For us sustainability means protecting the environment, supporting the people who work with us and choose to travel with us, as well as the communities and places that we visit and do business with.
Our sustainability program is organized around four key pillars: Planet, People, Place and Procurement. This translates into a drive to continuously improve our fleet’s environmental performance; caring for all employees and promoting diversity and inclusion; working to ensure that our impact on the coastal communities that we reach remains positive; and responsibly sourcing the products and services that we purchase.
Read our reports and discover more of our sustainability program.
We continuously push the boundaries of what is technically possible at sea and are actively engaged in the development of next generation environmental technology to achieve net carbon neutral operations by 2050 and eventually net zero emissions across all our operations.
Collaboration with local authorities, community groups and partners, such as the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), to share information and integrate policies and strategies helps support sustainable tourism management. Together, we are promoting a variety of activities to our passengers and delivering greater social and economic outcomes for communities.
From large mechanical parts for our ships to ingredients to feed thousands of people at a time, down to the smallest details, like toiletries, and medical items, we need to buy a huge amount of supplies for our fleet, crew and guests.
Managing environmental, social and ethical issues in our supply chain is critical, and we take a robust approach to this across all areas of procurement.
For every new ship class that we develop, we completely revise the design to achieve optimal efficiency. We rethink the ship’s overall structure, deck space, weight distribution including the ship’s hull, rudder and bulbous bow to reach optimal hydrodynamics, aerodynamics, and maximize energy and fuel efficiency.
Energy saving technology on board:
Voyage planning software
An optimized itinerary means a reduced consumption of energy. We plan our itineraries efficiently and use specialized software to optimize sailing routes and berthing times.
Optimising energy use
In 2020, MSC Grandiosa's crew supported the implementation of Ecorizon, an innovate process of ship energy optimisation that collects data using onboard automation systems and sensors, allowing a very precise status report on the energy profile of the ship. The information collected is then compared with a dynamic digital twin to guide onboard operators, improve operational profiles and voyage managment.
Using data to drive efficiency
MSC Cruises' onboard engineers are supported by integrated automation systems that aggregate and make sense of enormous quantities of data acquired by field sensors and machineries. Better data has enabled huge advances in how the ships are managed and has also helped achieve emissions reduction goals.
Trim optimization
Optimizing trim requires constant readjustment. Our ships are equipped with a software application to monitor and optimize trim in real-time. This technology helps ship officers to keep the vessel’s trim optimized to reduce fuel consumption and improve performance.
Anti-fouling paint
Ships are naturally prone to barnacles, algae and marine organisms growing on their underwater surfaces. These can increase drag and make vessels less efficient. By using the most advanced anti-fouling paints on the hulls of all the ships, we keep them as streamlined as they can be. It’s TBT-free: we strive to keep toxic substances as far from the ocean as possible.
High-efficiency appliances
Reducing our carbon footprint is not just about grand gestures; everyday electricity use is equally important. Energy-efficient appliances including refrigerators, water heaters, dishwashers, washing machines and dryers across our fleet help us keep our carbon footprint lower.
Energy-saving LED lighting
Our ships only use energy-efficient LED and fluorescent lighting, saving energy by producing the same amount of light per bulb at a lower wattage.
Smart heating, ventilation and air conditioning system (HVAC)
The HVAC systems on board our ships are designed to reduce energy consumption. They distribute heat and cold intelligently and are set up to recover heat from warmer areas of a ship to heat those which need it more.
New technologies combined with energy efficiency programs has led to a 28% reduction in carbon intensity since 2008
A target has been set to reduce further energy use across the fleet by 2.5% per year on a per ship basis
