Carnival Corporation published its ninth annual sustainability report, outlining the key initiatives and progress made in 2018 toward its 2020 sustainability performance goals. The full 2018 report, “Sustainability from Ship to Shore,” was developed in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative standard.
The company managed to achieve its 25% carbon reduction goal three years ahead of the planned schedule in 2017, and made further progress on that target in 2018. Under its current strategy to reduce carbon emissions, Carnival Corporation also introduced in December 2018 the world’s first cruise ship able to be powered in port and at sea by LNG.
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Moreover, in 2018 Carnival Corporation initiated Operation Oceans Alive, a company-wide program to enhance its commitment to achieve and sustain environmental compliance. Operation Oceans Alive was introduced as an internal effort and call to action to make sure that all employees receive proper environmental education, training and oversight, while continuing the corporation’s commitment to protecting the oceans, seas and destinations in which it operates.
In addition, Carnival shared its 2020 sustainability goals in 2015, setting out 10 key objectives, including reducing its carbon footprint, improving ships’ air emissions, reducing waste generation, improving water use efficiency, and supporting guests, crew members and local communities. The company’s latest sustainability report shows that it is on track to meet those goals, achieving the following environmental advancements by the end of 2018:
- Carbon Footprint: Achieved 27.6% reduction in CO2e intensity relative to 2005 baseline;
- Advanced Air Quality Systems: 74% of its fleet is equipped with Advanced Air Quality Systems, capable of removing virtually all of the sulfur from ships’ engine exhaust, enabling cleaner overall air emissions at port and at sea without impacting the marine environment;
- Cold Ironing: 46% of its fleet is equipped with capability to use shoreside electric power while the ship is docked, further reducing air emissions in ports where this option is available;
- Advanced Waste Water Purification Systems: Increased coverage of fleet-wide capacity by 8.6 percentage points from 2014 baseline. Together, the company’s standard and AWWPS systems meet and/or exceed water treatment requirements established by the International Maritime Organization and national and local authorities;
- Waste Reduction: Reduced non-recycled waste generated by shipboard operations by 3.8% relative to 2016 baseline. In 2018, the company started an initiative to evaluate its collective use of non-essential single-use plastic items and alternative options available in the market, with the goal of significantly reducing single-use plastics across the global fleet;
- Water Efficiency: Improved water use efficiency of shipboard operations by 4.8% relative to 2010 baseline to a rate of 59.6 gallons per person per day, versus the U.S. national average of 90 gallons per person per day.
LNG and Air Quality Systems on Cruise Ships
Carnival is developing solutions to support sustainable operations and a healthy environment. These include the environmental technology breakthrough of making Advanced Air Quality Systems more efficient in the small confines of a cruise ship and using environmentally friendly and low-emission LNG.
In December 2018, Carnival Corporation launched AIDAnova, the world’s first cruise vessel to be powered at sea and in port by LNG. AIDAnova is the first of a new class of next-generation ‘green’ cruise ships.
Additionally, Carnival, through an estimated $500 million investment to date, it has equipped 74% of its fleet with Advanced Air Quality Systems and plans to use the systems on more than 85 ships across its global fleet by 2020.
Environmental Compliance
To advance the company’s commitment to achieving environmental compliance, Carnival launched Operation Oceans Alive in January 2018 as an effort to ensure all employees receive environmental education, training and oversight.
In the program’s first year, the corporation implemented technology solutions for sustainability, advanced environmental training efforts and improved communications to achieve a higher level of environmental awareness and culture of environmental stewardship.
Investing in the Future
In May 2018 in Miami, Carnival opened its third Fleet Operations Center (FOCs). The FOCs incorporate a tracking and data analysis platform and a software application called Neptune that allows for real-time information sharing between ships and specialized shoreside teams to support fleet operations. The systems also aim to improve the safe passage of ships at sea.
Moreover, during 2018, Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) committed to a 40% reduction in the rate of carbon emissions across the cruise industry’s global fleet by 2030. As a CLIA member, Carnival Corporation also committed to do its part to help achieve this goal.
Social Responsibility
After a series of devastating storms in the Caribbean in 2017, Carnival committed to support a series of community projects in 2018 supporting children, education and emergency preparedness in the Caribbean through its $10 million pledge in funding and in-kind support from its philanthropic arm, Carnival Foundation, along with its brands, the Miami HEAT Charitable Fund, and the Micky and Madeleine Arison Family Foundation.
It also committed to aid communities affected by Hurricane Florence in North and South Carolina, Super Typhoon Mangkhut in the Philippines and Indonesia’s earthquake and resulting tsunami in 2018, pledging up to $5 million to support the relief efforts and the long-term recovery strategy.
Furthermore, Costa Cruises partnered with The Food Bank Network and others on the 4GOODFOOD program, aiming to halve food waste on board the Italian company’s ships by 2020.
Diversity and Inclusion
In 2018 the company earned a perfect score for the second year in a row from the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, the leading LGBTQ civil rights organization in the US. Carnival was also named to the first-ever NAACP Equity, Inclusion and Empowerment Index, which assesses US companies’ commitment to racial and ethnic equity in every aspect of their operations.
Finally, Carnival cooperates with Catalyst to expand opportunities for women, and with the Executive Leadership Council (ELC), whose mission is to empower African-American corporate leaders. In 2018, the company was also honored by Forbes as one of America’s best employers for diversity based on its commitment to diversity and inclusion, and was named to the Forbes list of America’s best large employers overall.
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