Green cruising leader

French luxury cruise ship operator Ponant has been recognised for the second year in a row with a North American Green Marine certification.

Ponant was the first international cruise company to attain the certification in 2020 and the company followed that up scoring an average of 4.5 out of 5 for six of the eight indicators to attain the 2021 certification.

The North American Green Marine environmental certification programme was founded in 2007 as a voluntary effort by the shipping industry to exceed current regulations.

The initiative recognises all those in the maritime industry who undertake to measure their environmental performance every year and reduce their ecological footprint.

Green Marine identify and addresses priority issues through a number of performance indicators. Assessed on a scale of one to five, they are practices and technologies that have a direct impact on the environment including underwater noise, pollutant air emissions, greenhouse gas emissions, invasive aquatic species and management of residues and oily discharges. 2021 saw a new indicator introduced also being ship recycling for which Ponant achieved a five out of five score.

Deb Corbett, Ponant’s general manager for sales and marketing in the Asia Pacific said. “Ponant laid the groundwork for sustainable operations many years ago and this repeated achievement, particularly as we were the first international cruise company to achieve such certification, reflects our universal adoption of practices and technologies respectful to the environment and confirms the company’s position as a leader in sustainable tourism.”

As part of the company’s global commitment to the environment, the Ponant Foundation also aligned with the Garrahan Foundation, which collects and resells aluminium cans and plastic bottle caps, donating recyclable waste accumulated on board its ships on their return from cruises to Antarctica.

Funds generated by the recycling program are used to purchase and repair equipment at the Garrahan Paediatric Hospital, train health teams and help fund after care homes for sick children and their families.