MIAMI, Nov. 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival
Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's
largest travel and leisure company, has been identified as a leader
for the quality of climate change- related information that it has
disclosed to investors and the global marketplace through CDP, the
international nonprofit organization that drives sustainable
economies. Carnival Corporation has been awarded a position on the
FTSE 350 and the S&P 500 Climate Disclosure Leadership Index
(CDLI), recently released in the United
Kingdom and S&P editions of CDP's annual global climate
change reports. The news comes three weeks ahead of COP21, the UN climate change conference, when
national leaders meet to agree upon a global deal to reduce carbon
emissions and limit temperature warming.
At the request of 822 investors who represent $95 trillion in assets, thousands of companies
submit annual climate disclosures to CDP. Top scores indicate a
high level of transparency in the disclosure of climate
change-related information, providing investors with a level of
comfort to assess corporate accountability and preparedness for
changing market demands and emissions regulation.
"We have a focused commitment to the environment, our guests and
crew, and we are proud of achieving an exemplary score for our
corporate climate change transparency," said John Haeflinger, vice president, maritime policy
and analysis for Carnival Corporation. "Carnival Corporation hosts
over 10 million guests each year and visits over 725 ports of call
all around the world. Sustainability is a core guiding principle
for us as our business is dependent on healthy oceans and
communities. We continue our efforts to further reduce the
intensity of greenhouse emissions through a number of energy
reduction and conservation initiatives."
Carnival Corporation has earned its position on the index by
disclosing high quality carbon emissions and energy data through
CDP's climate change program. The reported data has been
independently assessed against CDP's scoring methodology and marked
out of 100. Those organizations graded within the top 10 percent
constitute the CDLI. Carnival Corporation received a score of
99.
"As the world looks beyond the Paris climate change negotiations and prepares
for a low carbon future, reliable information about how companies
are responding to the transition will be ever more valuable,"
said Paul Dickinson, executive chairman and co-founder of
CDP. "For this reason we congratulate those businesses that
have achieved a position on CDP's Climate Disclosure Leadership
Index."
In 2014, Carnival Corporation met its goal to reduce the
intensity of carbon dioxide (CO2e) emissions by 20
percent -- one year ahead of schedule. This year the company
announced its 2020 sustainability goals focused on reducing its
carbon footprint while enhancing the health, safety and security of
guests and crewmembers and ensuring sustainable business practices
across the 10 brands and business partners. Three of the 10 goals
focus on developing, deploying, and operating exhaust gas cleaning
systems, increasing cold ironing capacity and further reducing the
intensity of CO2e emissions.
Recently the company announced its four next-generation
cruise ships to be built for Costa Cruises and AIDA Cruises will be
the first in the industry to be powered at sea by Liquefied Natural
Gas (LNG), one of the world's cleanest burning fossil fuels.
Pioneering a new era in the use of low carbon fuels, 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 will significantly
reduce exhaust emissions to help protect the environment and
support overall sustainability initiatives.
As part of the company's commitment to improving the quality of
its air emissions from its shipboard operations, it has made
a $400 million investment in exhaust gas cleaning systems
that reduce sulfur compounds and particulate matter from the ships'
engine exhaust. As announced in September 2013, Carnival
Corporation pioneered an industry-first effort to adapt a proven
land-based exhaust gas cleaning technology to use on its ships.
Carnival Corporation's system combines two established technologies
that have been successfully used in land-based applications such as
power plants and factories to clean engine exhaust. For the first
time, this system is being developed to accommodate restricted
spaces on ships.
Additionally, Carnival Corporation's goal is to increase the
number of its ships with cold ironing capability commensurate with
future port capabilities – 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 reduces
air emissions, a benefit to improving air quality while ships are
in port.
Continuing the sustainability journey, Carnival Corporation's
newest brand Fathom is pioneering impact travel with purpose-driven
activities and programs that enable guests to make a real
sustainable impact on the communities it travels to.
About Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival
Corporation & plc is the largest cruise company in the world,
with a portfolio of 10 cruise brands in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, comprised of Carnival Cruise Line,
Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises,
Costa Cruises, Cunard, P&O Cruises (Australia), P&O Cruises (UK) and
Fathom.
Together, these brands will operate 100 ships in 2015 totaling
219,000 lower berths with 17 new ships scheduled to be delivered
between 2016 and 2022. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates
Holland America Princess Alaska Tours, the leading tour companies
in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon.
Traded on both the New York and
London Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & plc is the only
group in the world to be included in both the S&P 500 and the
FTSE 100 indices.
Additional information can be found on www.carnival.com,
www.hollandamerica.com, www.princess.com, www.seabourn.com,
www.aida.de, www.costacruise.com, www.cunard.com,
www.pocruises.com, www.pocruises.com.au and www.fathom.org.
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SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc