Carnival cuts CO2 emissions ahead of schedule

Cruise giant Carnival Corporation & plc has met its corporate goal to reduce its rate of CO2 emissions from shipboard operations by 20 percent – a year ahead of its initial plan, according to the
company’s 2013 Sustainability Report. To meet its corporate CO2 sustainability goal, Carnival Corporation and its nine global brands developed energy reduction and conservation initiatives, many of which exceed current laws and regulations,

Carnival said. The company’s brands include Carnival Cruise Lines, Cunard, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises and Seabourn in the U.S.; AIDA Cruises in Germany; Costa Cruises in Italy; and P&O Cruises (United Kingdom) and P&O Cruises (Australia). As a part of its air emission reduction initiatives announced in September 2013, Carnival pioneered an effort to develop exhaust gas cleaning technology, called ECO-EGC™, that removes pollutants from the exhaust gases at any operating condition of a ship – at sea, during maneuvering and in port.

Carnival Corporation is currently installing the systems on its fleet with plans for installations on more than 70 percent of its fleet. In addition to this initiative, Carnival and its nine brands introduced two new efficient ships Royal Princess and AIDAstel and are investing up to USD 700 million into the company’s ships and operations.

 Bill Burke, Chief Maritime Officer for Carnival Corporation said: “Today’s report details our progress towards both our goal to reduce emissions, and our ongoing commitment to being a responsible corporate citizen. For us, sustainability is a core part of how we conduct business.” In October, Carnival released the results of its multi-year Fleet Fuel Conservation Program that by the end of 2014 will have saved more than one billion gallons of fuel and reduced fleet carbon emissions by 12 billion kilograms over a seven year period. By that time, the program will also have improved the fleet’s overall fuel efficiency by 24 percent compared to 2007, while saving approximately USD 2.5 billion in fuel costs, the company’s single biggest expense, the company said.