Great green goals

The target is zero.

Today’s release of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.’s 2015 Sustainability Report details the company’s commitment to being the most environmentally responsible cruise company possible, including the completion of its ambitious 10-year Save the Waves® goals.

It’s all part of RCL’s never-ending efforts to search for every possible source of inefficiency and environmental pressure on its ships and find ways to improve or eliminate them. That includes working toward the day when RCL’s fleet contributes nothing – zero waste – to landfills in the ports it serves.

“At Royal Caribbean, we are working to put sustainability into the heart of our business,” says RCL Chairman and CEO Richard D. Fain. “We bring 5 million guests to nearly 500 ports around the world every year, and we understand our responsibility to do so in a way that protects the oceans that we sail every day. Our mantra is continuous improvement, and that especially applies to our environmental performance.”

The last decade of Save the Waves®, created in 1992, focused on goals for emissions and waste reduction, as bringing more shore excursions to an internationally recognized sustainability standard.

This period saw the building of the line’s most efficient vessels and the reduction of greenhouse gases by almost 25 percent. Last year, 17 RCL ships reported 100 percent of their waste was recycled or repurposed during certain itineraries.

The 2015 report also notes the expansion of the fleet’s Advanced Emissions Purification program, and highlights a new set of goals that will take the company into 2020 with its conservation partner, World Wildlife Fund.

The company’s sustainability goals and efforts have resulted in noteworthy achievements, among them:

• While the average American uses 100 gallons of water a day, RCL has applied a variety of technologies to cut daily water consumption to almost half that – an average of 55 gallons a day
• Industry-first software, seven years in the making, is optimizing ships’ speed, trim and routes to achieve top fuel efficiency
• RCL was named to the 2016 World’s Most Ethical Companies list – a distinction granted to only 130 companies in 21 countries
• The company has committed to sourcing only cage-free eggs and gestation crate-free pork by 2022

The full 2015 Sustainability Report may be viewed at www.RCLCorporate.com/Environment.