80 Everyone in the cruise industry is talking about sustainability, but few are taking sufficient action, especially when it comes to marine interiors. At DAMPA we minimise waste by embracing the ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ mindset, but we would like to encourage interior designers and naval architects to incorporate a degree of standardisation into projects as part of their sustainability efforts. Creating sustainable interior designs does not mean compromising on creativity; standardisation ensures materials can be reused, again and again. This ‘design for disassembly’ approach, which involves thinking about a product’s next life before it is even installed in its initial design, saves a huge amount of carbon dioxide (CO2). For example, interior designers should create somewhat standardised spaces to enable them to reuse products – such as ceiling tiles – again in the future. While reusing is the best option, using recycled materials in the production of new products is better than extracting virgin materials. To cater for cruise lines wanting to be more environmentally responsible, DAMPA has sourced ceiling solutions made from recycled steel and aluminium. We offer one material consisting of 40 per cent postconsumer recycled aluminium and another made up of 75 per cent of the material. The latter produces 69 per cent less CO2 than our regular aluminium. We’ve also worked closely with our suppliers to be able to offer our customers ‘zero steel’, which has a very low CO2 footprint. Each product comes with an Environmental Product Declaration. The challenge is getting cruise lines, naval architects and interior designers to understand the real impact of reusing materials or choosing to use recycled materials. Though these materials often have a higher price point than their virgin, low-cost, high-emission counterparts, they come with significantly lower CO2 footprints. At DAMPA we are committed to doing the right thing, even when it’s tough. We want to encourage the entire industry to take action now; after all, we don’t have a Planet B. A reuse revolution Cruise lines, designers and naval architects must embrace the ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ ethos when designing marine interiors MICHAEL NYKJÆR CEO of DAMPA INTERIOR COMMENTARY
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