Julie Higgins, who also holds the role of hotel operations director at the ultra-luxury river line, argued the industry needed to work together to achieve emission goals rather than as individual lines.
Higgins believes cruise lines, ports and their respective suppliers need more time to reduce their carbon footprint collectively. The cruise industry has a target of 2050 for net-zero carbon cruising.
Speaking exclusively to TTG, Higgins said: “If we decided today we are going to make our ships 100% net zero by next year, it’s physically impossible for us to do that at this point, even if we had unlimited funds.
“It’s not a decision that we as one company can make. It has to be an industry reached conclusion on what our methods to achieving this net zero goal will be.”
However, Higgins said organisations – such as IG River Cruising and Clia – are helping drive the cruise industry’s sustainability efforts.
She added targets like “Fit for 55”, which the European Union introduced to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, also encourage cruise lines to pull their weight.
The target mandates 2% use of alternative fuels by 2025, rising to 6% by 2030, in an effort to reduce greenhouse gases by at least 55%.
But Higgins stressed Uniworld – and other brands within The Travel Corporation (TTC) – set themselves goals which are far higher than what most travel firms are striving for.
“Compliance at least pushes company forward obviously we’re seeking to go way beyond compliance,” she said. “Our intention is far bigger than that of most companies.”
TTC revealed in its third annual impact report that it had allocated more than $1.88 million to 13 decarbonisation projects during the year.
Higgins confirmed Uniworld had been granted “a portion” of the TTC’s Carbon Fund to enable an external company to begin a full technological audit on its Joie de Vivre ship in April.
“At the end of this audit, [the auditor] will give us a ’menu’ – I imagine it will be like that – and it will be a list of things we can do to reduce our carbon footprint,” Higgins added.
“It will tell us how much it will cost to reach net-zero emissions based on what technology exists now until our final solution.”
But she added: “We don’t want to sit and wait until this solution comes. We want to reduce our footprint in the meantime and invest in our ships.”
On travel agents and how they can spread Uniworld’s sustainability messaging, Higgins added: "Travel agents are very important to us. A big majority of our customers book through travel agents.
"We’re seeing agents are becoming increasingly interested in the topic of sustainability. Guests also love it when they come onboard and hear about what we’re doing on their behalf."
