Polar Promise: Sustainability Report (2019)

Sustainable Sourcing Quark Expeditions is in the process of developing a sustainable sourcing policy that aligns our purchasing decisions with our values, improves our guests’ experiences, and enhances our financial performance and competitiveness. Our sustainable sourcing policy intends to shift spending away from goods and services that negatively impact the environment and society towards products that are more environmentally sound and socially and ethically beneficial. We work with our suppliers to understand how we can best implement our desired changes so that everyone can reap the benefits of the policy.

The sustainable sourcing policy is being built on practices that are already being used informally at Quark Expeditions. For example, this year we were able to eliminate more than 7,500 parka packaging bags by having our supplier stop wrapping parkas individually. By working with one of our hotel providers, we’ve been able to replace individually wrapped items like butter, sugar, jam, honey, and yogurt with bulk versions. Some previously implemented sourcing policy changes mean that the Quark Expeditions fleet is nearly free of single-use plastics. We provide our guests with reusable water bottles and have installed water fountains on our vessels. Cabins were outfitted with soap and shampoo dispensers to reduce waste, and we provide straws, paper napkins, and receipts only on request.

2019 Sustainability Report |

24

Powered by