MIAMI, July 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival
Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's
largest leisure travel company, today released its eighth
annual sustainability report, announcing that in 2017 the company
achieved its 25 percent carbon reduction goal three years ahead of
schedule and is on track with its nine other 2020 sustainability
goals. The full 2017 report, "Sustainability from Ship to Shore,"
was developed in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative
format and is available online at
www.CarnivalSustainability.com.
Looking to the future, the company continues to chart its
sustainability journey, using the United Nation's 17 Sustainable
Development Goals as a framework to identify new environmental
management, energy efficiency, health, safety and wellbeing
objectives to strive toward by 2030.
"We recognize that to be a responsible global organization and
good corporate citizen, we need to have sustainability ingrained in
all aspects of our operation across our nine global cruise line
brands and more than 100 ships," said Bill
Burke, chief maritime officer for Carnival Corporation,
whose nine global cruise line brands include Carnival Cruise Line,
Cunard, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Seabourn. "We
are committed to consistently exceeding the expectations of our
guests for great vacations but we are also deeply committed to
being a model for sustainable tourism throughout the world. It is
through the dedication of our passionate and diverse workforce that
we are able to make such great strides in every aspect of our
operations. We congratulate each of our 120,000 employees for
helping us achieve and exceed our carbon reduction goal well ahead
of schedule."
Carnival Corporation first shared its 2020 sustainability goals
in 2015, identifying 10 objectives that include 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
across its nine global cruise line brands, realizing the
following environmental advancements by the end of 2017:
- Carbon Footprint: achieved 26.3 percent reduction in
CO2e relative to 2005 baseline
- Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems (EGCS): 62 percent of fleet
equipped with EGCS, capable of reducing sulfur compounds and
particulate matter in ships' engine exhaust at any operating state
of a ship, resulting in improved quality of air emissions
- Cold Ironing: 43 percent of fleet equipped with
capability to use shoreside electric power while the ship is
docked
- Advanced Waste Water Purification Systems: increased
coverage of fleet-wide capacity by 6.2 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 3.7 percent relative to 2016 baseline, and
sent 79 percent of the U.S. food and municipal type waste to a
facility that captured the energy from the waste
- Water Efficiency: improved water use efficiency of
shipboard operations by 4 percent relative to 2010 baseline, to a
rate of 60 gallons per person per day, versus the U.S. national
average of 90 gallons per person per day
LNG: Powering Next-Generation "Green Cruising"
Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) is the most environmentally-friendly
and low-emission fuel currently available. As part of the company's
commitment to reducing air emissions and improving air quality in
the ports and ecosystems it visits, Carnival Corporation has
invested in two major environmental intiatives, EGCS and LNG, that
are leading not just the cruise industry but the overall maritime
sector and provide a balanced approach to fuel usage and clean-air
emissions. In 2017, Carnival Corporation received the Lloyd's List
Americas 2017 Cleaner Safer Seas Solutions Award for its commitment
to LNG operations and cleaner air.
In 2017 Carnival Corporation welcomed to its fleet the second
cruise ship in the world able to be powered by LNG while in port,
as dual-fueled AIDAperla began LNG operations when docked in three
European ports. AIDAperla is the sister ship to dual-fueled
AIDAprima, which launched in 2016.
In December 2018, AIDAnova will
launch on its maiden voyage as the first fully LNG-powered cruise
ship in the world, capable of running exclusively on LNG both in
port and at sea. Six more Carnival Corporation ships generating 100
percent of their power from LNG will be in operation by 2022,
sailing for AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line and
P&O Cruises (UK).
In November 2017 Carnival
Corporation expanded its LNG partnership with Shell Western LNG
B.V. to North American ports. Shell will supply fuel for the two
next-generation LNG-powered cruise ships on order for Carnival
Cruise Line, both of which will be homeported in North America when they launch in 2020 and
2022.
Investing in the Future
"The draw of the ocean's vast
beauty is at the center of what makes cruising such an
extraordinary vacation choice for the 12.1 million guests who
sailed on our 103 ships in 2017," said Elaine Heldewier,
sustainability director for Carnival Corporation. "Doing our part
to ensure the health and vitality of marine environments long into
the future is not only the right thing to do as good corporate
citizens, but it's essential to what we do as a business. We are
always looking for better ways to improve our technology and
processes to further increase efficiencies and decrease our effects
on the environment."
In 2017, Carnival Corporation began construction in Miami on the third of its three
state-of-the-art Fleet Operations Centers. It also expanded data
aggregation and analysis by Neptune, a proprietary platform that
enables real-time information transfer and sharing between ships
and shoreside teams supporting fleet operations and enhancing the
safe passage of ships at sea, while improving operational
efficiencies and supporting overall environmental initiatives. New
capabilities from these include:
- Engine performance: Engine data is monitored in
real-time and shared with engine manufacturer Wärtsilä, ensuring
engines are maintained at optimal levels, and thus reducing fuel
consumption and providing significant emission reduction
benefits
- Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems (EGCS): Operating
parameters from the EGCS are checked every three minutes and
monitored by onshore teams to ensure systems are operating
correctly
- Energy efficiency: A broad range of energy consumption
measurements are analyzed to direct and drive forward efficiency
improvements and help reach greenhouse gas reduction targets
Ensuring environmental compliance and proper implementation of
procedures at sea and in port is the responsibility of full-time
Environmental Officers working onboard every ship in the Carnival
Corporation fleet. In 2017, a weeklong, fleet-wide global training
program was implemented for these dedicated senior crew members.
The required annual training course, conducted at Carnival
Corporation's CSMART Academy at its Arison Maritime Center in
the Netherlands, is designed to
further develop environmental and technical expertise for the more
than 200 Environmental Officers who support the fleet.
Caring About Communities
Because environments are more
than just water, land and air, supporting people and communities
through sustainable tourism in the more than 700 ports visited by
Carnival Corporation ships in 2017 is also a company priority.
Seeking to positively contribute to the social, environmental and
economic wellbeing of these communities, the company works with
local governments, associations, tourism organizations and other
community stakeholders to invest in the ports of call its ships
visit and to support healthy, sustainable development.
When Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria took a major human,
environmental and property toll in the
United States and several Caribbean destinations in 2017, the company
immediately stepped up to support the ports and islands impacted by
the storms. Carnival Corporation brands and foundations
collectively pledged up to $12
million in aid for relief and rebuilding, as employees
volunteered their skills, and cruise ships delivered critical
supplies to residents in Barbuda,
St. Maarten, Dominica and other affected areas.
The relief efforts of Carnival Corporation's cruise lines and
staff will continue long-term as islands and communities affected
by the hurricanes rebuild. With 1 in 10 residents of the Caribbean
directly employed in a tourism-related job, cruise lines have
committed to continue to bring ships and guests into ports to help
those employed by tourism and related industries.
Animal Welfare
Carnival Corporation continues to
expand its sourcing of cage-free eggs with a goal to be 100 percent
cage free by 2025, and has committed to aligning to welfare
standards for broiler chicken by 2024.
The company has also partnered with the Association of British
Travel Agents to help ensure excursions involving animals are
responsibly managed, by leveraging their global welfare guidelines
for animals in tourism. A recognized third-party auditor will audit
attractions involving animals, including audits on all dolphin in
captivity tour encounters used by Carnival Corporation brands.
Partnering for Progress
In 2017, Costa Group (Costa
Cruises, Costa Asia and AIDA Cruises) began a partnership with
Mercy Ships, an international non-governmental organization that
works to promote access to essential healthcare in developing
nations.
The organization operates the world's largest civilian hospital
ship, the Africa Mercy, with a crew of over 400 volunteers from 40
different nations. In addition to an initial donation of €100,000,
the Costa Group committed to continuously staff one engineering
position onboard the Africa Mercy, and officers and engineers with
Mercy Ships can gain experience and nautical expertise onboard
Costa Group ships.
Other philanthropic initiatives and partnerships between
Carnival Corporation, its cruise line brands and local and global
organizations highlighted in the 2017 sustainability report
include:
- Smithsonian National Museum of African American History
& Culture: $2 million gift
over a five-year period
- Big Brothers Big Sisters: $5
million gift over a five-year period
- Nature Conservancy: $2.5
million gift over a five-year period, and sponsorship of
their Mapping Ocean Wealth initiative, which was awarded the World
Travel and Tourism Council's 2017 Innovation Award in the Tourism
for Tomorrow program
About Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival
Corporation & plc is the world's largest leisure travel
company and among the most profitable and financially strong in the
cruise and vacation industries, with a portfolio of 10 dynamic
brands that include nine of the world's leading cruise lines. With
operations in North America, Australia, Europe and
Asia, its portfolio features
Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America
Line, Seabourn, P&O Cruises (Australia), Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises,
P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard, as well as Fathom, the
corporation's immersion and enrichment experience brand.
Together, the corporation's cruise lines operate 103 ships with
234,000 lower berths visiting over 700 ports around the world, with
18 new ships scheduled to be delivered between 2018 and
2023. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates
Holland America Princess Alaska Tours, the leading tour company in
Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. Traded on both the New
York and London Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation
& plc is the only group in the world to be included in
both the S&P 500 and the FTSE 100 indices.
In 2017, Fast Company recognized Carnival Corporation as being
among the "Top 10 Most Innovative Companies" in both the design and
travel categories. Fast Company specifically recognized Carnival
Corporation for its work in developing Ocean Medallion™, a
high-tech wearable device that enables the world's first
interactive guest experience platform capable of transforming
vacation travel into a highly personalized and elevated level of
customized service.
Additional information can be found on www.carnival.com,
www.princess.com, www.hollandamerica.com, www.seabourn.com,
www.pocruises.com.au, www.costacruise.com, www.aida.de,
www.pocruises.com, www.cunard.com, and www.fathom.org
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