Hornblower Niagara Cruises takes its environmental responsibilities seriously
NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. — When you make your living on the water, and your greatest asset is one of the world’s greatest natural wonders, you take the health of the environment seriously.
Through its Respect Our Planet program, Hornblower Niagara Cruises has made a commitment to protect and conserve the natural resources and ecosystems on which its business depends. This includes several initiatives implemented over the past couple of years to reduce pollution and waste, conserve water and energy and educate both staff and guests about the importance of environmental stewardship.
“From the way we power our catamarans to how we feed our guests, we have made reducing the impact we have on the environment a top priority in our business,” says Mory DiMaurizio, Vice President and General Manager of Hornblower Niagara Cruises. “We have been working hard at Hornblower to raise awareness about the importance of keeping our planet clean and safe.”
Among the environmental initiatives implemented by Hornblower are:
- Cleaner Fuel — The Niagara Thunder and Niagara Wonder catamarans are powered by Tier 3 Scania engines that burn cleaner biodiesel fuel.
- Mobile Ticketing — Guests who purchase their tickets through the niagaracruises.com website can use their mobile device as an entry ticket, providing access through a barcode that can be scanned from a device’s screen.
- Poncho Management — Thousands of red ponchos are used every day on a Hornblower Niagara Cruise to the base of the Horseshow Falls. After use, the ponchos are collected in Hornblower’s recycling bins and are compacted on-site before they are picked up by a recycling company and given a new life. What was once a red poncho could be tomorrow’s cell phone case, a patio chair, or even playground equipment.
- No Plastic Straws — Hornblower made the move last season to ban plastic straws from its concession stands and now use compostable paper straws from a Toronto-based company.
- Sustainable Eating — The vessels used to serve food — containers for items including hamburgers, or hot dogs — can cause real problems in landfill sites. Hornblower has moved to compostable hamburger boxes, and hot dog holders.
- Waste Diversion — For every 10 pounds of waste generated by Hornblower Niagara Cruises and its guests, nearly nine pounds is diverted away from the landfill. This diversion rate is the result of comprehensive and extensive recycling and composting programs at Hornblower, saving precious space in landfills and contributing to producing new and useful products from what was essentially garbage.
- Smart Paper Use — Printing has been reduced in Hornblower’s administrative offices and all promotional brochures are printed on FSC paper made from recycled materials.
- Community Support — Hornblower is a proud community supporter, happily participating in tree planting initiatives and clean sweep programs to make Niagara Falls a cleaner, more environmentally sustainable city.
- ISO Certification – Hornblower’s commitment to the Environment, Quality and Health & Safety is demonstrated through its earned ISO designations – ISO 14001 for its strict standards for Environmental Management that ensures its operations minimize negative impacts on the natural environment, ISO 9001 for Quality Management focused on meeting the need of the customer, and ISO 18001 for meeting Occupational Health and Safety Management standards which demonstrates that the health and safety of its employees is a top priority for the company.
“With Respect Our Planet, we made a commitment to reduce the waste coming from Hornblower Niagara Cruises,” says DiMaurizio. “We take our role as advocates for the environment very seriously, and are proud of our comprehensive recycling program, using more environmentally friendly packaging and keeping garbage out of the landfill.”
For more information, please visit niagaracruises.com. Follow Hornblower Niagara Cruises on Instagram @NiagaraCruises and Like it on Facebook.
About Hornblower Niagara Cruises:
Hornblower Niagara Cruises, the official Boat Tour operator for the Niagara Parks in Niagara Falls, Canada, is a sister company of Hornblower Cruises and Events; a North American company based in San Francisco, California, with more than 100 vessels and 30 years of experience operating various types of marine services across the east and west coasts. As Canada’s most memorable visitor experience, the Niagara Falls boat tour operation hosts millions of visitors a year. In September 2018, Hornblower welcomed its 10 millionth visitor.
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For more information, please call
Stephen Murdoch
Vice President, Public Relations – Enterprise
Email: [email protected]
Mobile: 289-241-3997
Office: 905-346-1232