We are pleased to report that we have retained our Green Tourism Gold Award status for the third consecutive year at very high pass rates in all categories.
We have introduced new green initiatives over the past year which have ensured that we’ve been able to maintain the highest ratings of all aspects relating to our sustainability. We are especially proud of the increase of pass rates in our goals for the “planet” category. As a cruise business, this category is our biggest challenge, but we are definitely making a big difference because of finding innovate ways of addressing this important area. Our report identified that:
Energy improved from 88% to 90%
Water improved from 83% to 93%
Waste improved from 70% to 78%
Carbon improved from 68% to 73%
We encourage our guests to actively participate in our environmental protection efforts by indicating how they can support the environment while visiting the area and on board our cruises. We achieved a 98% rating under the “destination” criteria in providing information to guests on how they can reduce the impact of their visit and respect the cultural heritage of the destination.
Our Green Initiative Crew Member, Lynsey has provided us with her checklist on areas where she feels we can still improve on, while all our crews continuously look for new and innovative ways to improve and maintain our green credentials. These new initiatives include installing lithium batteries with a bluetooth monitoring system which will monitor each battery and its capacity levels. We will also install a water maker on Elizabeth G and a new A+ energy rated oven aboard Emma Jane. Each year, our new identified actions are an investment in our aim to be a truly sustainable tourism company.
Andrea Nicholas, CEO Green Tourism said: “Hebrides Cruises has done a fantastic job in retaining their Gold Green Tourism award and improving their overall score. The team has done an excellent job in maintaining and improving their efforts towards sustainable tourism and engaging guests in the company's green commitment.”
Thank you very much for another lovely holiday on the Elizabeth G. This was a short cruise but we packed in some good walking in some beautiful locations. We still saw a lot of wildlife including two sea eagles sat on a beach! Chris, our skipper, was brilliant getting the ship in relatively close to shore so that we could see them through our binoculars and take some photos without disturbing the birds. We also saw otters, deer and loads of birds. The crew were as fantastic as ever, the new ensuite cabins are luxury with comfy beds and thoughtful touches with lights just in the right place when in bed reading, lots of storage and the vegetarian food was perfect! Great crew, nice fellow guests, wonderful food and a lot of laughs with wildlife sightings mixed in! Perfect and yes I have booked again!
Melanie Rogers: 5 October 2019Inner Hebrides Big 5 Autumn Wildlife Cruise