Avalon Waterways is introducing its green Lighthouse Project to protect the rivers it sails on.

“Avalon is dedicated to protecting the planet with unprecedented, environmentally friendly cruises for guests now and in the future,” said Pam Hoffee, president of Avalon Waterways.

The Lighthouse Project focuses on three main categories, with the mission of nurturing a culture of care and sustainability that extends to its guests: Planet, People and Places.

These principles are to protect waterways, wildlife and shine a light on organizations doing the same; protect, respect, support the world’s extraordinary communities, It aims to ensure that the  parks, palaces, museums and monuments that are visited as the past generations have done are preserved for future generations.

Avalon Waterways with the Globus family of brands highlights 50 more causes to add more to “Planet,” “People” and “Places.”

These include reducing pollution in oceans and rivers through the plastic cleanup project run in conjunction with The Ocean Cleanup, reducing the carbon footprint by planting trees with Trees4Trave, educating and providing jobs for women living in poverty in Cambodia with the Landmine Design community.

“As part of our sustainability efforts, Avalon has invested in a state-of-the-art fleet of Suite Ships and top-of-the-line technology to limit energy, consumption and emissions; plus waste and recycling programs to reduce our environmental footprint, save water and foster an environmentally friendly culture among crew and guests worldwide,” added Hoffee.

Avalon Waterways has also:

• Eliminated single-use plastics onboard our ships and at operations offices, worldwide.
• Reduced paper waste by 95% onboard by favoring digital communications.
• Received the Green Award for Avalon’s entire fleet of ships, recognizing that each Suite Ship meets the high safety and environmental standards required for recognition.
• Invested in local farmers to secure locally produced food and beverages, reducing food miles while supporting local economies.
• Installed LED lighting throughout ship, fleet-wide.
• Worked with dozens of ports to purchase shore power (while docked), allowing generators to be turned off, further reducing emissions.

Between 2022 and 2024, the company plans to reduce paper waste to less than 1%, pilot a program to use bio-fuel, aiming to reduce total carbon emissions by 50% and utilize electric bow thrusters to further reduce emissions.