Cruise lines slammed by university report

Cruise lines have been heavily criticised in a report for ignoring their corporate social responsibility to their staff, the environment and the destinations they visit.

The report by Leeds Metropolitan University says cruise companies are failing to provide meaningful data about what they’re doing to minimise their environmental and social impact and to show whether they are making any progress.

It also accuses the cruise industry of violating the rights of some workers, not doing enough to protect marine eco-systems, having a negative economic impact on some of the destinations they visit, and not being transparent with reporting data.

According to the university’s research, 65% of the 80 cruise companies worldwide analysed do not even mention corporate social responsibility on their websites.

Only 12 brands publish corporate social reports, and these belong to four companies – Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean International, TUI and Disney Cruises.

"Most companies report soft data, such as statements from their CEOs, that are easy to copy and do not show real change," said Dr Xavier Font, the lead author of the study.

"Companies mostly report on their corporate vision and strategy, their credentials and their governance and management systems, but they fail to report on actual performance data on many key environmental and socio-economic indicators.

"Reporting on emissions, effluents, waste or water is the result of eco-saving strategies and regulatory pressure. But not one of the 80 companies reports on the sustainability of the resources consumed or biodiversity actions, and few disclose their positive social or economic impact on destinations."

The report also argues that:

– there is evidence that the rights of cruise workers from disadvantaged groups are being violated, including charges for medical examinations, visas, transport and administration, putting workers into a level of debt that cannot be repaid and is comparable to forced labour

– more must be done by the cruise industry in terms of the environmental impact of cruise ship’s discharges, as cruises usually operate in highly valued costal water and marine ecosystems

– there is limited public data to sustain the claim that cruise industry contributes to the economy by creating jobs and contributing to the local economy of the destinations visited and, in fact, low spend cruisers are considered unproductive given the costs incurred by their impact

– cruise lines report late, so the data available in 2014 is mostly reports from 2011, with data from what the companies did in 2009 or 2010, so transparency is limited.

The study, published this month in the journal Tourism Management, ranks companies through analysis of their corporate social responsibility reports and websites (see below).

The results provide the first cruise sector sustainability reporting index.

To see the full report and the graph below in its full size, please click here.