Carnival Corporation & plc has released its 2015 sustainability report detailing the progress made in 2015 against its 2020 sustainability performance goals. The report’s details show the company is on track to meet its goals in the next four years, with sustainability efforts highlighted across its 10 cruise line brands. The report was prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) G4 “core” level, and a full copy can be downloaded from Carnival Corporation’s site.
In 2015, Carnival Corporation announced 10 goals for reducing its environmental footprint, while enhancing the health, safety and security of its guests and crew members, and ensuring sustainable business practices among its brands, business partners and suppliers. As part of the effort to achieve these goals, the company and its 10 global brands have implemented strategic energy reduction and conservation initiatives. The most notable progress made against these 10 goals to date, as outlined in the infographic below, includes:
- Reduced the company’s carbon intensity rate by 2.8 percent resulting in a 23.4 percent overall carbon dioxide emission reduction relative to the 2005 baseline
- Equipped 41 percent of fleet with exhaust gas cleaning technology to reduce sulfur compounds and particulate matter from engine exhaust
- Improved the company’s carbon footprint with order of world’s first liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered cruise ships, as well as the first cruise ship to be powered by an LNG hybrid barge
- On track to meet the 10 percentage point increase in fleet-wide capacity coverage of advanced waste water purification systems (AWWPS)
We know it is increasingly important to have sustainable and transparent operations, so we work hard every day to run our company in a sustainable way, and to share those practices broadly, so that our guests can feel confident that they are making a responsible decision when they book a vacation with us,” said Bill Burke, chief maritime officer for Carnival Corporation. “We are committed to providing a safe and comfortable voyage for our guests and crew members as our cruise line brands create great vacations, while at the same time maintaining our deep commitment to protecting the oceans, seas and destinations we visit.”
Carnival Corporation’s commitment to sustainability
Carnival Corporation and its brands implement extensive measures to deliver on its commitment to continue to keep guests and crewmembers safe and comfortable, protect the environment, develop and provide opportunities for its workforce, strengthen its stakeholder relations and enhance the communities in which the company visits and operates. Those measures are detailed in the company’s 2015 sustainability report in three key areas – cruising, commitment and community.
Cruising
In 2015, Carnival Corporation introduced its 10th and newest brand, Fathom, which is pioneering a new travel category, social impact travel, which combines people’s love for travel with their desire to make a difference in the world. Later in the year, Carnival Corporation made history with its Fathom brand by receiving U.S. approval to sail to Cuba, laying the groundwork for it to become the first cruise company in over 40 years to sail from the U.S. to Cuba in May of 2016.
Commitment
In 2015, Carnival Corporation made progress toward its focus on maintaining measured capacity growth with the delivery of innovative, more efficient ships for its fleet by finalizing agreements for 15 new ships for delivery between 2016 and 2020 – four of which will be next-generation ships that will pioneer a new era in the use of cleaner fuels as the first cruise ships to be powered by LNG both at sea and in port. The introduction of LNG – the world’s cleanest burning fossil fuel – is a major step for the corporation in reducing its carbon footprint from the reduced carbon and cleaner emissions of LNG. In 2015, AIDAsol from the company’s AIDA Cruises’ German-based brand was the first cruise ship in the world to be supplied with power by an LNG hybrid barge while in port.
Other strides Carnival Corporation made in 2015 to deliver on its commitment to its guests, crew, stakeholders and the environment include:
- Actively undertaking shipbuilding research and development for new abatement technologies and equipment to improve energy efficiency including: air lubrication systems using air bubbles to reduce friction between the ship’s hull and the water; exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS); and alternative fuels like the industry-first use of LNG as the world’s cleanest burning fossil fuel
- Working with suppliers on expanding its sourcing of cage free eggs to 100 percent by 2025
- Expanding tour operator sustainable practices
Community
Another key milestone for the company in 2015 was the opening of its newest port and Caribbean destination, Amber Cove, located in the Dominican Republic. The new destination represents Carnival Corporation’s single largest direct port development project with an $85 million investment to date, the largest cruise industry investment ever made in the Dominican Republic. As a part of Carnival Corporation’s commitment to the region, its Fathom brand also announced in 2015 that it would be making trips every other week to the area to enrich the lives of its travelers as they work alongside the locals, assisting them in improving the quality of their lives.
Carnival Corporation reinforced its leadership position in the China cruise region with the successful introduction of a fourth ship in 2015 – Costa Serena from its Costa Cruises brand. The company also announced in 2015 that it would introduce two more year-round ships – one each from Costa Cruises and Princess Cruises – making it the first cruise company with six ships based in China, maintaining its industry leadership in the country. Carnival Corporation also formed a strategic joint venture by partnering with state-owned China State Shipbuilding Corporation and China Investment Corporation to launch a new cruise brand in the Chinese vacation region.
Other strides Carnival Corporation made in 2015 to deliver on its commitment to the communities in which it operates include:
- Donating $5 million to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami to create the Carnival Center for Excellence that will serve as the headquarters for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Miami
- Donating reusable goods such as furniture, kitchenware, toiletries and other items from its ships to people in need throughout the communities it visits
- Providing in-kind donation of cruises totaling over $2 million in 2015
Partnering with The Nature Conservancy to advance ocean health
In 2015, Carnival Corporation continued its partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), one of the world’s leading conservation organizations, with a $2.5 million financial commitment over a five-year period, starting in 2014.
Carnival Corporation’s partnership with TNC supports the organization’s Mapping Ocean Wealth (MOW) program that creates maps showing the extent and distribution of benefits that habitats like coral reefs and mangroves provide, including fish production, flood mitigation, erosion control and recreation. Progress made in 2015 with the help of Carnival Corporation’s donation include:
- Generating new knowledge about coral reef conditions, comparisons of nature-based and artificial defences, innovative financing and other important topics
- Publishing groundbreaking research on fish production associated with oyster reefs
- Pioneering innovative methods, such as using social media to measure tourism activities, natural resources available, distribution, intensity of use and user satisfaction through the work being performed on the development of a global map of mangrove tourism
- Developing an online web mapping tool allowing users to view and download models and maps of ocean benefits associated with coral reefs, mangroves and other critical coastal systems
More information about Carnival Corporation’s sustainability efforts and the full versions of its past sustainability reports can be found here.
