Royal Caribbean and the Environment
We at Royal Caribbean International know we have a special responsibility to protect our marine ecosystems. Clean oceans are good for the environment, good for our guests and good for our business.
Because we depend on the sea for our livelihood, and because it's the right thing to do, we have heavily invested in state-of-the-art treatment technologies, such as Advanced Wastewater Purification (AWP) systems, to reduce our impact on the environment. In addition to meeting or often exceeding environmental laws and regulations through our "Above and Beyond Compliance" policies, we closely monitor our activities at sea and on land to ensure standards are strictly maintained.
Royal Caribbean manages its business with a talented, competent team of professionals, who operate with a philosophy of social responsibility, environmental protection and good corporate citizenship. We are committed to timely, honest and forthright communications with our employees, guests, shareholders, suppliers and travel partners. And, we will continue to seek the counsel of experts in the environmental field. By maintaining a productive, ongoing dialogue with all of these stakeholders, we will continue to do the best we can to preserve and protect the environment.
I believe companies can be financially successful while serving as stewards of the environment and good corporate citizens. We take our responsibility to the environment very seriously, and we feel it's inextricably linked with our continued success as an industry-leading cruise line.
Richard D. Fain
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.
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Stewardship Strategy
The development of our Environmental Strategy is an ongoing process. Teams of experts from both Royal Caribbean and Conservation International are collaborating in a series of working groups to develop our environmental goals. As our strategy develops, we will continue to communicate with our employees, guests, shareholders, suppliers and travel partners on the specifics of our commitment to protecting the destinations and waters where we operate.
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Save the Waves
Protecting the world's oceans and the rich marine life they support is a way of life, and a way of doing business, for Royal Caribbean International. This commitment is the foundation of Save the Waves, a comprehensive environmental protection program established in 1992.
Save the Waves' three key principles are to:
- Reduce the creation or generation of waste material
- Recycle as much as possible; and
- Ensure the proper disposal of any remaining waste.
Waste Reduction
The key to a sound waste management program is finding ways to reduce the amount of waste material that's being created. Royal Caribbean International has taken significant measures over the years to reduce the volume of ship-generated waste that must be processed.
Agreements are in place with our suppliers to control the volume of material delivered to ships that must be processed as waste. In addition, all disposable plastic items typically available to our guests, such as shampoo bottles, plastic plates and flatware, have been eliminated.
Finally, Royal Caribbean is committed to the pledge that nothing goes overboard.
Special Wastes
Many waste products generated onboard our ships must be handled with special care. These waste products include used paints and thinners, medical waste, dry-cleaning fluids, aerosol cans, used butane lighters and old batteries.
These wastes are never disposed of in trash containers, in the ships' sinks and drains, or in the ships' toilet systems.
Disposal of Remaining Wastes
Modern equipment and strict enforcement of our regulations allow Royal Caribbean ships to have a zero-discharge policy for solid wastes.
We safely store all solid waste until it can be incinerated or taken to a suitable disposal site on land. Our disposal of liquid wastes is done in an environmentally friendly manner that exceeds recognized standards of marine operations. Food waste is pulped and discharged in waters more than 12 nautical miles from land - a distance far exceeding international regulations.
Environmental Training
An environmental officer is assigned to each ship to manage its overall environmental program. These officers receive specialized training to prepare them for overseeing and verifying all environmental systems, equipment, procedures and crew training. In addition, all our crew members receive instruction about their responsibilities in support of the Save the Waves program within the first few hours onboard a Royal Caribbean ship. At the end of their initial training, new crew members must sign a pledge to uphold their responsibilities to protect the environment. Crew members also must be able to explain the concept behind Save the Waves to our guests.
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The Ocean Fund
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd, which operates Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises, established the Ocean Fund in 1996 to support marine conservation organizations in preserving the world's oceans. The mission of the Ocean Fund is to support efforts to restore and maintain a healthy marine environment, minimize the impact of human activity on this environment, and promote awareness of ocean and coastal issues and respect for marine life.
Ocean Fund grants are made annually to a variety of nonprofit groups and institutions conducting activities directly related to marine conservation. These activities cover research, education and innovative technologies. Almost US$9 million has been awarded to organizations since the fund's inception.
Annual grants average between US$25,000 and US$50,000, although there is no absolute maximum. Grants are made for one calendar year only.
How the grant process works
The company reviews the letters of interest by June 30. Formal proposals are by invitation only, and are due by Sept. 30.
Update:
Due to increased interest in the Ocean Fund and administrative changes within our company, we need additional time to review the greater than expected number of letters of interest we have received. Invitations to submit full proposals will not be sent out until September 15.
A committee of marine and conservation experts and cruise line executives meets each December to evaluate the proposals.
Grant recipients are announced the following January or February.
How to apply
Past recipients
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Outreach and Achievements
Royal Caribbean International operates some of the most environmentally friendly cruise ships in the world. Because we understand our responsibility to protect the oceans we sail, we abide by strict "Above and Beyond Compliance" environmental policies.
We demonstrate environmental stewardship and sustainability by using management systems that meet voluntary international standards, including ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001:2004 quality and environmental standards. In fact, Royal Caribbean was the first cruise line to use an environmental management system certified to the ISO 14001 standard.
In addition, each of our ships has an environmental officer responsible for:
- Oversight of the company's onboard environmental program
- Environmental training for every crew member
- Liquid and solid hazardous- and non-hazardous waste management
- Chemical management and workplace safety
Royal Caribbean's environmental policies guide both shipboard and shoreside employees in safe environmental practices day-to-day. From our Board of Directors, to our newest employee, from the captain to each crewmember, we are responsible stewards of the marine environment and the ports we visit.
Recent Awards and Recognition
Royal Caribbean has been recognized throughout the regions we operate for environmental responsibility. Here are just a few of the awards we have received:
- Excellence in Environmental Engineering Award, American Academy of Environmental Engineers, 2004
- Environmental Life Buoy Award — Jewel of the Seas, Port of Stockholm, 2004-2007
- Best Eco-Friendly Cruise Line, Porthole Cruise Magazine, 2002 through 2006
- Gold Environmental Award in San Francisco and Vancouver for numerous ships
- Kuoni Travel's Green Planet Award for many ships
Marine Conservation and Outreach
Royal Caribbean works with a diverse group of organizations to maximize our environmental stewardship. We also have activities onboard our ships that promote the well-being of our oceans.
For example, Royal Caribbean International and the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science joined forces in late 2000 in an unprecedented collaboration to study the ocean and atmosphere. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Science Foundation also are involved in this unique alliance.
Equipped with a high-tech atmospheric and oceanographic lab, Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas is helping scientists find answers to some of today's most pressing questions about ocean and climate research.
Explorer of the Seas has sailed itineraries that cover much of the Caribbean and Gulf Stream current, along the U.S. coast and Western Atlantic out to Bermuda. Scientists onboard studied pollutants in the air and sea, measured the flow of currents to understand the balance and distribution of heat on the planet, collected data for ocean and hurricane models, and monitored important, but hard-to-measure, populations of sea organisms.
Although the focus of the laboratories is long-term scientific study and analysis, NOAA and National Hurricane Center forecasters also use the data to improve storm track predictions. Today, this program has evolved into an automated system that continues to track data.
One of our most successful outreach initiatives is the Ocean Fund. Established in 1996 by Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises, the fund has awarded nearly US$10 million to marine conservation organizations who help protect the ecosystems of the world's oceans.
For budding scientific minds, Royal Caribbean's Adventure Ocean program offers children and teens hands-on science experiments involving the environment.
As a member of the Cruise Lines International Association, Royal Caribbean participates in the group's technical and environmental committees. CLIA and its member lines have established voluntary industry environmental management standards that exceed international and local regulations.
Royal Caribbean is also a member of the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association and North West CruiseShip Association, which represents cruise lines in the Caribbean, and Pacific Northwest, Alaska, British Columbia, Canada and Hawaii. These associations have developed environmental Memorandums of Understanding (MOU). In the MOU, member cruise lines agree to exceed international and local requirements to protect the sensitive reefs and waters of Florida and the Caribbean as well as the Pacific Region.
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