Boston, February 5, 2026 – Royal Caribbean Group, one of the largest cruise lines in the world, has agreed to provide more information on its single-use plastic reduction efforts and plans to launch, by 2035, a cruise ship with net-zero total climate emissions. Royal Caribbean agreed to these steps in exchange for Green Century Capital Management withdrawing a related shareholder proposal.
“We welcome Royal Caribbean steering in the right direction with these new commitments to transparency and to reducing its impact on the climate and our oceans,” said Leslie Samuelrich, president of Green Century. “Customers, investors and business leaders value sustainability and transparency, so Royal Caribbean is taking the right approach by getting on board and mitigating related risks for investors.”
Green Century approached Royal Caribbean about its current sustainability disclosures because of unclear disclosure on reducing its use of plastic, which pollutes oceans and harms wildlife. Royal Caribbean has also set a goal to launch a net-zero emissions ship by 2035 but has disclosed minimal information on how it plans to do this and describes its progress as “early stages”.
Cruising is worse for the planet than flying
Cruise ships have been described as “a catastrophe for the environment” because they have a large carbon footprint, pollute the oceans, and adversely impact marine life. In fact, research shows that even the most energy-efficient liners produce more carbon dioxide, proportionately, than passenger jets. With travelers’ concerns about these issues increasing, cruise companies need to effectively manage their environmental impacts and clearly explain their implementation plans.
The potential of reusables
Competitors Disney Cruise Lines and Norwegian Cruise Lines report that they have eliminated plastic water bottles from their ships. Disney Cruise Lines has also replaced some of its single-use, plastic food containers with reusable options and is placing refillable toiletries in guest rooms to use even less plastic. Switching to reusables instead of other single-use options is better for the planet because they use fewer resources..
“We applaud Royal Caribbean for its work to reduce both single-use plastics and its ships’ climate emissions,” said Frances Fairhead-Stanova, shareholder advocate at Green Century. “We encourage the company to eliminate single-use water bottles from its ships and to switch to reusable and refillable items wherever possible.”
###