Polar Bear watching cruises to Spitsbergen

We take our responsibility to minimise environmental impact extremely seriously. A large part of that involves educating our passengers in ways to minimise their personal impact. We go beyond ‘best practice’ in our operations and have established guidelines for respectful interaction with the peoples and cultures we meet. Wherever possible we source all provisions for your cruise from sustainable sources. In an effort to reduce greenhouse emissions and other pollutants, we’re updating our fleet of zodiac inflatable boats, purchasing new engines to run on four-stroke fuel, which is cleaner than two-stroke and we choose to use a superior grade of fuel to run our ships – while it is more costly, it considerably reduces our environmental impact. We comply with waste-management regulations enforced by MARPOL aimed at reducing environmental and aesthetic impact. Wherever possible during our voyage (without any disruption to our itineraries) we help fund ongoing scientific research aboard the ship. This has included the collection of data for critical meteorological and oceanographic studies, providing logistical support for many scientific study groups and transportation for scientists.

Our Responsible Travel Code: Clients who travel with us will automatically receive a copy of our Responsible Travel leaflet. This contains details and advice on how you can make a positive difference when you travel. If you would like a copy in advance of travel please contact us.

Charity Partnerships: We work in partnership with Plan International. Plan works with some of the world’s poorest communities where three out of four children die before the age of five. We also support Friends of Conservation – an international charity committed to working with local people to develop a balance between their needs and the wildlife with which they share the natural habitat and ecosystems.

Carbon Balancing: Global warming is a real issue and is a direct result of your travel. We have teamed up with Climate Care to give you the opportunity to offset the carbon emissions from your flight. You’ll be asked upon booking if you want to donate – with set amounts from £5. As a company we offset the carbon emissions from all staff travel in full.

Our Foundation: We’ve highlighted a few of the ways in which we offer our support, financially or otherwise, and now you can, too. We have set up our own foundation, which will administer funds donated by you. A small donation of £1 per person will be taken when booking a holiday and that money will be put to good use by one of our carefully selected projects. If you don’t want to make the donation, just tell us when you book.