Leading maritime catering management company MCTC is welcoming the message for this year’s World Maritime Day and believes maritime leaders have a crucial role to play in raising awareness of ESG goals and protecting our oceans.

As the industry comes together to celebrate the theme of ‘Our Ocean, Our Obligation, Our Opportunity,’ MCTC is welcoming the move from the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) to promote collaboration in maritime in its bid to become a cleaner industry and protect our oceans this World Maritime Day.

As global expectations rise, the world is waking up to the environmental consequences of our actions. Climate change is no longer a distant threat but a present reality, says MCTC’s Sustainability Officer Ms Eleni Kyriacou.

Ms Kyriacou said: “Social Sustainability is not only about the environment; it is also about people. It is crucial those in leadership positions to encourage crew members to embrace sustainability in all areas of their lives and not just onboard. As one company we cannot make a change, but if we all stand together and advocate for change, we can really make a difference.

“MCTC has placed sustainability as one of its key business goals and we are delighted to see our partners working with us and sharing our ESG goals. We are seeing tangible change in the behaviour of suppliers, shipping companies and crew members.”

MCTC has placed sustainability at the core of its operations over the past five years and has launched a number of initiatives including creating a green office environment by eliminating single-use plastics, reducing paper consumption, tracking energy and water use and installing water filtration systems, all while fostering environmental awareness among staff.

Working with its extensive network of suppliers, MCTC has worked to raise awareness on single use plastics and reduce plastic use, identify alternatives to plastic bottled water such Tetra Pak and glass bottles, as well as exploring sustainable pallet wrap solutions. Its green agenda is clearly paying off as it is now seeing some suppliers providing data on plastic savings per vessel per order, helping MCTC to monitor its impact.

A key milestone for MCTC was the launch of its carbon footprint database, which assigns CO₂ values to each food product based on a global weighted average. This approach empowers us and our clients to make informed, lower-impact choices and aligns our actions with global frameworks like the Paris Agreement, EU Climate Law, and the European Green Deal.

Group CEO of MCTC, Christian Ioannou said: “This year’s World Maritime Day theme ‘Our Ocean, Our Obligation, Our Opportunity, perfectly aligns with MCTC’s sustainability efforts. Protecting our oceans is not an obligation it’s an opportunity to do things better.”