INTERNATIONAL. MSC Boutiques, the in-house retail division of MSC Cruises, has removed plastic carrier bags from its stores – one of a string of environmental and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives being undertaken by the group.
According to MSC Cruises Head of Retail Adrian Pittaway the stores ditched plastic bags last Friday in favour of paper bags. “In all of our 150+ boutiques across the MSC Cruises fleet we have gone plastic-free, as we stop using any more single-use carrier bags, as part of a number of company-wide goals to reduce our impact on ocean waste,” he said.
The environmental move from the retail side of the business comes at a time of growing consumer awareness of the damage posed by plastic waste in the seas.
MSC Cruises – whose revenue in 2017 reached €2,275 million (US$1,953 million) from 1.97 million passengers – already has systems in place for onboard waste. It has taken voluntary steps to fit state-of-the-art waste management and recycling facilities. “We manage our wastes in accordance with CLIA’s sound environmental principles and to comply with all regulatory MARPOL* requirements to prevent marine pollution,” the company said.
All organic waste – as well as recyclable disposable items including plastics, metals, paper and glass – are collected and separated by trained waste handling and recycling crew members. Waste is compacted, segregated or incinerated, and residual waste is delivered to dedicated port facilities.
Wider CSR partnerships
Separate from its direct operations, MSC Cruises has also partnered with children’s charity UNICEF since 2009 to supply malnourished children with ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF).
By 2017 the cruise line had raised more than €6.5 million (US$5.6 million) for UNICEF through the generous contributions of its guests. More than two million sachets of RUTF have been delivered to children in Ethiopia, South Sudan, Somalia and Malawi.
In 2017, MSC Cruises also donated 2,750 mattresses, 4,835 bath towels, 464 bed covers and thousands of other items, all in as-new condition, to organisations including the Red Cross and the Salvation Army in Miami. The latter charity also received quantities of recyclable waste including 1.5 tonnes of plastic bottle taps, 293 cubic metres of cardboard and paper, as well as 73 tonnes of recyclable aluminium, all of which the organisation can sell.
More recently, in December 2017, MSC Group launched a new partnership with the Andrea Bocelli Foundation (ABF) to support some of the most disadvantaged communities in Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world. MSC Group is supporting ABF’s Health and Educational Projects in Haiti by collecting funds on board MSC Seaside.
* MARPOL is an international convention for the prevention of pollution from ships.