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Cutting greenhouse gas emissions key in Carnival Corp. sustainability goals

Cutting greenhouse gas emissions key in Carnival Corp. sustainability goals
Carnival Corp. & plc's newly released 2014 Sustainability Report highlights 10 goals for reducing the company's environmental footprint over the next five years, while enhancing the health, safety and security of its passengers and crew, and ensuring sustainable business practices among its brands, business partners and suppliers.

Three of the 10 goals focus on exhaust gas cleaning systems, increasing cold ironing capacity and further reducing the intensity of equivalent carbon dioxide (CO2e) or greenhouse gas emissions.

Carnival announced in November 2014 it had met its corporate goal to reduce its rate of CO2e emissions from shipboard operations by 20% a year ahead of schedule. The company renewed its goal to continue reducing the rate of CO2e emissions by 25% from its 2005 baseline.

Four next-generation ships to be built for Costa Cruises and AIDA Cruises will be the first in the industry powered at sea by LNG, the cleanest burning fossil fuel. The ships will use LNG to generate 100% of power needs both in port and at sea.

In 2014, Carnival released its Business Partner Code of Conduct and Ethics to help business partners within the supply chain comply with expectations for legal and ethical behavior. This includes labor and human rights, environmental protection, business integrity and health, safety and security.

In June 2014, the Carnival Foundation designated a donation of $2.5m over a five-year period to The Nature Conservancy. This will accelerate coral reef restoration initiatives, enhance the value of marine ecosystem services through the Mapping Ocean Wealth program and continue to advance science to help reduce risks to coastal communities from storms and rising sea levels.

In June 2015, the company introduced Fathom, a new brand built on activities and programs that enable cruisers to make a sustainable impact in the communities visited.

Additional highlights of the 2014 report include designing and developing an industry-first Maritime Security Training Program in the Philippines in 2013 and 2014. The program was launched in January 2015. Corporate security standards require all new security guards to attend the certified training program prior to joining a company ship.

A focus on hiring and retaining a team of diverse, highly motivated and engaged employees was identified as a key factor in delivering vacations that exceed expectations. The company placed a number of executives into new roles during the year, including five brand presidents and several executive operations and staff roles. 

During 2014, Carnival carried more than 10.6m passengers across 100 ships. More than 3.4m of them were cruising for the first time.

The full 2014 Sustainability Report can be downloaded here.