The Port of Saguenay has joined the Défi Saint-Laurent in an effort to implement more environmentally conscious and responsible practices into its operations in time for the 2022 cruise season, according to a press release.

The port’s operating company, Promotion Saguenay, is currently taking steps to limit the usage of single-use plastics during cruise ship visits to the port. As an additional measure, a coastline pick-up event will be held by the Promotion Saguenay cruise team on August 24th as part of the organization’s launch of the Défi Saint-Laurent to its partners and to the cruise lines that will call in Saguenay this season, according to a statement by Défi Saint-Laurent.

Saint-Laurent general manager of strategies and initiator of Défi Saint-Laurent noted that he is “particularly proud that an influential organization in the field of international cruises such as Promotion Saguenay is concretely committed to making efforts for the environment, particularly because of the scope and its ability to have a positive influence on the cruise industry in general”.

“Promotion Saguenay and the team associated with the port of call want to act as a model and inspire other organizations to take concrete action to protect the Saguenay-St. Lawrence Seaway and the Saguenay Fjord, which are at the heart of the cruise industry,” said Priscilla Nemey, general manager, Promotion Saguenay.

The Port of Saguenay is the 63rd member to join the Défi Saint-Laurent, which also includes nine municipalities and a number of tourism-related industries, with the aim of banning plastic, promoting buying in bulk, and engaging in awareness- and mobilization-raising activities, among other initiatives.