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