Carnival Corp has declared that in 2017 the company achieved its 25% carbon reduction goal three years ahead of schedule and is on track with its nine other 2020 sustainability goals.
This was revealed in the Group’s eighth sustainability report for 2017 -’Sustainability from Ship to Shore,’ which was developed in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative format.
Looking to the future, the company said that it 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 toward 2030.
Carnival Corporation first revealed its 2020 sustainability goals in 2015, identifying 10 objectives that included 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, realising the following environmental advancements by the end of 2017:
⦁ Carbon Footprint: Achieved 26.3% reduction in CO2e relative to 2005 baseline.
⦁ Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems (EGCS): 62% 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% of fleet equipped with capability to use shoreside electric power while the ship is docked.
⦁ Advanced Waste Water Purification Systems (AWWPS): Increased coverage of fleet-wide capacity by 6.2% from a 2014 baseline. Together, the company’s standard and AWWPS systems meet and/or exceed water treatment requirements established by the IMO, and national and local authorities.
⦁ Waste Reduction: Reduced non-recycled waste generated by shipboard operations by 3.7% relative to 2016 baseline, and sent 79% of the US 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% relative to 2010 baseline, to a rate of 60 gallons per person per day, compared to the US national average of 90 gallons per person per day.
As part of the company’s commitment to reducing air emissions and improving air quality in the ports and ecosystems it visits, Carnival Corp invested in two environmental initiatives – EGCS and LNG.
In 2017, Carnival welcomed the second cruise ship in the world able to be powered by LNG while in port, as dual-fuelled ‘AIDAperla’ began LNG operations when docked in three European ports. She is the sister ship to dual-fuelled ‘AIDAprima’, which was delivered in 2016.
In December, 2018, ‘AIDAnova’ will start her 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 Corp ships generating 100% 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 expanded its LNG partnership with Shell Western LNG to North American ports. Shell will supply fuel for the two LNG-powered cruise ships on order for Carnival Cruise Line, both of which will be homeported in North America when they enter service in 2020 and 2022.
In 2017, Carnival Corp began construction in Miami on the third of its three Fleet Operations Centeres. 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 range of energy consumption measurements are analysed 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 on board every ship in Carnival Corp’s fleet.
In 2017, a week long, fleet-wide global training programme was implemented for senior crew members. The required annual training course, conducted at Carnival Corporation’s CSMART Academy at its Arison Maritime Centre in the Netherlands, is designed to further develop environmental and technical expertise for the more than 200 environmental officers who support the fleet.
