Carnival Corp has Ocean Plastics Leadership Network (OPLN) as a charter member.
OPLN is a new global community of retailers, brands, non-governmental organisations and alliances committed to sharing best practices, developing scientific breakthroughs and new business models, and working to develop new approaches, innovations and solutions-based projects to address the impacts of plastic waste.
As part of the company’s implementation of broader environmental initiatives, Carnival recently announced a series of actions being undertaken by each of its nine cruise line brands, including significantly reducing its purchase and consumption of non-essential single-use plastics by the end of 2021.
The effort to dramatically reduce single-use plastics across its brands is part of an expansion of Operation Oceans Alive, the corporation’s programme to further its ongoing commitment to achieve and sustain environmental compliance and excellence.
Carnival Corp and its brands already have plans under way, including initiatives to reduce or eliminate plastic straws, cups, lids and bags, among other single-use items. The brands are also working to potentially eliminate individual servings of select packaged food items and other single-use plastics or decorative items used in food and beverage service as well as in staterooms.
Through the ongoing efforts, the company’s brands reduced the procurement of single-use plastics by 80 mill items last year while also reducing 95 mill other single-use items, as compared to 2018.
OPLN was officially launched this month with the introduction of its online community and leadership network available at OceanPlasticsLeadershipNetwork.com, an online repository of industry news, tools and research to promote and advance innovative solutions, projects and ideas from experts and advocates that will lead to collectively working to reduce plastic waste.
“Our most important priorities are to operate safely, protect the environment and to be compliant everywhere we operate in the world,” said Roger Frizzell, Carnival Corp’s chief communications officer. “Becoming a charter member of the Ocean Plastics Leadership Network is another important step in the many environmental compliance efforts that are under way across the company.”
“The Ocean Plastics Leadership Network will provide an amazing platform for knowledge-sharing, creating amazing first hand experiences and working together to achieve real change,” said Dave Ford, CEO of SoulBuffalo, the organiser and founder of OPLN. “Companies like Carnival Corp coming on board will be such an integral step to having this organisation be relevant and effective.”
In addition to being a charter member of OPLN, Carnival recently joined the Getting to Zero Coalition, an alliance of organisations across the maritime, energy, infrastructure and finance sectors committed to accelerating shipping’s de-carbonisation.
This global coalition will work toward the maritime industry’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from shipping through innovation and advancement, aspiring to having commercially viable zero emission deepsea vessels (ZEVs) entering the global shipping fleet as early as 2030.
Its goal also includes scalable infrastructure for zero-carbon energy sources, including production, distribution, storage and bunkering.
