Carnival Corp. tracks 2022 sustainability advances

These efforts will 'help deliver on our aggressive road map to reduce our carbon impact, maximize our use of resources and further enhance our operations to be even more efficient by 2030,' said Josh Weinstein, CEO and chief climate officer, Carnival Corp. He added: 'Our future depends on us being good corporate citizens and stewards of the environment ...'

In 2022, when nearly 100% of its fleet returned to service, Carnival achieved milestones in the key areas of decarbonization, food waste and single-use plastic reduction, as detailed its 'Sustainable from Ship to Shore' report, available here. 

20% reduction in carbon intensity by 2030 versus 2019

Last year the company revised its carbon intensity reduction goals for 2030 to measure from a 2019 baseline, instead of 2008.

Carnival is producing fewer greenhouse gas emissions today than in 2011, despite adding capacity since that time. The company is on track to achieve a 40% reduction in carbon intensity by 2030 versus 2008, and a 20% reduction in carbon intensity by 2030 versus 2019, resulting from momentum in its four-part decarbonization strategy: fleet optimization, energy efficiency, itinerary efficiency and new technologies/alternative fuels.

Collectively, these initiatives are expected to drive a 15% reduction in fuel consumption per available lower berth day (ALBD) in 2023, along with a 15% reduction in emissions per ALBD, both relative to 2019.

Additionally, Carnival completed its first inventory of Scope 3 'value-chain' emissions associated with purchased goods and services, fuel and energy distribution/delivery and waste management, among others. Using the GHG Protocol standard, in the future, Carnival will track these emissions annually versus a full-year 2019 operations baseline.

Technology upgrades

Other 2022 decarbonization efforts included investing in energy-efficient solutions such as technology upgrades with the rollout of Service Power Packages including LED lighting, HVAC automation and variable speed drives on pumps and fans for an average 5% fuel consumption savings per ship. These initiatives are expected to generate over $100m in annual fuel cost savings upon completion.

Shore power and air lubrication systems

Some 57% of Carnival's fleet is now able to 'plug in' to reduce emissions and noise in ports where connections to electric power are available.

Air lubrication systems were added to more ships to help them glide on air bubbles, reducing friction by about 5%, cutting fuel consumption and emissions. Five ships have the systems, they're being installed on six more, and eight newbuilds will have them.

Battery and fuel cell testing/future fuels

Carnival continues to lead the cruise sector when it comes to LNG with eight LNG-capable ships in service and three more on order to account for 20% of fleet capacity by 2025.

The company is piloting the world’s largest battery installation on a passenger ship with a first-of-its-kind lithium-ion battery storage system on AIDAprima and pioneering a new generation of power with fuel cell technology using methanol-derived hydrogen on AIDAnova.

Carnival is also piloting biofuels as a replacement for fossil fuel with successful trials on AIDAprima and Holland America Line’s Volendam.

The company is part of the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, Getting to Zero Coalition and Methane Abatement in Maritime Innovation Initiative, among others.

Circular economy

Carnival continued efforts to create a circular economy to use fewer resources, produce less waste and maximize recycling.

In 2022 the company reduced per-passenger food waste by more than 30% versus 2019 and established a new goal to cut food waste by 40% per person by 2025.

Carnival leads the cruise industry with more than 600 food biodigesters installed on ships. The company is also installing more than 25 dehydrators across the fleet to remove excess water from leftover food, reducing waste volume by upwards of 90%.

The company has reduced single-use plastic by more than 50%, removing over 500m single-use items since 2018 and replacing items with sustainable alternatives.

Carnival continued collaborating with supply chain partners on sustainable product strategies, such as purchasing products in bulk instead of buying single-use containers and reducing packaging volumes.

Diversity and inclusion

In addition to environmental efforts, Carnival said it continued cultivating a workforce mirroring the diversity of the 700 ports and destinations it visits worldwide. Of the 800 top-performing global employers listed in Forbes' 2022 World’s Best Employers for talent development, gender equality and social responsibility, Carnival and TUI Group were the only cruise companies.

Carnival also was named one of the World’s Top Female-Friendly Companies.

The company employs 160,000.