The Carnival Cruise line Corporation has released their annual sustainability report, detailing the industry’s global initiatives, goals, and forward momentum towards their environmental, social, and governmental ideals. The report outlines the progress the corporation has already achieved towards their goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, and designing a circular economy model within their waste production chain.
“Our future depends on us being good corporate citizens and stewards of the environment, because without the incredible communities, healthy marine ecosystems, and scenic spaces we operate in, it would be impossible to deliver unforgettable happiness to our guests through extraordinary cruise vacations,” stated CEO and Chief Climate Officer for Carnival Corporation, Josh Weinstein.
Despite raising their passenger quantity on their fleet, Carnival still remains the only cruise line that has reduced their GHG emissions since 2011. Because of their substantial efforts, they are on track to reducing 40% in carbon intensity by 2030, compared to 2008. The report categorizes their progress through four main areas of focus – fleet optimization, energy efficiency, itinerary efficiency, and new technologies and alternative fuels. These strategies are expected to collectively reduce fuel consumption and emissions per available lower berth day (ALBD) by 15% this year [2023] in relation to the 2019 met achievements. ALBD’s are a standard way to measure passenger capacity onboard a ship to determine cruise revenue, expenses, and other non-capacity driven factors and operations.
Carnival has displayed the other decarbonization highlights from their 2022 report year – investments in energy efficient solutions, pioneered efforts into new technologies and alternative fuels, and the drive to shrink the corporation’s food print. Liquefied natural gas, bio cells, and biofuels are new power and fuel alternatives piloting the ship towards sustainability. They are also installing and accommodating each room with eco-friendly upgrades, such as LED lights, dual speed options on pumps and fans, and HVAC automation. These new alterations are expected to save the corporation $100 million in annual fuel costs. Their initial set goal of reducing food waste by 30% per passenger by 2022 has now been increased to 40% per passenger by 2025. These subtle yet significant increases in cumulative reduction rates can be astronomical when looking at the bigger picture for each ship’s sustainability.
“As the global leader in the cruise industry, we are setting the pace with the industry’s smartest solutions for sustainable cruising that will help deliver on our aggressive roadmap to reduce our carbon impact, maximize our use of resources and further enhance our operations to be even more efficient by 2030,” stated Weinstein.
