is our commitment to generate positive change for people and our planet
is our idea of action towards a more sustainable future
is our research and innovation challenge
WE ARE ALL AGENTS OF CHANGE. AND THIS IS OUR VOICE, OUR ECHO.
You Know! is committed to sustainability, in order to offer more ethical and responsible services, continuously working on every level to guarantee our experiences at sea have the minimum environmental and social impact. From now on, each decision we make is a symbol of our commitment: from developing eco-compatible solutions, choosing materials with a low environmental impact, the digital innovation of the entire production chain and the collaboration on projects and initiatives aimed at safeguarding the oceans. With the promise to always do better than the day before because it is necessary - but it is above all the very essence of change.
It has become ever clearer that the world is facing huge challenges: unsustainable consumption is stretching our planet’s resources to their limits. It is imperative to act fast to support our society in overcoming them, safeguarding the right of future generations to have and implement the necessary instruments to ensure the satisfaction of their needs, in harmony with nature.
It’s time for a radical rethink.
Just as we are aware that we have contributed to these problems, so we are aware that we have a unique opportunity and responsibility to be part of the solution. We have therefore decided to stand by our corporate responsibility throughout the entire supply chain. We raise our standards, take the initiative, explore the latest technologies and ramp up our efforts to create bigger and more impactful change fast.
From now on, we pledge to do more and, because we want to lead by example, we will never ask our customers or partners to do anything we have not already committed ourselves to:
During the year 2020 we have started an intense journey aimed at redesigning our packaging and products offered on board to reduce the quantity of raw materials that we use and unify materials to facilitate recycling and reuse. Disposable plastic products have been replaced with PLA (Polylactic Acid) products: an innovative bioplastic, derived from the transformation of sugars present in corn, beet, sugar cane and other organic materials not derived from petroleum reserves. PLA is biodegradable and compostable and, unlike commonly used plastics with an average life span of 100 to 1000 years, PLA, on the other hand, has much shorter biodegradation times: once the necessary temperature and humidity conditions have been reached it has an average life span of 1 to 4 years. To date, we have reduced the consumption of single-use plastic by 70%, and for this reason You Know! has obtained the basic certification of Plastic Free company, acknowledging the process of action and definition of sustainability goals. However, we are still using disposable plastic packaging on board our boats and we're working on changing this: by 2023, 100% of the plastic materials we will use will be reusable, recyclable or compostable.
After an intensive research and evaluation process, we have reviewed the standards of our sourcing practices and selected only those suppliers that meet certain sustainability criteria and align with corporate policy. We are working closely with them to promote a responsible supply approach and create new solutions that lead to improve the environmental and ethical performance.
We firmly believe that a company is the reflection of the people who are part of it. For this reason we have created training programmes in more sustainable practices for all our teams. Integrating sustainability criteria into their work is fundamental. That’s why we are training these teams in more sustainable practices such as reusing, recycling and reducing energy and water consumption, which help us to guarantee an eco-friendly management of our activities.
You Know!
Love for the sea
We are working to ensure that at least the 80% of the energy we consume in our facilities and on our boats comes from renewable sources, such as solar energy.
By 2023, 100% of the plastic materials we will use will be reusable, recyclable or compostable.
With the “Enjoy the silent hybrid” initiative, we aim to convert all the boats in our fleet to hybrid technology by 2024. This means that, out of the total of our boats, considering an average of 150 trips per year, in 5 years we will have saved almost 7 tons of emissions between CO2, NOx and fine particulate, equal to the CO2 absorbed in a year by 690 medium-sized plants.
All vehicles (such as minivans and minibuses that are used every day to accompany guests from the hotel to the port and vice versa) will be fully electric by 2025. This solution guarantees significant environmental benefits related both to the reduction of social costs due to the impact of emissions on human health and the ecosystem, and to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and, finally, to lower petroleum product consumption. In terms of CO2 reduction, compared to any other thermal propulsion vehicle, the electric car produces up to 46% less greenhouse gas. Additional environmental and economic benefits come from a more efficient accumulation of energy in the batteries, allowing for greater exploitation of renewable sources of energy. An electric car that travels 15000 km in 1 year would need 20 square meters of photovoltaic panels, compared to the estimated 300 square meters of land for the production of bioethanol required for the same journey with an internal combustion car. Ideally, the photovoltaic panels placed on the roof of houses could provide a good part of the energy requirements for an electric mobility.
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