Carnival’s Fuel Savings Pay Dividends

Carnival Corporation cruise company has projected that by the end of 2014 it will have saved more than one billion gallons of fuel, and have reduced fleet carbon emissions by 12 billion kilograms through its Fleet Fuel Conservation Program started in 2007.

By the end of 2014, Carnival Corporation’s Fleet Fuel Conservation Program will have improved the fleet’s overall fuel efficiency by 24 percent compared to 2007, while saving approximately USD 2.5 billion in fuel costs, the company’s single biggest expense, according to a press release by Carnival.

Since cruise ships generate their own electricity from fuel, Carnival set out to uncover every feasible way to reduce on-board energy usage and launched several conservation initiatives since 2007 in the areas of propulsion, hull coatings, air conditioning, lighting, water production, education and training, etc.

“We are very proud of our conservation efforts, but we also realize that doing our part to reduce carbon emissions and help protect the environment is a job that is never complete. We’re committed to building on the momentum of our sustainability initiatives because it is the right thing to do for the environment and our fellow citizens, the passengers and crew on our ships, the communities we visit, and also for our business,” said Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation.

Carnival is currently investing as much as USD 400 million to design, build and install an exhaust gas cleaning technology, called ECO-EGC, to more than 70 percent of its fleet. Carnival claims the system uses filters and seawater to remove pollutants from exhaust gases, advancing cleaner air quality for oceangoing vessels.

In addition to these efforts, the company is employing on-board environmental officers on every ship, and partnering with environmental organizations such as The Nature Conservancy to support protection of the global marine environment.