Sustainability

The Power of Choice equals Sustainability

Oceans, seas and coastal areas form an integrated and essential component of the Earth’s ecosystem and are critical to sustainable development. They cover more than two-thirds of the earth’s surface and contain 97% of the planet’s water. Oceans contribute to poverty eradication by creating sustainable livelihoods and decent work. Over three billion people depend on marine and coastal resources for their livelihoods. In addition, oceans are crucial for global food security and human health. They are also the primary regulator of the global climate, an important sink for greenhouse gases and they provide us with water and the oxygen we breathe. The oceans host huge reservoirs of biodiversity. We will strive to ensure the health of the oceans by following a code of ethics.

Our Code of Ethics

The well- being of our economy fundamentally depends on the services from nature that support it.

Our business footprint has a profound impact on the ability of nature to sustainably provide those services
We are committed, as business and community leaders, to the well-being of both economic and ecological systems, of both humans and other living things
We believe these goals are compatible (and where they seem to be incompatible, we are committed to finding better ways to do business that make them compatible.

We envision our company, guests, suppliers and our community doing business in ways that:

preserve, protect and ultimately enhance the living systems — of this region, and the planet — that sustain our business and the larger human economy
provide ever greater value in meeting the real needs of our guests and communities

To do this we will:

consider the requirements of the earth’s living systems in all design and operating decisions
not take more from the earth that it can sustainably provide
not provide to the earth more than it can sustainably absorb
analyse the life cycle operating costs and impacts of our facilities, operations and products/services, as well as their initial costs
work to eliminate “waste” of all kinds from our operations, and to find safe, productive uses for any “non-product” that we are not yet able to eliminate
treat guests, employees and suppliers fairly, honestly and respectfully
take responsibility for the safety of our products/services in their intended use
take responsibility for the safety of our activities for guests, employees and communities
take responsibility for the safe “end of life” recovery and reuse or recycling or our products
design our facilities, operations and products/services to be ever more efficient, ever less dependent on materials and activities that poison, degrade or encroach on living systems, and ever more supportive of these approaches
do all these in a way that supports our economic well-being, and the economic well-being of those who depend on us

We will measure our progress by the trends of our

resource productivity [unit of benefit provided per unit of resource used]
“non-product” output [amounts & toxicity of “unsaleable” materials and chemicals]
net carbon emissions [production of climate changing greenhouse gasses]
ecological footprint [demand on earth’s regenerative capacity]
profit, both near and long term

We will pursue these steps with a commitment to

future generations
continuous improvement
open dialogue with our guests, suppliers, and communities

Be the Change you want to see in the World – Mahatma Gandhi

Our Commitment to Fair Trade Tourism

Apex Shark Expeditions is a member of Fair Trade Tourism (FTT), and we are in the process of aligning our operations with FTT’s global best practice sustainable tourism framework. Our goal in doing so is to ensure that, through our business, the people who contribute their land, resources, labour, and knowledge to tourism are the ones who reap the benefits, and that the natural environment on which it all depends is treated with respect. From a transparency and industry ethics perspective, we believe that such claims should be independently verified, which is why we have chosen to collaborate with Fair Trade Tourism.