Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Announces Animal Welfare Goals
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NYSE: NCLH) has enhanced its commitment to responsible sourcing and animal welfare in its supply chain. Announced on June 6, 2022, the company introduced new standards focusing on chicken, eggs, pork, and seafood. Targets include sourcing 100% of chicken from GAP-certified suppliers by 2024, cage-free eggs by 2025, gestation crate-free pork by 2025, and certified sustainable seafood by 2025. These initiatives align with the company’s sustainability program, Sail & Sustain, as it aims to positively impact its supply chain.
- Introduction of concrete animal welfare goals across key supply areas.
- Commitment to 100% GAP-certified chicken sourced by 2024.
- Aim for 100% cage-free eggs from U.S. suppliers by 2025.
- Targeting gestation crate-free pork by 2025.
- Progress towards 100% certified sustainable seafood by 2025.
- None.
Company Expands Commitment to Furthering the Legal, Ethical, and Humane Treatment of Animals Across its Supply Chain
MIAMI, June 06, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH) (the “Company”), a leading global cruise company which operates Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises, announced today that it has expanded its commitment to responsible sourcing practices including the legal, ethical and humane treatment of animals within its supply chain. In support of the Company’s global sustainability program, Sail & Sustain, the Company strengthened its efforts with new standards and goals to promote animal welfare and sustainable sourcing across four key areas: chicken, eggs, pork and seafood.
“We are pleased to strengthen our commitment to animal welfare and responsible sourcing with concrete goals around chicken, eggs, pork and seafood. We recognize our responsibility to be good corporate citizens and our unique position to drive a positive impact across our supply chain,” said Frank Del Rio, president and chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. “We do not plan to stop here, and we will continue to engage with our diverse suppliers worldwide to promote and encourage sustainable practices including animal welfare.”
Animal welfare is important to the Company and its stakeholders, and the Company encourages its suppliers to implement procedures to prevent the mistreatment of animals. Current goals are outlined below:
100% target for chicken purchased from suppliers in the U.S. and Canada who meet GAP standards by 2024: The Company is currently phasing in updated purchasing policies for chicken using standards from the Global Animal Partnership (GAP). These standards define humane treatment for chicken housing and processing. By 2024, we plan to have all chicken purchased in the U.S. and Canada sourced from suppliers who meet GAP standards.100% target for cage-free eggs from U.S. suppliers by end of 2025: For laying hens, cage-free confinement systems are considered to be more humane as they allow greater freedom of movement and space to express more natural behaviors than conventional methods. That’s why the Company continues to identify and encourage U.S.-based suppliers to use cage-free environments for their hens.100% target for gestation crate-free pork by 2025: The Company is actively engaging with its suppliers to source only pork products that have been raised without the use of gestation crates.100% certified sustainable seafood by 2025: The Company has made strong progress to purchase all seafood from certified sustainable sources. More than half of its worldwide seafood purchases was certified by a recognized certification authority, such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP), or the Global Aquaculture Alliance (GAA), in 2019.
“Our strong and diverse supply chain, consisting of nearly 20,000 global suppliers, form the underpinnings of our day-to-day operations,” said Carl Robie, executive vice president of supply chain and logistics of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. “It’s a natural step for us to align all levels of our business with our global sustainability program, Sail & Sustain, and we are pleased to not only formally define our Animal Welfare Commitment but also outline our overall Responsible Sourcing Mission Statement. Through these initiatives, we can ensure responsible sourcing practices will remain deeply rooted across our entire organization.”
The Company is working with suppliers to increase availability of cage-free eggs, GAP-certified chicken, gestation crate-free pork and certified sustainable seafood. In the event the supply needed to reach these goals is not available, the Company will continue to work with our supplier partners to continue expanding product availability to meet demand. The Company plans to provide progress updates against these goals in its annual Environmental, Social & Governance report.
Please view more details on the Company’s Animal Welfare goals and roadmap, Animal Welfare Commitment and Responsible Sourcing Mission Statement here.
About Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: NCLH) is a leading global cruise company which operates the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands. With a combined fleet of 28 ships with approximately 60,000 berths, these brands offer itineraries to approximately 500 destinations worldwide. The Company has nine additional ships scheduled for delivery through 2027, comprising approximately 24,000 berths.
About Sail & Sustain
Sail & Sustain is Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings’ global sustainability program centered around its commitment to drive a positive impact on society and the environment while delivering on its vision to be the vacation of choice for everyone around the world. This program is structured around five pillars developed through cross-functional collaboration with key internal and external stakeholders. The pillars include: Reducing Environmental Impact, Sailing Safely, Empowering People, Strengthening our Communities and Operating with Integrity and Accountability.
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