At the ECN, we believe that from its inception, modern expedition cruising has always demonstrated respect for the environments, people, wildlife, and cultures the expedition ships travel to and beyond. This is achieved by the sector keeping the size of the ships small, introducing voluntary self-regulatory organisations such as IAATO in Antarctica and AECO in the Arctic, actively engaging with citizen science projects, and raising awareness of various challenges fragile environments face due to climate change and human activity through the educational programs onboard.

However, we also recognise that sustainable marine travel is both an urgent task to accomplish, and that the industry still has a long way to go to achieve net zero goals set out by UN for 2050.

As an organization committed to grow the expedition cruise sector, we believe this growth must be achieved hand-in-hand with expedition cruising brands continuing to push forwards in becoming a fully sustainable form of travel. As an organisation, we will commit to the following points:

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• To prioritise sustainability in how we run ECN as organisation – from our supplier chain for activities to diversity and inclusion for new hires, to fair pay. With an overall aim to become a carbon neutral organisation within 3-years​

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• Engaging with expedition cruising brands and travel trade community on the complex aspects of sustainability and keeping the conversation on sustainability as an inseparable element of the sector’s growth.

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• Wherever possible, help expedition cruising brands reduce their impact on the unique destinations they serve, including further reductions of any environmental footprints left and avoiding issues such as saturation or overcrowding.

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• Establishing and providing travel trade community tools to talk confidently and authentically about sustainability in the context of the expedition cruising industry, with their clients.