HX Hurtigruten Expeditions CEO Gebhard Rainer says there is scope to align the expedition cruise brand’s sustainability initiatives with that of his former employer, Sandals.
Quizzed by LATTElast month in Melbourne on the topic of interweaving eco-conscious projects between the two brands, Rainer said there was “absolutely potential for collaboration… there’s potential from learnings on both sides.”
“Not the science part of it, but the sustainability and the educational part very much so,” he said.
Subscribe to LATTE Cruise’s free eNewsletter to keep up to date with everything in the luxury cruise space.Rainer headed the all-inclusive Caribbean-centric hospitality company Sandals Resorts International for six years before joining HX in July of this year.
“Sandals has a very large foundation. HX has a very large foundation. Sandals has made use of its foundation in many, many ways as a company and had been very strong on sustainability within the Caribbean.
“There is a desperate need for that focus because the Caribbean is affected by what’s happening in the poles in terms of 1) melting ice caps and rising sea waters, and 2) because of the pollution effect on the Caribbean. There is a plastic continent the size of France floating on the ocean and it washes up on beaches in the Caribbean and many other areas.”
In addition to education on sustainable practices, the Sandals Foundation is a leader in providing support to Caribbean locals when natural disasters strike, Rainer said. “Over 100 million US dollars has gone back into communities and to maintain marine sanctuaries. They are rebuilding coral reefs – so really good and interesting work,” he said.
“Sandals and the Caribbean, is feeling the brunt of the effect of what is happening and the changes at the poles.
“The poles create our climate and most people don’t realise how sensitive those areas are. And when you start tipping those sensitives and those balances, here is where you feel it first. We’re feeling it every year a little bit more.”
“I think there’s a lot of work to be done and a lot of work to be done specifically with the educational point of view, making sure people start thinking differently and then acting differently.”
“It’s too easy for all of us to say, me alone, what impact can I have? But you can’t always wait for somebody else to do something.”
