181 Passenger shipping companies are often criticised in the media for their carbon emissions and their impacts on vulnerable ecosystems. In all aspects of their business ethics, they are scrutinised, perhaps even more than land-based resorts or other forms of mass travel. In this context, it makes sense for cruise and ferry brands – and the companies that work with them – to take whatever opportunities arise to show how they are giving back to the environment and being part of solutions to save it. Sustainably sourced interiors provide a positive advertisement that is always on display, while ensuring long-term savings and enabling each of the many stakeholders involved in the project to make their own contributions to ESG principles and to the SDGs. And, in an age when members of the public are now likely to be aware of the global climate crisis, it is ever more important for ship owners to be seen to be making strides towards greener ships and bringing positive change to the industry. This in turn can deepen customers’ loyalty to the brands they choose over the long term. Increasingly, consumers’ spending habits are driven by their own value systems, creating loyalty with brands that resonate with their own ethics. In the age of conscious travel, which sees guests taking ownership of their own ecological impact, there are many opportunities for powerful eco-marketing messages that can arise from responsibly sourced interiors. Many customers are already deciding to travel only with sustainable brands, especially for cruises. As this trend intensifies, they are likely to require more transparency around sustainability efforts and claims. Where it is possible to show evidence of concrete actions towards a more sustainable way of living, companies have the opportunity to turn a green product into a marketing tool. In particular, each verifiable story they can release about how they are tackling pollution, waste management, ethical and green sourcing and recycling can be a public relations coup. A responsible approach to sustainability has become more than simply a mechanism enabling passenger shipping companies to demonstrate to their clients that they care about a greener future. For operators, debating whether to incorporate sustainability into their business strategy is no longer an option. Without it, companies will themselves become unsustainable, especially as new regulations are passed that penalise those companies that are not taking the required steps to manage waste or pollution. – “When passengers support the ship-owners’ sustainability message by buying cruises, this revenue increase is positive affirmation that the message is a common and desired goal.”
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