MIAMI, June 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- To help celebrate World Environment Day today and in advance of World Oceans Day on June 8, Carnival Foundation in partnership with Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's largest cruise company, is providing a $2.5 million gift over five years to support The Nature Conservancy's global marine protection priorities.
Carnival Foundation's support will be directed toward identifying locations where industry and community are most dependent on marine and coastal resources -- including key conservation priority sites where Carnival Corporation and its 10 cruise line brands operate. The Nature Conservancy's work in these regions, backed by the Carnival Foundation, will help quantify the value of marine ecosystems and help the Conservancy develop mapping tools to guide investment decisions for conservation in the regions.
Additionally, support from Carnival Foundation will enable the Conservancy to significantly scale coral restoration initiatives within the Caribbean, and continue to advance important science that shows how coral reefs and other natural systems can help reduce risks to coastal communities from storms and sea levels rising.
"Carnival Corporation and our 10 cruise lines sail millions of people a year on the world's oceans, so being environmentally responsible is critically important for us," said Arnold Donald, CEO of Carnival Corporation. "Doing so is not just essential to the very existence of our business, but more importantly, it is the right thing to do. So it is with great pride and much excitement that we announce our support of the Nature Conservancy, one of the world's leading conservation organizations."
Added Donald: "We share a strong commitment to achieving environmental excellence, and we look forward to collaborating with the Nature Conservancy, widely recognized for its scientific expertise and global presence, to advance the cause of preserving and managing the health of our oceans and seas around the world."
The donation provides another example of Carnival's commitment to protecting the marine environment in which its 10 cruise lines sail, along with the company's respect for the mission and work of the Nature Conservancy.
"Protecting and restoring the ocean is central to achieving The Nature Conservancy's mission, and it is an organizational priority," said Lynne Hale, managing director of the marine team at The Nature Conservancy.
Hale added: "The multiple benefits that healthy marine systems provide are essential to human well-being and economic growth. This support from Carnival Foundation will help advance important work to better understand, protect and restore these crucial systems."
The Nature Conservancy works across all sectors of industry and society to help advance its mission to protect the natural world, and develops relationships that best align with the mission to produce clear conservation benefits with lasting, measurable outcomes.
This agreement follows recent news from Carnival Corporation that it will significantly increase installations of its industry-first exhaust gas cleaning technology to more than 70 percent of its fleet to reduce emissions and improve air quality. Carnival also recently announced it is on track to meet its goal to reduce its rate of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from shipboard operations by 20 percent by 2015.
About The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The Conservancy and its more than one million members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the web at www.nature.org.
About Carnival Foundation
Carnival Foundation is dedicated to creating positive change through empowering youth, enhancing education and strengthening families. In the past five years alone, Carnival Corporation — which includes 10 brands — and its 120,000-plus employees have made more than $30 million in financial contributions and in-kind donations to a variety of local and national charities. Following the example set by Carnival's founder, the late Ted Arison, and continued by his son Micky, chairman of Carnival Corporation, Carnival Foundation endeavors to make South Florida and other communities better places to live and work. For more information visit www.carnivalfoundation.com.
About Carnival Corporation
Carnival Corporation & plc is the largest cruise company in the world, with a portfolio of cruise brands in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, comprised of Carnival Cruise Lines, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, Seabourn, AIDA Cruises, Costa Cruises, Cunard, Ibero Cruises, P&O Cruises (Australia) and P&O Cruises (UK).
Together, these brands operate 101 ships totaling 212,000 lower berths with seven new ships scheduled to be delivered between fall 2014 and summer 2016. Carnival Corporation & plc also operates Holland America Princess Alaska Tours, the leading tour company in Alaska and the Canadian Yukon. Traded on both the New York and London Stock Exchanges, Carnival Corporation & plc is the only group in the world to be included in both the S&P 500 and the FTSE 100 indices.
SOURCE Carnival Corporation
Roger Frizzell, Carnival Corporation, (305) 406-7862; Mike Flanagan, LDWWgroup, (727) 452-4538
