What are we doing to get there

As an industry leader in green expedition travel, HX has a long track record of action to reduce our climate impact:

• In 2008, we became the first cruise company to ban heavy fuel oils

• In 2019, we launched the world’s first hybrid-battery powered expedition ships—MS Roald Amundsen and MS Fridtjof Nansen

• All five ships in our fleet—MS Santa Cruz II, MS Spitsbergen, MS Fridtjof Nansen, MS Roald Amundsen, and MS Fram—are now equipped with shore power connectivity, enabling us to significantly reduce emissions while docked in ports such as those in Iceland and Norway

• Our Galápagos sailings on the MS Spitsbergen are 100% carbon neutral through a Nature-Based Carbon Removal (NBCR) programme restoring Ecuador’s Chocó Andino cloud forest

• We reuse waste heat from engines to warm water tanks, improving onboard energy efficiency

• In 2024, we introduced a carbon itinerary tool to flag high-emission routes and reduce emissions at the planning stage

What are we doing to get there

Our journeys connect people with the wildest corners of the planet—and we’re determined to keep those places wild. Our Nature strategy is divided into two parts: Leave No Footprint and Restore Nature.

Leave No Footprint

• All waste is carefully sorted on board into recycling, food waste, and landfill streams, with ongoing efforts to improve traceability and disposal practices

• In 2024, we reduced food waste by 48% compared to 2023, to just 162g per guest per day

• Our Greenstay Programme allows guests to forego room cleaning, reducing water, energy, and chemical use; 24% of guest nights opted in during 2024. For each Greenstay, HX donates €0.50 to the HX Foundation to support nature and local projects

• 99% of the water used on board is produced using reverse osmosis or evaporators, reducing pressure on freshwater sources

• We follow strict biosecurity protocols to prevent the spread of invasive species, particularly in Antarctica

Restoring Nature

• We support the industry’s leading Science & Education Programme, donating 1,911 cruise nights in 2024 to guest scientists researching climate, biodiversity, and ocean health

• We launched the first university-accredited short course for guests and staff, focused on Antarctic ecosystems, history, and governance

• Guests actively contribute to science on board through citizen science projects like whale tracking, cloud monitoring, and plankton sampling

• Our ships collect environmental data, including water quality, microplastics, and CO₂ levels

• Through our partnership with NFTree, we’ve helped restore over 600 acres of Ecuador’s Chocó Andino as part of our carbon-neutral Galápagos sailings

• Through Ocean Bottle, our crew and guests helped prevent over 45 million plastic bottles from entering the ocean

What are we doing to get there

Our people—on board and ashore—are the heart of everything we do.

• In 2024, we received the Princess Royal Training Award for our “Guiding in Polar Bear Environments” course, recognising our leadership in safety and training

• We opened a Gold LEED-certified Guest Excellence Centre in Prague, hiring more than 70 people across functions like IT, HR, Finance, and Customer Experience

• Our team of nearly 1,000 spans over 60 nationalities, and we’re committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture across land and sea

• We launched our first Employee Resource Groups—ShEquality and Rainbow Explorers—to support underrepresented voices

• We partnered with Simwave in Rotterdam to deliver immersive, scenario-based training tailored to our expedition operations

• Our university-accredited Antarctic course is available to both staff and guests, deepening understanding of the region’s governance, ecology, and climate context

What are we doing to get there

At HX, we want the communities we visit to benefit from our presence long after we depart. That’s why we’ve established the HX Foundation, which has supported more than 100 local and environmental projects globally.

• In 2024, the HX Foundation donated over €400,000 to 58 projects across 19 countries, supporting conservation, education, and local development

• Our Rapid Response Fund enables our teams to allocate grants of up to €1,000 to meet urgent needs in the communities we visit

• Guests contributed over €229,000 to the HX Foundation in 2024 through Greenstay and onboard fundraising activities

• We became the first expedition cruise company to hire two product team members directly from the Indigenous communities we travel to

• We source locally whenever possible to reduce transport emissions and support regional economies, while carefully managing trade-offs to avoid overburdening small suppliers