l to r: NAMEPA Chairman Joseph Hughes, NAMEPA CEO Carleen Walker, MSC Director of Marketing and Sustainability Francesco Cacchioli, MSC Cruises USA Chairman Rick Sasso, CLIA’s VP Maritime Policy Captain Jennifer William (USCG ret.)
U.S. Chairman Rick Sasso Highlights MSC Cruises’ Leadership in Driving Sustainability Across the Maritime Industry
WESTON, CT – December 5, 2023: MSC Cruises received NAMEPA’s Marine Environmental Protection (MEP) Award for Sustainability at the North American Maritime Environmental Protection Association’s 16th Annual Conference and Awards Dinner, hosted at SUNY Maritime College on November 2nd, 2023. The Sustainability category of the MEP Awards was sponsored by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).
Captain Jennifer Williams, VP of Maritime Policy, CLIA, presented the Sustainability MEP Award to Rick Sasso, Chairman, MSC Cruises USA. Sasso expressed MSC Cruises’ value of sustainability, stating, “[It’s] not just because somebody says we have to. It’s because we want to. That’s MSC.”
MSC Cruises has long been an advocate for sustainability in the maritime industry with their goal to be net-zero by 2050. This year they launched the MSC Euribia, a ship which performed the world’s first net-zero GHG emissions voyage, all while touting #SaveTheSea on its hull. This historic performance was made possible by using bio-LNG on a mass balance approach. Additionally, MSC Cruises put forth a television campaign to show the public how important sustainability is to the cruise line: MSC Cruises | Discover the Future of Cruising – YouTube. Sasso said, “We all talk about net-zero by 2050… I want to make sure that we educate people that MSC will be there.”
NAMEPA’s MEP Award began in 2008 in recognition of an individual or organization’s innovative and extraordinary effort to commit themselves to preserving the marine environment as exemplified by a commitment to programs which have specific objectives set for environmental performance and improvement. The categories are Non-Profit, Education, Environmental, Government Agency, Individual, Industry, Port, and Seafarer Welfare.
The other 2023 MEP Award winners include, Tote Services for the Industry Award, Port Miami in the Ports Category, Captain Bridget Cooney as an Individual, Dr. Jason Zuidema for Seafarers, New York Harbor Middle School led by example this year for Maritime Academies, Port XChange for Innovation, Maritime Blue in the Non-Profit category, and NOAA’s OR&R for Government. All MEP Award winners received a framed certificate and a desk trophy presented to them by NAMEPA Chairman Joe Hughes and NAMEPA Co-Founder Carleen Lyden Walker. View the full recording of the NAMEPA Annual Conference and Awards Dinner here!
