Finnish maritime passengers have ranked Viking Line as the most sustainable shipping company in service between Finland and Sweden for the second time, according to the findings from the Passenger Transport Ferries 2023 survey
Nearly half of those who completed the survey will choose even more climate-smart transport modes in the future, and two thirds are prepared to pay to reduce their environmental impact.
Viking Line’s sustainability index for service between Finland and Sweden is 71.1, while the industry average is 70.1. The index measures customers’ views and perceptions of the actions of shipping companies in terms of corporate social responsibility and sustainable development.
Viking Line received the best marks in all parts of the sustainability index: economic, social and environmental sustainability. The index is part of EPSI Rating’s broad Passenger Transport Survey 2023, for which 928 Finnish maritime passengers* were interviewed. The other shipping companies examined in service between Finland and Sweden were FinnLines and Silja Line.
“We are proud of our ranking, because we have carried out focused environmental work since the 1980s and also take into consideration the other aspects of sustainability in all our operations. It is very encouraging that, according to the survey, our passengers have the greatest expectations in terms of sustainable development – and they are also the most satisfied with our communication on sustainability. To make sustainable choices, people need knowledge, and we want to give our passengers more and more of this every year,” said Viking Line sustainability manager Dani Lindberg.
Of the people who responded to the survey, 51% indicate they take the climate and environmental impact of their travel into account. Some 46% intend to choose transport modes that are even more climate-smart in the future, while 31% plan to reduce their travel. However, only 3% of respondents plan to replace physical meetings with digital ones.
“One of our biggest environmental initiatives this year is that we offer our passengers, and will soon offer our cargo customers, the chance to purchase biofuel to offset the fuel used on their trip. When a passenger booking a trip chooses biofuel, greenhouse gas emissions from their journey are reduced by as much as 90% compared with the other fuels that our vessels use,” noted Ms Lindberg.
“A full 68% of those who completed the EPSI survey indicated they are prepared to pay for reduced emissions. On a cruise between Turku and Stockholm, the biogas supplement per passenger is scarcely €5, so we think this new option will satisfy our customers’ wishes.”
Other areas explored in the Passenger Transport 2023 survey are customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. In service between Finland and Sweden, Viking Line has both the most satisfied and the most loyal customers.
*EPSI Rating’s Passenger Transport 2023 survey examined the customer experience and customer satisfaction for different maritime transport companies. A total of 928 Finnish individuals who took at least one cruise or one scheduled sailing from Finland over the past 12 months were surveyed. The interviews were conducted in May 2023. The survey was also conducted in Sweden and Estonia.
© 2023 Riviera Maritime Media Ltd.