Royal Caribbean and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) announced they have set new sustainability goals to reduce Royal Caribbean's environmental footprint, raise awareness about ocean conservation among the cruising guests and support WWF's global oceans conservation work by 2020.

Royal Caribbean initially targetedon reducing carbon emissions and ensuring sustainable seafood procurement, and now is now announcing additional 2020 environmental sustainability targets.

This second phase will focus not only on RCL’s direct operations, such as the development of sustainable sourcing strategies for key soft commodities, but also on the sustainability of the company’s tour operators and destinations. This will be done through the endorsement of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s standard, an internationally recognized travel industry sustainability standard.

These new targets include:

 Additional Sustainable Seafood Procurement 2020 Targets

• Obtain MSC and ASC Chain of Custody certification for Royal Caribbean’s global fleet of ships to ensure seafood marked as MSC or ASC certified is traceable to a certified fishery or farm.
• Eliminate the procurement of highly vulnerable species, including shark fin, identified by WWF utilizing IUCN and CITES rankings.
• Publically adopt the “WWF Traceability Principles for Wild-Caught Fish Products”

 Key Commodity Procurement 2020 Target

• By the end of 2016, conduct an analysis of key food commodity categories in order to identify and prioritize commodities with the highest environmental impact.
• Using this analysis, develop strategies to improve sustainable sourcing practices by 2020.

Global Tour Operations 2020 Target

• RCL endorses the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) standards and its certification framework for sustainable tourism.
• RCL will publicly recognize current tours that are verified against a GSTC-recognized sustainability standard. In addition, RCL will indicate which tours are verified to this standard and will categorize all of these tours under “sustainable tours” so that consumers can view our range of “sustainable” offerings.
• Starting in 2016, RCL will educate key staff by updating RCL’s Operations Manual for Tour Operators with GSTC standard and certification process and organizing supportive trainings.
• By the end of 2017, RCL will include educational information in the request for proposal bid invitations regarding RCL’s commitment to the GSTC standard and certified operators.
• By the end of 2018, RCL is committed to leveraging our influence in the marketplace to conserve and protect natural and cultural resources. As a cornerstone of our responsible tour sourcing policy, RCL will give preference to tours that are GSTC certified and to those that have made progress towards certification, when quality, price, and availability are equal.
• Investigate the option to offset carbon emissions, through WWF Gold Standard projects, for RCL shore excursions.
• By the end of 2019, all “sustainable tours” offered by RCL will be provided by GSTC certified operators and RCL will categorize all tours by GSTC certified operators under a sustainability designation so that consumers can search for and readily identify these options.
• By the end of 2020, RCL will increase the number of sustainable tours offered to guests by certifying 1,000 RCL tours by GSTC certified operators.

Destination Stewardship 2020 Target

• Beginning in 2016, RCL will support up to three WWF ocean tourism and coastal conservation projects per year to advance ongoing conservation efforts and continue to drive sustainability within the tourism industry.
• By the end of 2017, working with partners such as WWF GSTC, RCL will support the implementation of GSTC’s destination assessment in two destinations, as well as RCL private destinations, to identify sustainability and environmental threats and develop corrective action plans in concert with destination managers and local stakeholders.
• By 2018, RCL will set a target for RCL private destinations to become GSTC certified to the applicable GSTC standard.
• WWF and RCL will continue to pursue alignment with WWF ocean conservation priorities and WWF’s Marine and Coastal Tourism Strategy.

Royal Caribbean announced that it was joining 16 other companies and the U.S. Wildlife Trafficking Alliance (USWTA) in a pledge to crack down on wildlife trafficiking and educate consumers on the dangers trafficking poses to animals around the world.

Royal Caribbean is joining the cause by building awareness of wildlife crime and influencing buying behavior through the education of its 60,000 crew members and upwards of 5 million travelers annually. The cruise line also will work to identify and eliminate any indirect sale of products and souvenirs made from illegal wildlife products, through its on board shopping vendors and suppliers.

The illegal wildlife trade not only threatens the survival of many species in the wild but generates approximately $10 billion per year in illegal profits for sophisticated criminal syndicates that are masterminding the killing, transport and marketing of illegal wildlife products.

These commitments are part of a broader effort towards sustainability by Royal Caribbean.  As part of its environmental stewardship program, Save the Waves, and global partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF), RCL will work towards ensuring that its ships, operations, suppliers, and vendors are not indirectly promoting illegal wildlife products, and has committed to removing high risk seafood species from their procurement.

Royal Caribbean and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) announced today a five-year global partnership to help ensure the long-term health of the oceans.

The partners will set measurable and achievable sustainability targets that will reduce Royal Caribbean’s environmental footprint, raise awareness about ocean conservation among the company’s more than five million guests, and support WWF’s global oceans conservation work..

The targets announced today focus on supply chain sustainability and emissions reductions through 2020. Royal Caribbean and WWF also are working together to develop targets aimed at strengthening the company’s sustainable sourcing strategy and its destination stewardship and sustainable tour operations platforms.

Royal Caribbean and the WWF have developed a new 2020 environmental sustainability target that includes

• Carbon Emissions 2020 Target
  • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 35 percent by 2020.
• Sustainable Seafood 2020 Target
  • Responsibly source 90% of its wild-caught seafood by volume from MSC certified sustainable fisheries, fisheries in full assessment for MSC certification, comprehensive Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs), and/or sourced from International Seafood Sustainability Association (ISSA) member companies.
  • In North America and Europe operations, responsibly source 75% of its farmed seafood by volume from ASC certified responsible farms, farms in full assessment for ASC certification, and/or comprehensive aquaculture improvement projects.
  • In addition, by June 30, 2016, RCL will set specific traceability goals with targets for obtaining MSC and ASC chain of custody.

In addition, Royal Caribbean and WWF have agreed to develop and announce new targets by June 30 that will address destination stewardship. As part of this, WWF and RCL will collaborate to strengthen RCL’s destination sustainability assessment and selection process.

Royal Caribbean also will financially support WWF’s global ocean conservation work through a $5 million philanthropic contribution during the partnership, and will collaborate with WWF to build global awareness about ocean conservation issues among its millions of passengers.

The organizations made their announcement at an event in Donsol, Sorsogon, Philippines that is home to a model community-based ecotourism program. At the event, RCL also made a separate, $200,000 donation to WWF Philippines in support of conservation programs in the Donsol area.

Photo by John Roberts

Royal Caribbean Chairman and CEO Richard Fain commented on the partnership, "Our mantra at Royal Caribbean is ‘Continuous Improvement,’ and this partnership with WWF represents a great opportunity to make a big step forward in meeting our special responsibility to protect the oceans. It is also gratifying to see that our determination to make a meaningful difference is shared by our employees and our guests. This new partnership aligns all of us at RCL with WWF’s mission to conserve the world’s oceans. Together we are setting aggressive goals and together we will start implementing them right away."

Royal Caribbean Cruise Ltd released its 2014 Sustainability Report, which documents the Company's commitment to environmental stewardship and showcases improved efficiencies across its fleet.

Royal Caribbean highlighted in its report the delivery of its Quantum-class ships, the expansion of its Advanced Emissions Purification program and its plans to update its Save the Waves goals into the next decade.

Royal Caribbean has looked to emerging tech, such as RCL's air lubrication system, which creates a reduced friction layer of billions of microscopic air bubbles on a ship's hull, have helped Royal Caribbean launch some of the lowest-emission ships in the industry. RCL's new Quantum-class ships, for example, emit about 20 percent less carbon dioxide than previous designs.

One interesting success was Royal Caribbean's Florida-based ships achieved a major milestone of not landing anything to a traditional landfill and a 114 percent increase in waste recycled across the fleet.​

"At Royal Caribbean, we are working to ensure that sustainability remains at the heart of our business," said Richard D. Fain, Chairman and CEO, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. "We bring 5,000,000 guests to nearly 500 ports around the world every year, and we understand the need to act responsibly towards the oceans that we sail and the places we visit. Our mantra is continuous improvement and we constantly strive to find new and better ways to meet those goals."​

For the second year, the Company developed its sustainability report in accordance with the internationally recognized GRI G4 guidelines. Additional highlights from the report include:

• 2014 greenhouse gas emissions are 21.4 percent lower than the 2005 baseline.
• Royal Caribbean International became the first cruise line to launch a specialized autism initiative, in collaboration with Autism of the Seas, to make the ships a more welcoming environment for autistic guests and their families.
• The company increased responsible local sourcing in Europe, Asia and Australia and New Zealand, with a 20 percent increase in Australia and New Zealand.
• RCL also received a first-ever certification from RAINN, the largest anti-sexual violence organization in the United States, recognizing the company's professionalism in preventing and responding to security incidents.

Royal Caribbean announced today changes to its Safety, Environment and Health Team as the head of the department plans for his retirement.

Gary Bald, Senior Vice President, Safety, Security, Environment, Medical/Public Health and Situation Management for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., will transition his duties to top corporate and federal security executiveJennifer Love as he prepares for his retirement in the Spring of 2016.  Love will join Royal Caribbean on September 28, 2015.

Bald has worked for Royal Caribbean since 2006 and in his time, has overseen the company's environmental practices as well as the safety, security and health of the company's 62,000 employees, more than five million guests annually.

Replacing Bald is Jennifer Love, who has spent nearly 25 years at the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Most recently, Love was in charge of the enterprise-wide security programs and process for the Cablevision Systems Corporation and served as the company's chief liaison to local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.

"Gary has been a key figure in the development of Royal Caribbean's approach to safety, environment and health, and an important leader who has made significant contributions to the entire cruise industry," said Adam Goldstein, President and COO, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.  "Gary's leadership has enhanced the safety and security of our guests, crew and employees.  We are privileged to have had Gary at Royal Caribbean"

Goldstein added: "We are very excited to have Jennifer Love join our team.  I am confident Jennifer's skills and expertise will build on our momentum and take our company to even greater advances in our preparedness, procedures and systems."

Environmental Officers on each of the ships on Royal Caribbean's fleet are focused everyday on staying above and beyond compliance with environmental standards. Discover what these officers do on a day-to-day basis to further the cruise line's dedication to the environment.

Royal Caribbean has embarked upon an environmental initiative to reduce its cruise ship emissions by 2017, called Advanced Emissions Purification (AEP).

The program is underway and scheduled for completion in 2017 and will see the installation of so-called exhaust “scrubbers” on 13 Royal Caribbean ships.

Put most simply, AEP works by spraying diesel exhaust with fine mist from a ring of water jets. As the mist combines with sulphur dioxide it creates sulphuric acid. In a happy coincidence, seawater is naturally alkaline so it neutralizes the sulphuric acid to a degree that meets strict water discharge standards after the wastewater is centrifuged to remove toxic particulates.

In some of the areas where RCL ships sail, alkaline levels in the seawater are too low to be effective. So the company opted for hybrid AEP systems allowing ships to switch as necessary between an “open loop” of untreated seawater to a “closed loop” system that boosts alkalinity with the addition of caustic soda.

The work will be done on some ships during scheduled drydocks and on others while the ship is in service.

The AEP systems being installed are manufactured by Wärtsilä of Finland and Alfa Laval of Sweden.

Royal Caribbean has signed a deal with Alfa Laval to provide Royal Caribbean ships exhaust gas cleaning systems known as scrubbers.

Freedom of the Seas, Independence of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas will each receive a hybrid scrubber with multiple inlets, while Adventure of the Seas will receive an inline hybrid with one main engine connected.

The Alfa Laval PureSOx exhaust gas cleaning system is gaining ground in the cruise ship market. Following a lengthy selection and qualification process, four PureSOx scrubbers have been ordered by Royal Caribbean. Three of these will be PureSOx 2.0 systems as presented at SMM 2014, while the fourth will be the first test inline version of PureSOx. 

Royal Caribbean Executive Vice President, Maritime Harri Kulovaara, commented on the deal, “SOx scrubber systems are part of our commitment to meeting or exceeding important environmental standards, as they allow compliance even where low-sulphur fuels have limited availability,” says . “We chose Alfa Laval and PureSOx on the basis of strong references, a strong technical platform and a strong willingness to cooperate in implementing the technology on our vessels.” 

Royal Caribbean will start using shore power when their ships dock in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, reducing at-berth emissions by allowing the ships to shut down diesel generators while in port.

The advantage of using shore power is it reduces marine diesel air emissions by allowing ships to shut down their engines and connect to BC Hydro’s electrical grid while at dock.

Royal Caribbean is joining other cruise lines such as Disney, Holland America and Princess who are already using shore power at Port Metro Vancouver.

"Since its inception in 2009, shore power connections in Vancouver have reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by more than 11,000 tonnes," said PMV.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Coast Goard authorized formal exemptions to Royal Caribbean that will give the cruise line time to develop and install exhaust gas scrubber systems on its cruise ships. 

Royal Caribbean announced earlier this week it was adding the scrubbers to 13 of its cruise ships from the current base of six ships that have the technology.

Royal Caribbean’s research program has developed exhaust gas scrubber technology that has the potential to provide greater emission reductions than would be achieved using only ECA compliant low-sulfur fuel, and at a much lower cost.  Under this research program extension, a total of 13 Royal Caribbean ships covering a range of vessel sizes and applications will begin using these scrubbers starting in 2015.

These permits provide a temporary relief from the ECA’s fuel sulfur content requirements. This approach will enable Royal Caribbean to meet its emission requirements through exhaust gas scrubber technology, rather than with engine and fuel system modifications

This advanced emission control technology will be used in waters surrounding U.S. coasts, known as Emission Control Areas (ECAs). Because emissions from ocean-going vessels can harm air quality on land, the U.S. government requires ships operating within the North American and U.S. Caribbean ECAs to reduce harmful air pollution emissions such as nitrogen oxide, sulfur oxide, and particulate matter. The ECAs were developed by the United States and Canada through an agreement with the International Maritime Organization in order to protect human health and the environment by significantly reducing air pollution from ocean-going vessels. EPA estimates that by 2020 the low sulfur ECA requirements will have prevented as many as 14,000 premature deaths and relieved respiratory symptoms for nearly 5 million people in the United States and Canada.