Havila Voyages has launched its first ever sustainability and human rights report. The report highlights the company’s ambitious goals of carbon neutrality by 2028 and for an emission-free coastal route by 2030—all achievable with the current fleet. Havila Voyages is actively working to reduce emissions and meet future environmental requirements.
"Last year, we made history as the world's first cruise company to sail into the Geirangerfjord UNESCO World Heritage Site emission-free and silently, four years before the Norwegian government's requirement for emission-free ferries and ships in the World Heritage areas comes into effect," said CEO Bent Martini. "This is clear proof of our ambitions. We look forward to continuing our journey and doing our part to make tourism and shipping more sustainable”.
Martini pointed out that Havila Voyages intends to become both carbon-neutral and achieve zero emissions in the future. "It starts with gradually replacing natural gas with biogas, and the goal is to be carbon-neutral by 2028. After that, we will switch to emission-free fuel alternatives such as hydrogen, and the goal is zero emissions by 2030—with the ships we have today," he added.
Another goal set by Havila Voyages was to reduce onboard food waste and produce only 75 grams of food waste per person per day. The company's food concept includes serving all meals à la carte and using locally sourced and short-traveled ingredients. "Meeting our target of 75 grams of food waste across four fully operational ships, means we can reduce food waste by 60 tons per year by not using buffets", said Martini. "It is, therefore, very gratifying to report that this year we successfully achieved our goal and collect only 71 grams of food waste per person per day on board. We have accomplished this thanks to the fantastic efforts of those who have developed our food concept, those who prepare and serve the food on board, and, not least, our guests who are made aware of the concept. And no one leaves our restaurants hungry."
In addition, Havila Kystruten can report a high degree of waste sorting and effective circular use of resources on its ships.
Havila Voyages’ ships, which include battery packs that enable emission-free and silent operation for four hours at a time, the company says, are the most environmentally friendly vessels to have ever sailed the historic coastal route Berge–Kirkenes–Bergen. With current operations, CO2 emissions are reduced by 35 to 40 percent, and local emissions such as NOx and SOx are reduced by over 90 percent, compared to equivalent ships using traditional fossil fuels.
"We believe that our sustainable approach to coastal tourism and our focus on climate and the environment are a positive contribution to the transition to a zero-emission society. We look forward to continuing our journey and doing our part to make tourism and shipping more sustainable socially and environmentally," said Martini.
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