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Quark Expeditions, a cruise company specialising in Arctic and Antarctic expeditions, completed the first ever tourism transit of the Russian Arctic’s Northeast Passage back in 1991. The US-headquartered group also made the first circumnavigation of Antarctica and the Artic Ocean for commercial passengers, before making history again in 2014 when it became the first cruise operator to land at Saunders Island in the South Sandwich Islands.

For all of Quark’s exploratory firsts, the announcement in April of the group’s new sustainability strategy is a heartening one. Known as Polar Promise, the initiative seeks to improve environmental and social outcomes in the polar regions by 2025.

Before looking at the strategy in any depth, it should be considered that Quark has a better recent track record than most when it comes to sustainable tourism commitments. In 2017, the group eliminated its use of single-use plastics through the introduction of reusable water bottles onboard all its ships, as well the provision of soap and shampoo dispensers within cabins.

It is also one of the founding members of the SeaGreen recycling pilot programme, which saw the group in the first half of this year’s Antarctic season alone reuse more than 270 cubic metres of plastic, papers and glass across its operations. 

Polar Promise should be seen as a continuation of Quark’s existing environmental commitments, rather than a stand-alone initiative, explains senior vice-president of operations Malcolm Ellis.

“Building on the company’s track record, Polar Promise is a holistic strategy framework that focuses on addressing the greatest impacts of visiting the polar regions,” he says. “It also recognises the power of the polar regions to transform those who experience them.”

Polar Promise is essentially split into four key areas. The first is around embedding responsible and sustainable business practices across the supply chain, from staff to business partners. In addition, Quark will seek to continue its “leadership and active membership” of IAATO as well as the Association of the Arctica Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO).

Second, Quark will attempt to reduce its footprint by measuring, reporting and reducing its carbon emissions, while “partnering to develop waste solutions in communities and ports where Quark Expeditions operate, such as our SeaGreen recycling initiative in Ushuaia, Argentina”.

“This is also about developing a zero waste roadmap, building on the company’s single-use plastic-free operations,” says Ellis. “We’ll also deploy new technologies to reduce waste in Quark Expedition’s fleet, such as the MAGS [micro auto gasification] waste system.”

Meanwhile, the third tenet of Polar Promise will see Quark commit to outreach work in the polar regions, including the creation of more training and employment opportunities in local communities. This includes the Inuit Cruise Training Initiative, as launched by AECO and Canada’s Nunavut government earlier this year, which strives to provide more jobs and support for the region’s indigenous people.

“We are also continuing to invest in research partnerships and citizen science projects in the Arctic and Antarctic, in-kind and direct support of groups such as Polar Bears International and Penguin Watch,” says Ellis.

The final component of Polar Promise is around legacy, whereby the ultimate aim is that the benefits of bringing wide-eyed travellers to the Arctic and Antarctic regions far outweigh detrition of the local environment.

“We want to make positive impact exponential – that means we put in more than we take out,” says Ellis.