Costa Cruises pioneers the green travel trend
Saturday 4, September 2010
As the world becomes increasingly environmentally conscious, Costa Cruises, Europe’s leading cruise company, continues to lead the way in green travel by taking part in the REPCET (Real Time Plotting of Cetaceans) project to conserve the marine environment and demonstrate its devotion to sustainable tourism.
Last month, Costa Pacifica became the first cruise ship in the world to take part in the REPCET project, a reporting system promoted by WWF Italy that aims to reduce collisions between ship and whales while tracking their movements. By collaborating with JRC (Joint Research Centre of the European Commission), Costa Pacifica will be the location of a new series of important atmospheric measurements for monitoring climate change in the Mediterranean. This furthers Costa’s leadership in terms of environmental excellence and adds to other award-winning initiatives already in progress.
Costa Crociere’s group, which owns Costa Cruises, is the only cruise company to have their own environmental management system developed in accordance with the latest international standards*. While operating in accordance with the prevailing laws, Costa Cruises also seeks to preempt new legislation in various terms, including management of shipboard waste, water discharge, energy and fuel consumption.
Shipboard Waste Management
Shipboard waste management is one of Costa Cruises’ top environmental priorities. Costa has outperformed many other cruise lines in this area and achieved an eight percent reduction in the amount of solid waste per person landed each day**. Sorting for recycling is applied to 100 percent of solid waste on board Costa Cruises ships, and a ban is in place to control overboard discharge of any solid waste except food waste. When it comes to daily amenities prepared for onboard guests, a number of practices have been deployed such as using plates and cups made of biodegradable material.
Water Discharge
In terms of waste water, Costa’s policy is considerably more restrictive than the relevant legislative regulations in force. For instance, Costa Cruises does not permit disposal of untreated sewage at sea and only allows treated sewage to be discharged at a distance greater than 12 miles from the nearest land whilst international maritime legislation requires only three miles from the nearest land for the discharge of treated sewage.
Energy and Fuel Consumption
Energy and fuel consumption is another highly important environmental issue. Costa Cruises achieved a 5% reduction in fuel consumption per mile traveled; a 5% reduction in consumption of potable water per person; 30% of special waste recycled, and an 8.5% reduction in the quantity of garbage**.
Costa Deliziosa is the first vessel in Italy and one of the first in the world to be equipped for “cold ironing”, namely a system whereby the ship is plugged into shoreside electrical power, enabling generators to be shut down during stopovers in port. This is a way of further reducing the environmental impact of liners when they call at ports. Joining Costa Deliziosa in the “cold ironing” green attempts are Costa Luminosa and the brand new Costa Favolosa scheduled for launch in July 2011.
When it comes to choosing a “green” holiday this year, Costa Cruises is sailing ahead of the rest.
(Source: TravelDailyNews.com)
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