Norwegian releases latest sustainability report, scores a ‘B’ for climate change action

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) has released its 2019 Stewardship Report as part of the company’s global sustainability program, Sail & Sustain.

What’s a stewardship report, you might find yourself asking? Well, it highlights the company’s key environmental, social and governance (ESG) advancements since its last published report, as well as impactful initiatives that are underway.

This year, the report boasts the establishment of NCLH’s Technology, Environmental, Safety and Security (TESS) Committee to oversee matters related to corporate social responsibility and sustainability, a dedicated ESG department, a strong focus on reducing single-use plastic, and a strengthened commitment to company diversity.

The comapny also reported the relaunch of Hope Starts Here hurricane relief campaign, 1,000 hours of team member volunteering, numerous philanthropy initiatives, a higher spend with diverse vendors within the US, and the establishment of the Healthy Sail Panel in collaboration with Royal Caribbean Group.

On top of these achievements, the NCLH also announced that it has been recognised for its environmental disclosure and transparency by achieving a ‘B’ climate change score from CDP, a global environmental non-profit organisation which evaluates 9,600 companies worldwide annually.

The company’s ‘B’ score is an improvement on the prior year, and is higher than the marine transport sector’s average of ‘C’, the global average of ‘C’ and North America’s regional average of ‘D’.

NCLH president and CEO Frank Del Rio said: “Despite the public health challenges we currently face, our commitment to protect and preserve our oceans, the environment and the destinations we visit, while maintaining our culture of diversity, equality and inclusion in the workforce, remains at the very core of our everyday business operations.

Andrea DeMarco, senior vice president of ESG, investor relations and corporate communications at NCLH, added: “Our annual stewardship report provides critical transparency to our key stakeholders around our Sail & Sustain initiatives, and we strive for continuous improvement of our ESG disclosures.

“We are pleased to be recognised with an above-average ‘B’ climate change score by CDP, whose annual environmental disclosure and scoring process is widely regarded as the gold standard of corporate environmental transparency, for our efforts to be a leader in corporate sustainability.”

Click here to read NCLH’s 2019 Stewardship Report in full.

Featured image source: Norwegian Cruise Line/Bill Dirring Latitude