More than three years ago, I wrote a column for Explorer that discussed how the word “sustainability” doesn’t mean much anymore. We recently revisited this topic in a cover story for TravelAge West. Spoiler alert: Not much has changed in the years since — except that there might be even more confusion regarding the term now than ever before.
For one, there are so many synonyms that companies can hide behind: “responsible” and “regenerative” are two trendy newcomers, joining original feel-good words, “eco-friendly” and “green.” With so many buzzwords to cycle through, it’s quite easy for a travel company to “greenwash,” or mislead consumers to believe that the company is more environmentally conscious than it really is.
In order to not fall prey to the catchphrase a la mode, advisors and consumers need to actually find out the full picture of what companies are doing, especially when it comes to carbon emissions, food sources, waste management and respecting local people and cultures.
We take a look at this challenge in more depth in our latest cover story, “Sailing Into Sustainability”, where we find that expedition cruising is leading the way in innovating green solutions for the oft-criticized cruise industry.
There used to be a time when most cruisers had no choice but to board a ship that emitted loads of fossil fuel, sourced its food from halfway around the world and visited attractions mostly owned by the cruise company.
Nowadays, that’s simply not the case. We learn about hybrid and zero-emission ships, technological innovations that drastically reduce food waste, innovative ship designs that save fuel and respect local environments, opportunities for meaningful guest involvement and so much more.
And while these changes require significant financial investment by the cruise lines, there is plenty of upside. For one, clients who would have never considered taking a cruise before will enter the market. And secondly, but more importantly, cruise companies will still have remarkable, thriving places to visit — because they helped sustain them.