Royal Caribbean Group announced a five-year partnership with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to establish strong and measurable sustainability goals for groundbreaking progress across ship, sea and shore.
"Healthy, sustainable oceans are paramount to our mission of delivering the best vacations responsibly," said Royal Caribbean Group CEO Jason Liberty. "Our partnership with WWF encapsulates our belief in continuous improvement and our commitment to advancing our environmental, social and governance (ESG) work. The support and assistance of WWF will be invaluable to realizing this mission as we work to set and achieve our sustainability goals."
Royal Caribbean Group first teamed up with WWF in 2016. Since then, WWF has advised the Royal Caribbean Group to incorporate sustainability into the company's core business and across the industry, promote responsible tourism in priority coastal destinations and help protect the ocean by investing in conservation programs globally.
"Scale matters, particularly in the face of global challenges like climate change and ocean conservation. We're grateful for the progress Royal Caribbean Group has made toward achieving its sustainability goals since 2016, and we're energized by an ambition for even greater things to come," said Carter Roberts, President and CEO of WWF-US. "Our work together is grounded in the reality that people everywhere – from local communities and Indigenous peoples to urban residents and tourists – rely on the ocean for food, livelihoods, and enrichment. We're committed to doing everything possible to keep ocean ecosystems thriving for the benefit of all people, as well as the many other creatures for whom the ocean is their home.”
This year, WWF and Royal Caribbean Group will work together to establish sustainability goals across three key areas of Ship, Sea and Shore:
•Ship — Continuous improvement of operational sustainability, including emissions, marine mammal protection, seafood sourcing, plastics reduction, and food waste.
•Sea — Investing in ocean health through targeted philanthropy; engaging with a global science-driven agenda and consumer-facing education and fundraising campaigns.
•Shore — Embedding principles of sustainable development in projects and increasing sustainability and certification of tour operators.
Royal Caribbean Group will also continue to provide financial support to WWF's global ocean conservation work through a $5 million philanthropic contribution and collaborate with WWF to build global awareness about ocean conservation issues among millions of cruise guests.
