Carnival Corp.announced a new partnership with renowned ocean explorer and life-long environmental advocate Jean-Michel Cousteau and his Ocean Futures Society, a nonprofit marine conservation and education organization that serves as a “Voice for the Ocean” on the importance of effective environmental and sustainability policy. In addition, Cousteau will provide valuable external expertise on environmental initiatives.
“We are all connected to the ocean in some way no matter where we live, and it is clear that the health and vitality of the world’s oceans depend on our collective global commitment to preserving the environment that we all share,” said Cousteau. “As we look to the future, we have a responsibility and opportunity to demonstrate the importance of the world’s oceans, while supporting and protecting them with sound environmental policies. We look forward to working with Carnival Corporation to further enhance its environmental initiatives, and we commend the company’s long-term commitment to environmental stewardship and excellence.”
“With over 120,000 dedicated employees, most of whom live and work at sea, our commitment to protecting and sustaining the oceans on which we sail and the communities we visit around the world is a top priority for our company,” said Roger Frizzell, chief communications officer for Carnival Corporation. “We enthusiastically welcome the Ocean Futures Society and Jean-Michel’s passion and insights to help us strengthen our efforts, along with the support of our employees and guests.”
In recent years, Carnival Corporation and its nine global cruise line brands have introduced several new environmental partnerships and initiatives.
Carnival Corporation recently announced that it will significantly reduce its purchase and consumption of non-essential single-use plastics by the end of 2021, as part of an expansion of Operation Oceans Alive, the corporation’s program to further its ongoing commitment to achieve and sustain environmental compliance, excellence and leadership.
The corporation and its nine cruise line brands already have plans underway, including initiatives to reduce or eliminate the purchase of plastic straws, cups, lids and bags, among other single-use items. The brands are also working to potentially eliminate providing individual servings of select packaged food items and other single-use plastics or decorative items used in food and beverage service as well as in staterooms.
Carnival Corporation’s namesake brand, Carnival Cruise Line, announced in July it is the first large-scale cruise operator to partner with Clean the World, a global health leader in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and sustainability dedicated to saving lives by recycling and distributing soap and other hygiene products to more than 127 countries.
Through this global sustainability program, the brand will collect nearly 40 tons of discarded soap each year from guest and crew staterooms throughout its fleet to be recycled into new soap bars and distributed to vulnerable communities worldwide. Together, Carnival Cruise Line and Clean the World will distribute more than 400,000 new, clean bars of soap to people in need across the globe each year. The new program has been rolled out across the brand’s entire North American fleet.
In addition to this North American initiative, the brand is also teaming with Soap Aid in Australia, a not-for-profit organization committed to saving children’s lives through improved hygiene while positively impacting the environment, to collect, recycle and donate soap to disadvantaged communities in the region and around the world.
Costa Cruises, the Italian brand of Carnival Corporation, has developed an integrated, all-encompassing program to reduce food waste by 50% onboard its fleet by 2020, 10 years ahead of the United Nations 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals. The 4GOODFOOD program considers every aspect of food preparation and consumption on board from procurement and meal preparation to surplus food management and distribution.
Through the program, Costa Cruises has implemented new models designed to prioritize and enhance the quality of food, education and training courses for crew and chefs, innovative technology tools and digitization of the galleys, and shipboard communications campaigns on responsible consumption, as well as reinvesting equivalent savings in quality food served and by supporting food gardens.
The program also includes an industry-first food donation project in which unserved prepared meals are donated to food banks in the local ports, which has now been replicated in nine ports in Italy, France, and Spain. In just over a year since the program was implemented across Costa Cruises’ fleet, the brand has achieved a 35% reduction in food waste on board.
These efforts, along with a series of others underway, support and strengthen Carnival Corporation’s long-term commitment to sustainability, responsible operations and protecting the environment, as outlined in its 2020 Sustainability Goals. More information about the company’s sustainability initiatives included in its 2018 sustainability report is available at CarnivalSustainability.com.
