on all the ships in the fleet: 450,000 globes were replaced, resulting in 80 percent energy savings
- 100 percent of materials and products consumed on board collected and separated for disposal and recycling
- 1.36 percent reduction in water consumption on the ships, 68 percent of which is produced directly on board by means of special desalination plants
"YOU": Costa said it works to build relations with local organizations to create economic and social value.
Costa has over 8,800 suppliers on five continents and its ships sail to 261 ports of call located all over the world, with 21 new destinations added in 2014. Specific examples include development and expansion of operations in the homeport of Savona, Italy, where Costa Cruises opened a second terminal building at the Palacrociere, and the partnership with the Municipality of Genoa promoting the city's UNESCO World Heritage–listed Palazzi dei Rolli (once used to provide accommodations to visiting dignitaries).
Costa said its operations lead to the creation of jobs both indirectly and directly through the recruitment of company employees: in 2014 Costa Cruises provided work for 4,000 new shipboard hires in the 18- to 30-year-old age group employed under industry-specific contracts.
"TOMORROW": In July, Costa Cruises announced it had placed orders for the construction of the first two cruise ships in the world to be powered by liquefied natural gas, the world's cleanest burning fossil fuel. The ships are due to enter service in 2019 and 2020.
Costa is committed to promoting a healthy and sustainable food experience for guests and crewmembers by fostering local culinary traditions and sourcing local ingredients, with a particular emphasis on Italian dishes and the Mediterranean diet. Accordingly, priority is given to supplies of fresh food in different ports of call, with 25 percent of fresh produce purchased locally, thus bringing about a substantial reduction in the impact generated by logistics activities. The involvement of partner suppliers committed to responsible management of the supply chain also testifies to the Italian company’s policy of adopting and promoting a sustainable food model, Costa said.
The 2014 Sustainability Report is audited by Price Waterhouse Coopers. It is drawn up in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)-G4 guidelines (disclosure at Core application level).