AIDA Cruises presents the Sustainability Report "AIDA Cares 2015"
The
climatologist Mojib Latif acknowledges AIDA’s pioneering role in climate
protection
On July 24, AIDA Cruises presented its current
Sustainability Report "AIDA Cares 2015" to the public in Hamburg. It
is based on the internationally recognized standard of the Global Reporting
Initiative (GRI). The reporting period covers all relevant facts and figures
for the fiscal year 2014 as well as selected highlights of the first half of
the year 2015.
“We have achieved many additional important milestones
in environmental protection. AIDAsol will be the first cruise ship in the world
to be supplied with power from low-emission liquefied gas by the LNG Hybrid
Barge in the port of Hamburg. Other ships in the AIDA fleet received the first
installations of the comprehensive filter system to reduce waste gas. Together
with atmosfair, we have launched a climate protection program to reduce CO2
emissions,” said Dr. Monika Griefahn, Chief Sustainability Officer at AIDA
Cruises.
Professor Mojib Latif, a renowned climatologist and
leader of the research field of ocean circulation and climate dynamics at the
Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research in Kiel stated the following on the
commitment by AIDA Cruises: “The cruise industry has a special responsibility
when it comes to lower emissions that are harmful to the climate. AIDA shows
that economic success and environmentally conscious activities do not have to
contradict each other. In its use of innovative environmental technologies and
by participating in numerous research projects, AIDA is taking entirely new
paths and has set ambitious goals for itself.”
AIDA Cruises started a climate protection program in
2014 together with the climate protection organization atmosfair, of which
Mojib Latif is a patron. AIDA Cruises compensates for the CO2
emission of its employees' business trips through climate protection projects
by atmosfair and offers its guests the opportunity of a voluntary CO2
compensation for their cruise. As part of a pilot project and for the supply of
its cruise ships in the future, AIDA Cruises is testing the possibility of
utilizing LNG that has been produced fully CO2-free through the
power-to-gas method with wind or solar power.
Additional milestones during the reporting period
include a further reduction of the energy consumption per person on board by an
average of thirteen percent through a variety of measures. The emission of CO2
was lowered by eleven percent and that of sulfur oxide by eight percent. The
emissions of nitrogen oxides and fine particulate matter decreased by seven percent.
In 2014, AIDA Cruises introduced a catalog of
scientific criteria for sustainable shoreside excursions that had been
developed together with futouris e.V. and other partners. This is used as the
basis for evaluations of AIDA excursions at all destinations in consideration
of environmental, social and cultural parameters.
The new office complex “AIDA Home”, which was opened
in 2014, was the first office building in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to
receive the silver quality seal by the German Association for Sustainable
Construction (DGNB). AIDA contributed even further to environmental protection
by introducing electric cars for business trips at its sites in Rostock and
Hamburg.
In the fall of 2015, AIDAprima will be launched as the
first cruise ship in the world that has a dual-fuel engine for an energy supply
with LNG during its docking time at the ports as well as a connection to
shoreside power and an extensive filter system for the treatment of waste gas.
A sister ship with the same construction will supplement the AIDA fleet in
2016.
As a pioneer in the industry, AIDA Cruises is again
setting an example for environmental protection with the ship generation of
2019-2020: With the “green cruising” concept, AIDA will be the first cruise
line in the world to operate its new ship generation to 100 percent with LNG
(liquefied natural gas). This completely eliminates emissions of soot particles
and sulfur oxides.
As the market leader on the German cruise market, AIDA
Cruises is also committed to social responsibility. The company supported
various social and cultural institutions with an amount of almost 400,000 Euros
in 2014. 100,000 Euros alone were donated to the SOS Children’s Village Iloilo
in the Philippines in 2014.
In its role as an employer,
AIDA continually invests in practical training and further education for its
personnel and supports motivated employees with potential in formulating their
personal career plans. AIDA Cruises received the “Top Employer in Germany 2015”
award by the international research company Top Employers Institute for this
reason. AIDA Cruises also scored high as an attractive employer in a direct
comparison with other tourist companies. In 2014, AIDA Cruises was recognized
as one of the best employers in the tourism industry by the news magazine
Focus.
More information about the environmental and social
commitment of AIDA Cruises is available in the current Sustainability Report
“AIDA Cares 2015” at www.aida.de/aidacares.
Rostock, July
24, 2015
About AIDA Cruises:
AIDA Cruises is
one of Germany’s fastest growing and most financially successful tourism
businesses and currently employs around 7,000 people from 40 countries. Of
these employees, 6,000 work on board and 1,000 work at the company headquarters
in Rostock and Hamburg. With its 10 cruise ships, AlDA currently operates and
markets one of the most state-of-the-art fleets in the world. The ships are
operated in compliance with the highest international quality, environmental,
and safety standards. By 2020, the AIDA fleet will expand to 14 ships.
About Professor
Mojib Latif:
Dr. Mojib Latif
is the leader of the research field of ocean circulation and climate dynamics
at the Helmholtz Center for Ocean Research in Kiel. He is the co-author of the
last two reports by the “World Climate Council” (IPPC). His awards include the
Sverdrup Gold Medal from the American Meteorological Society, the Max Planck
Prize for public science and the DHU Environmental Media Prize in the category
of “Life Work” from the German Environment Aid. He is active in numerous
scientific committees and the author of many publications.
