On April 28, 2022, RCG-Royal Caribbean Group announced the company's new commitment to the next phase of the ongoing partnership with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for guidance/counsel in "establishing bold environmental goals and sustainable business practices."
RCG first partnered with WWF back in 2016. Since then, the World Wildlife Fund has advised the Group to embed sustainability into the core of its business and across the cruise industry, promote responsible tourism in coastal destinations and help protect the oceans via investing in conservation programs. This included establishing "bold 2020 sustainability goals" that Royal Caribbean Group has met/exceeded, with the exception of the sustainable seafood sourcing target (impacted by the global suspension of service from the COVID crisis).
The next 5 years of the partnership are due to focus on setting "measurable sustainability targets around the reduction of carbon emissions, the sustainable growth and development of the business, sustainable commodity sourcing and tourism, the elimination of single-use plastics and waste management, among other areas."
In 2022, WWF and Royal Caribbean Group are working together to establish sustainability goals across 3 key areas of Ship, Sea, and Shore:
- Ship (continuous improvement of operational sustainability)
- Sea (investing in ocean health via targeted philanthropy / engaging with a science-driven agenda & consumer-facing education/fundraising campaigns
- Shore (embedding principles of sustainable development in projects / increasing sustainability & certification of tour operators).
RCG will continue to provide financial support to the global ocean conservation work of the WWF through a US$5 million philanthropic contribution as well as collaborate with the WWF to build global awareness about ocean conservation issues among the millions of guests of the Group.