We all have heard about Virgin Group’s dedication to the stewardship of the planet. The company plans to continue that tradition of environmentally friendly policies with its new venture: Virgin Voyages.

“At Virgin Voyages, we are committed to having one of the cleanest fleets at sea,” says Tom McAlpin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Voyages. “Which is why we are committed to creating the right partnerships to help make our ships as ocean-friendly as possible.”

A partnership with the Swedish company Climeon has Virgin Voyages designing a system that will convert the ships’ carbon dioxide into electricity. The average share of CO2 per cruise ship passenger is .83 tons, the same share per person for an economy ticket from London to Tokyo.

“This is the biggest energy innovation in the last 100 years,” according to the Swedish Energy Agency. This is not because the technology is so advanced, according to Christopher Engman CRO/CMO for Climeon, but because the potential for its use across all industries is so large.

The ships are also planning on reducing organic waste by using a technology called microwave assisted pyrolysis (MAP) to convert organic waste to clean energy.

“We are thrilled with the prospect of working with Virgin Voyages,” says Henrik Badin, CEO of Scanship. “Their vision for environmental sustainability fits well with our ambitions to convert waste to clean energy and to eliminate pollution to sea.”

Today’s cruise ships can produce 300 tons of disposable plastic per year. Virgin Voyages has a goal of reducing plastic waste by 50%. A big part of this reduction will come from the elimination of single-use plastic products like plastic straws, water bottles, stirrers, and other food packaging.

Virgin Group, led by founder Richard Branson, is taking the next step in customer service by not only finding a way to cater and care for you but also champion the causes we care for as well, like good stewardship of our home.