Are sustainable vacations out of reach?

Technology not only transforms the everyday, it also makes holidays more sustainable. Be it by accelerating the path to decarbonization for our customers or by making hotel buildings more energy-efficient and comfortable at the same time through smart technologies. Or by innovating to mitigate the impact that tourism has on the regions of the world we visit.

Accompanying cruise ships on their decarbonization journey.

How do you feel about the fact that almost all cruise ships still rely on diesel fuel? The good news: the tide is turning toward more sustainable options. The shipbuilding industry is already making significant strides, with Liquid Natural Gas (LNG)-powered cruise and ferry ships on the rise and even wind power being used for large ocean liners.

We support customers in sustainable shipbuilding, such as "Chantiers de l'Atlantique", one of Europe's most renowned shipyards. In the focus there are technologies that make designing the perfect cruise ship more manageable. These vessels now can be designed, tested, and optimized before assembly even begins - using digital twins. This approach allows various teams to collaborate seamlessly on a real-time data model. Picture this: several interior designers, suppliers, design bureaus, engineers, and production specialists working together every day, leading to up to 100,000 daily data exchanges per ship.

However, it's not just in the building phase that our technology is helping people to go on vacations more sustainably. One more example: Cruise ships usually need to keep their diesel-powered generators running even when docked, which is far from ideal. To address this, we developed onshore power interfaces that allow cruise ships to draw electricity directly from the city grid, reducing the reliance on diesel power while in port.

Hotel rooms with a sustainability view.

According to a survey conducted in February 2022, 78% of global travelers intended to stay at least once in an eco-friendly or green accommodation in the year ahead. Meanwhile, the hotel industry faces significant pressure to reduce carbon emissions to meet the Paris Agreement targets. This includes a 66% reduction by 2030 and a 90% reduction by 2050, compared to 2010 levels. As a result, more hotels are building or retrofitting their facilities with smart technology.

This can be seen at the new Bürgenstock Resort, a world-class luxury hotel in the Swiss canton of Lucerne. The resort obtains its heating and cooling energy from Lake Lucerne. At its core is a power station controlled by our building automation platform, which not only manages heating and cooling but also monitors and visualizes the ventilation systems, sanitary systems, room automation, and area security.

The power of lake water is also harnessed at the Hotel Hochschober in Austria, where guests can swim in pure lake water, whether in the heat of summer or the cold of winter. This is made possible by drawing water from Lake Turracher, heating it to a comfortable 30°C, and circulating it in a segregated section of the frigid lake. Here again, Desigo CC, our flexible and powerful building management platform, is employed, along with energy monitoring software that visualizes energy data, enabling hotel staff to regulate, control, and monitor the entire building's technology in real-time from their technical offices.

Qualifying robots for the job of keeping the beaches clean.

Picture yourself strolling along a beautiful, clean beach with crystal-clear waters stretching out before you. No litter, no cigarette butts, just pure, unspoiled nature. This is the vision behind the latest innovation that we are developing together with Umibots: UMIbeach, an autonomous robot designed to keep our shorelines spotless and our oceans safe.

UMIbeach is the only autonomous, electric robot with a screening system capable of picking up cigarette butts and plastic waste from the surface of the sand. With a speed of 2 meters per second, it can work 24 hours a day in adverse weather conditions without getting tired or any need for human supervision. The robot can be configured according to the time of day, weather conditions or beach saturation. It offers up to 7 hours of autonomy after just one hour of charging and can clean around 4,000 square meters per hour in complete safety, as it can detect people and obstacles.

But this project isn’t just about having a nicer place to relax—it’s about protecting our oceans. By keeping beaches clean, we’re stopping pollution at its source, ensuring that what we love about our coastlines remains for generations to come.

Key takeaways:

• Our digital twin technology helps shipbuilders to optimize engineering processes and make future ships ready for a sustainable future.
• We enable hotel owners to make their buildings smarter, more sustainable and more profitable.
• Autonomous robots help with waste removal and beach clean-up through advanced screening technologies.