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Carnival Corporation & plc has announced its 2020 sustainability goals, which the cruise operator says reinforces its "commitment to the environment, guests, employees and communities".

Carnival has established 10 major goals for reducing its environmental footprint over the next five years, which includes reducing carbon dioxide emissions from its operations, installing exhaust gas cleaning systems and increasing its cold ironing capacity. Details of the fuel-related initiatives have been included below.

Reducing carbon dioxide emissions

After meeting its initial goal a year ahead of schedule, Carnival has renewed its goal to continue reducing the rate of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 25 percent from its 2005 baseline. This renewed goal for 2020 extends the company's initiative to further reduce the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs).

As part of the effort, the company and its 10 global brands have developed strategic energy reduction and conservation initiatives, many of which exceed current laws and regulations.

One such initiative is Carnival's recent announcement that its four next-generation cruise ships for Costa Cruises and AIDA Cruises will be the first in the industry to be powered at sea by liquefied natural gas (LNG).

These new ships will use LNG to generate 100 percent of the ship's power both in port and on the open sea – an innovation that is designed to significantly reduce exhaust emissions to help protect the environment and support sustainability initiatives... as well as reducing fuel costs.

Additionally, when AIDAprima launches in 2016, it will be the first cruise ship in the world that has a dual-fuel engine for an energy supply with LNG while in port, along with a connection to shoreside power and an extensive filter system for the treatment of exhaust.

Install exhaust gas cleaning systems

As part of Carnival's commitment to improving the quality of its air emissions from its shipboard operations, it has made a $400 million investment to develop, deploy and operate exhaust gas cleaning systems - also known as 'scrubbers' - that reduce sulphur compounds and particular matter from the ships' engine exhaust.

As announced in September 2013, Carnival pioneered an industry-first effort to adapt a land-based exhaust gas cleaning technology to use on its ships. Carnival's system combines two technologies that have been used in land-based applications, such as power plants and factories to clean - or 'scrub' - engine exhaust. For the first time, this system is being developed to accommodate restricted spaces on existing ships.

Increase cold ironing capacity

Carnival's goal is to increase the number of its ships with cold ironing capability - which allows ships to connect to a port's electrical grid as the in-port power source. While only six ports in the world currently have the infrastructure to allow cruise ships to do so, being able to connect to shore power will reduce air emissions while ships are in port.

Each of the company's 18 new ships entering service between 2015 and 2022 will be more efficient and sustainable than existing ships in the fleet and will include onboard advanced waste water purification systems, exhaust gas cleaning technology and cold ironing capabilities, Carnival says.

Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation, remarked in a statement: "Across our 10 brands, we host millions of guests a year and visit 725 ports of call around the world, and the health and vitality of the oceans, seas and communities through which we travel is absolutely essential to our business. That makes protecting the environment one of our most critical areas of focus as a corporation, and it is why it is important for us to publicly communicate our sustainability goals."

"All of our 120,000 employees not only take great pride in making sure our guests have the vacation of a lifetime, but we are all deeply committed to protecting the oceans and seas, which is where many of our employees live and work for a good part of the year. We have a strong track record of environmental stewardship, and we remain more committed than ever to improving our performance, while ensuring we operate our entire business in the most sustainable way possible."

Image: Carnival Pride.