Royal Caribbean Celebrates ‘Save the Waves’ 30-Year Commitment to Sustainability

This month, Royal Caribbean Group is celebrating 30 years of the company’s first environmental initiative, Save the Waves. The program established standards for environmental management and ocean conservation across the global fleet, serving as the foundation for the cruise company’s decarbonization strategy— Destination Net Zero.

“Save the Waves has served as the strong foundation for what we have accomplished and the ambitious sustainability efforts we are committed to at Royal Caribbean Group,” said Jason Liberty, President and CEO, Royal Caribbean Group. “The program, for decades, has helped us create a culture dedicated to environmental performance and our commitment to protecting our oceans.”

Established in 1992, the program grew from Royal Caribbean’s commitment to putting people first, leading with integrity, growing with purpose, driving excellence and being a force for good.

Key milestones over the past three decades include:

–Introducing the industry’s first dedicated onboard Environmental Officers — to ensure waste standards are met with daily monitoring, testing, and compliance controls.

–Becoming the first cruise company to be ISO 14001 for Environmental Management Certified.

–Diverting 87% of its waste from landfills through its “Green Hub” waste vendor program ensuring waste is recycled, repurposed, or sent to a waste to energy facility.

–Equipping 100% of its global fleet with state-of-the-art waste management facilities, systems and processes established to divert waste streams from local landfills.

–Installing advanced wastewater purification systems across 88% of its fleet that treats wastewater to standards twice as stringent as U.S. federal regulations.

–Training every crewmember with in-depth Save the Waves training upon joining and is expected to follow proper waste management protocols.

Decades ago, when we introduced Save the Waves, we made a commitment to continuous improvement that we live by today,” said Nick Rose, Associate Vice President, Environmental Programs at Royal Caribbean Group.

“Throughout my 15-year career at Royal Caribbean Group, including four years as an Environmental Officer, I have been proud to be part of our continual progress in this area, which wouldn’t be possible without the dedication of thousands of crewmembers and millions of guests.”

Recently, Royal Caribbean opened a brand new terminal in Galveston, Texas that fits with the brand’s continued initiatives in sustainability as it’s the world’s first LEED Zero Energy facility, generating 100 percent of the energy it needs through solar panels.