Fred. Olsen is first cruise line to pledge support to national Refill Campaign, with environmental organisation City to Sea, to encourage guests to ‘bring their own bottles’ on next holiday

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has today [Wednesday 19th June 2019] announced that it is the first cruise line to work with environmental campaigning organisation, City to Sea, as part of its Refill Campaign. Today’s announcement coincides with ‘National Refill Day’ – an annual campaign that raises awareness of the impact of single-use plastic water bottles on the environment, and encourages people to use refillable water bottles instead.

Fred. Olsen is in the process of installing free water stations across its ocean fleet, and guests are being encouraged to ‘bring their own bottles’ on their next sailing, as well as being able to take their refillable bottles to any bar on board. In addition to refillable water bottles, guests are also being encouraged to bring along reusable tea and coffee cups for use in the Bookmark Cafés and hot drinks stations across the ocean fleet.

Thomas Rennesland, Hotel Operations Director at Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, said:

“Protecting our oceans is something that is of paramount importance to us. As a cruise line, we make our living out of the sea, so we need to do all that we can to conserve this precious environment and make sure that it is safeguarded for marine life and the enjoyment of generations to come.

“We are making great efforts to reduce and, where possible, eliminate single-use plastics across our fleet, and removing single-use plastic water bottles is one of the biggest changes that we can make. Our guests joining us on their holidays want to do their bit, too, and we wouldn’t be able to make such big changes without their support.

“Joining the Refill campaign, and making water stations available across our ships, so that people can refill their own bottles, is an important step forward, and we are pleased to be leading the way on this initiative across the cruise industry.”

Alannah O’Rourke, Partnerships Manager at City to Sea, said:

“We’re excited to see more companies in the travel sector making it easier for customers to avoid pointless single-use plastics and are pleased that Fred. Olsen are joining the Refill Revolution this ‘National Refill Day’.

“Studies show that people are most likely to buy water in a plastic bottle when travelling, so it’s so important more take the step to bring in fountains and show that they are providing free tap water by joining the Refill campaign.

“People from all walks of life are carrying a reusable bottle now and, with Fred. Olsen making it easier for people to Refill, we’re rapidly doing away with the need to buy planet-polluting plastic bottled water.”

Plastic water bottles that were previously supplied in guests’ rooms have been removed and replaced with glass carafes of drinking water, which are replenished daily.

Joining the Refill campaign comes on top of a number of other plastic-reduction efforts that have already been introduced across Fred. Olsen’s ocean fleet, including:

• The removal of single-use disposable tea/coffee cups and plastic cutlery
• Replacing single-use plastic jam and butter portions with refillable options
• Replacing plastic laundry bags with linen ones
• Reducing the use of cling film
• Using ropes to secure items during rough seas, rather than plastic
• Removing plastic pens from guests’ rooms and replacing them with wooden pencils

Fred. Olsen operates within a strict environmental framework, and is committed to ensuring that it meets, and where possible, exceeds, regulatory requirements on marine and air pollution. It monitors and regularly reviews its management systems, to ensure compliance with international requirements.

Fred. Olsen makes every effort to minimise any impact on the environment of its operation, both at sea and on land. It is always keen to work with port partners and other suppliers to ensure that its operations ‎and activities complement and bring mutual benefit to the destinations that it visits.

For further information on Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, visit the website at www.fredolsencruises.com

To find out more about City to Sea’s ‘National Refill Day’, visit https://refill.org.uk/national-refill-day/