Uniworld Expands Sustainable Onboard Culinary Efforts
Uniworld Boutique River Cruises is expanding its sustainable culinary efforts onboard its ships with the installation of the Leanpath food waste reduction system this month, along with the launch of new vegan and vegetarian options for travelers.
The Leanpath system is an automated food waste tracking system that allows ships to prevent food waste. Since Uniworld began implementing it on six of its ships in 2021, the line has prevented 13,156 kg of food from being wasted, saving nearly 100 tons of carbon emissions as of December 2022.
The system is only part of Uniworld’s sustainability targets that have been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), the only river cruise line to do so. The ‘How We Tread Right’ sustainability strategy includes reducing 50 percent of food waste by 2025, eliminating single-use plastics, achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and offering experiences that help the communities Uniworld’s cruises visit.
Uniworld is also now also offering an expanded menu of vegan and vegetarian options across all its ships, with dishes like jambalaya, tempura vegetable, sweet potato and tofu stew, French braised artichoke, butternut squash risotto and much more.
“Earth Month and every month, sustainable practices are always top of mind for us at Uniworld,” says Julie Higgins, Sustainability Officer at Uniworld Boutique River Cruises. “We’re proud to expand our sustainable food choices and best practices across the fleet, starting with inventive new vegan and vegetarian menus. We’re crossing the finish line with our food waste elimination system installations fleet-wide and have followed through with our promise to remove SUPs from our ships with the removal of all plastics from our guest rooms. Great strides are being made as we work to have a positive impact on our beautiful planet.”
Additionally, the line has eliminated all single-use plastics in its rooms and suites, now offering reusable water bottles, refillable pump amenities, reusable laundry bags and even key cards made from bamboo.