Royal Caribbean… Makes Cruising Greener

Last Week the world’s second largest cruise operator (Royal Caribbean) released its 2009 Stewardship Report.  This report covers a variety of different topics such as environmental, medical, security and public health efforts of Royal Caribbean International and its two other lines; Azamara and Celebrity Cruises.

The short of it is that Royal Caribbean was able to cut fuel consumption by 3.7 percent.  This improvement is due in large part to smarter sailing practices, better ship design and a better focus on energy efficiency measures.  They beat there year over year reduction goal which was 2 percent this was the result of using about 30,000 metric tons less fuel than what was planned.

When we think of fuel normally we think of ship propulsion however Royal Caribbean was able to exceed their goal by not only sailing more efficiently but by using more efficient HVAC practices.  Additionally they were able to refine some aspects of the hotel and lodging part of the equation to realize further savings.  Some of the measures which were taken include:

• Installing heat reducing solar film on all windows a measure which lessens the need for air conditioning.
• They replaced inefficient incandescent and halogen bulbs with newer LEDs and CFLs
• They replaced their old fresh water manufacturing systems with more advanced higher-efficiency systems.  These systems are able provide the same amount of water by using 35 percent less electricity.

Royal Caribbean also re-used or recycled 21 percent more material than it did the prior year.  This allowed them to reduce the amount of waste taken ashore by 9 percent.

Royal Caribbean has set a goal of reducing fuel consumption by a minimum of 2.5 percent each year.  Royal Caribbean also stated that the reduction goal could be raised depending on which new technologies develop.

The next step in hitting their aggressive goal is to install high-tech clean wastewater systems throughout the entire fleet.  In a business environment where companies are constantly looking to save a buck, Royal Caribbean is investing over 150 million dollars in a fleet-wide installation of Advanced Wastewater Purification systems.  These systems can clean wastewater to a level which is twice as clean as the United States standard.

The cruise industry often comes under fire by environmentalist groups; with incidents like accidental waste dumping this is probably deserved.  However, it is good to see that Royal Caribbean is at the forefront of an effort to reduce the industries strain on the environment.  Hopefully the industry as a whole will follow Royal Caribbean’s lead and become just as vigilant.

Related posts:

1. TIC Examines: The Royal Caribbean Alcohol Policy
2. Royal Caribbean ‘s Controversial New Menu Item
3. Shedding Light on Royal Caribbean’s New Room Service Fee
4. Royal Caribbean Softens Stance On Past Guest Perks
5. Royal Caribbean’s New Pricing Policy

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