By
Rebecca Gibson |
Carnival Corporation & plc has reduced its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 20% a year ahead of schedule, according to its 2013 Sustainability Report.
Earlier this year, Carnival Corporation revealed it expected to reach its 20% reduction goal by 2015, after it decreased its rate of greenhouse gas emissions from shipboard operations by 19% since 2005.
“At Carnival Corporation we believe that sustainability is about preserving our environment, respecting our employees and communities and returning value to our shareholders,” said Bill Burke, chief maritime officer for Carnival Corporation. “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 and we continue to make major progress and are committed to maintaining our leadership in sustainability and setting industry standards for corporate citizenship.”
To meet its corporate CO2 sustainability goal, Carnival Corporation and its nine global brands have developed various energy reduction and conservation initiatives and invested up to US$700 million to improve its ships and operations. The company’s multi-year Fleet Fuel Conservation Program is designed to help the company save more than one billion gallons of fuel and reduced fleet carbon emissions by 12 billion kilograms over a seven-year period, the programme will also improve the fleet’s overall fuel efficiency by 24% compared to 2007. It will also help to save US$2.5 billion in fuel costs, the company’s single biggest expense.
As a part of its air emission reduction initiatives announced in September 2013, Carnival pioneered an industry-first effort to develop exhaust gas cleaning technology, called ECO-EGC, which combines advanced scrubber technology and diesel particulate filters to remove sulphur compounds and substantially reduce black carbon from exhaust gases while ships are at sea, during manoeuvring and in port. Earlier this year, Carnival revealed it would invest US$400 million to design, build and install ECO-EGC systems to more than 70% of its fleet.
In addition, Carnival has driven significant improvements in fleet fuel efficiency by adding more than 30 newbuilds, with energy-saving innovations – such as computer-modelled hull designs and fuel-efficient propeller and engine combinations – since 2007. AIDA Cruises, one of Carnival’s ten brands, will operate the world’s first cruise ships with the Mitsubishi Air Lubrication Systems, which reduces drag and saves propulsion power. The system enables ships to glide on an air-bubble carpet, which is predicted to save 7% of the operating power.
In addition, 48 of Carnival’s 101 ships have advanced waste water treatment systems, which were installed voluntarily, while the company is carrying out further research to develop potential installations for new and existing ships.
Around 20% of Carnival’s fleet also feature vessel shore power systems, which enable the ships to connect to a port’s electrical grid, significantly reducing air emissions. Several vessels also have partial plug-in installations, which can be retrofitted to full installation if they are deployed on an itinerary where the port has the infrastructure and capacity for shore power connection. The company aims to expand the number of ships equipped for ‘cold ironing’.
In future, the company aims to improve engine room cooling equipment, audio and entertainment systems, galley/cooking appliances and laundry services.