Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. today announced that its ship Adventure of the Seas has been selected for the company’s fourth annual Best Environmental Innovation Of The Year Award.
The annual award is designed to encourage Royal Caribbean International’s and Celebrity Cruises’ longstanding commitment to environmental innovation and improvement. Competition for the award assists the company in progressively advancing its environmental performance in manners that go above and beyond regulatory compliance. Judging for the awards was conducted by the independent external auditing firm of Haley and Aldrich, which audits all 18 Royal Caribbean International ships and nine Celebrity Cruises ships for adherence to the company’s Environmental Compliance Plan.“I congratulate the crew of Adventure of the Seas for their creativeness and desire to go above and beyond what is required of them,” said Jack Williams, president and chief operating officer of Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises. “The Adventure of the Seas crew not only developed creative ways to conserve natural resources and minimize waste, but their efforts also benefit the ports of call they visit. Their environmental stewardship sets an excellent example for all of our employees.”

Each year, all Royal Caribbean and Celebrity ships are audited based on seven criteria established by the company and its independent external auditors. The criteria evaluated includes audit findings related to environmental performance, timeliness and effectiveness of corrective actions, reports of near incidents and non-conformities, submission of monthly environmental status reports, and performance of pollution-prevention equipment.

The selection of the Best Environmental Innovation Of The Year Award is based on accomplishments that reflect innovative thinking in reducing environmental impacts and the seeking of creative solutions to environmental issues.

In winning the award, Adventure of the Seas’ crew was cited for finding ways to reduce and compact waste to ensure the landing of items less frequently and in less volume. They also created recycling programs that included clothes hangers, and the reuse of empty laundry soap and chlorine pails. The crew also was lauded for forming partnerships with local charity and environmental organizations in the Caribbean islands. For example, the ship works with a facility for disabled persons on the island of Antigua, by providing paint that would be disposed otherwise, and volunteers to apply it. The ship’s crew also volunteers to do hands-on restoration, construction and long-term maintenance of important wetland habitat and breeding grounds for water birds and other wildlife in Fresh Pond and Little Bay Pond near Phillipsburg, St. Maarten.

“I salute all of our shipboard employees who have done so much to distinguished themselves as they seek higher environmental performance standards through innovation,” said Capt. William Wright, senior vice president of Safety and Environment for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. “All of their efforts are good for our company, but, more importantly, they are good for our oceans.”

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