IMPA SAVE launched for marine sustainability

The global fleet’s annual consumption of plastic drinking water bottles at sea could build a 1.5 m wide bridge to the moon every year, according to IMPA SAVE, an initiative launched under the umbrella of the International Marine Purchasing Association (IMPA).

IMPA SAVE was formed in June 2020 to bring together members of the maritime industry to support sustainability initiatives and to take action that supports the UN 2030 agenda, with its first goal being the mass reduction of plastic drinking water bottles from the world’s fleet. It is chaired by Mikael Karlsson, head of business development at Stena’s Northern Marine Group.

In joining IMPA SAVE, shipowners, shipmanagers and shoreside suppliers pledge to significantly reduce or remove single-use plastic water bottles from their operations. The industry buys 1bn litres of water and creates an estimated 40 tonnes of plastic waste each year from water bottles alone.

The SAVE council believes the damage to the environment can be significantly reduced by this solution, which is also less expensive for shipowners and managers than procuring thousands of single-use plastic bottles.

Over 10% of the global fleet has already committed to this, but he says that so many companies do not make the change due to challenges such as the culture onboard not trusting the source providing drinking water. For him, communication is the key and the companies pledging have been good at sharing their challenges to help their peers.

Going forward, the IMPA SAVE programme will be extended beyond drinking bottles. Karlsson finds that some 150 items have the possibility of being phased out. Companies at IMPA London introduced the ECA technology, which replaces the need for detergents and other cleaning solutions and can be expanded to degreasers as well.