Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH) today launched its revamped climate action strategy along with short and near-term greenhouse gas (GHG) targets to support the Company’s ambitious pursuit of net zero by 2050.

These actions underscore NCLH’s global sustainability program, Sail & Sustain.

Key components of NCLH’s new interim GHG reduction targets include:

• Reduce GHG intensity by 10 per cent by 2026 and 25 per cent by 2030, compared to a 2019 baseline with intensity measured on a per capacity day basis.
• The targets cover NCLH’s emissions from its fleet of ships, islands and facilities (scopes 1 & 2) as well as upstream fuel- and energy-related activities, including well-to-tank emissions (portion of Scope 3). As such, the targets will capture the full well-to-wake emissions impact of NCLH’s fuel consumption.
• Interim targets provide a roadmap to support NCLH’s existing net zero by 2050 ambition. The scope of this commitment expands to the Company’s entire greenhouse gas footprint, including its vast network of suppliers and partners across its value chain.

“We are proud to further refine and strengthen our climate action strategy and commitments including by setting milestone GHG intensity reduction targets which will guide us on our ambitious pursuit of net zero by 2050,” said Harry Sommer, president and chief executive officer-elect of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

“Every aspect of our business from shoreside to shipboard is responsible for doing their part to design, deliver and demonstrate results for decarbonisation and our board of directors has reinforced this expectation by establishing shared accountability and tying incentives for our entire management team to this critical effort. We also recently took an important step forward on our pursuit of net zero by announcing the modification of two of our future Prima Class newbuilds to accommodate the use of green methanol in the future.

“We are also activating and mobilising our full network of team members, ports and destinations, suppliers and partners, and guests to act now and join us on this transformative journey, further amplifying the efforts we could achieve on our own.”

NCLH net zero timeline (Source: NCLH)

The Company’s revamped climate action strategy is centred around three pillars: Efficiency, Innovation and Collaboration.

Efficiency

The Company said it is focused on optimising efficiency for its existing fleet which can have an immediate impact to onboard power consumption and GHG emissions as well as generate fuel savings. This includes both ongoing investments in systems and technologies, such as HVAC system upgrades and waste heat recovery systems, as well as operational enhancements, such as smart itinerary and voyage planning and optimisation of hotel operations. These operational changes require data, education and accountability, therefore NCLH is also building and investing in internal systems and processes to enable its team members, and even guests, to operate its ships with optimal efficiency.

Innovation

The company is prioritising innovation for long-term solutions and technologies, including those that support the ability to operate on green fuels. Since 2022, NCLH has successfully completed tests of biofuel blends on multiple ships, in which a blend of approximately 30 per cent biofuel and 70 per cent marine gas oil has been used. The company believes biodiesel is a viable transition fuel that can support the decarbonisation journey as long-term solutions are tested and scaled. Longer-term, NCLH views green methanol as a promising solution and recently announced the modification of the final two Prima Class ships, expected to be delivered in 2027 and 2028, to accommodate the use of green methanol as an alternative fuel source in the future.

The use of green methanol would result in a drastic reduction in emissions, including an up to 95 per cent reduction in CO₂, and its properties enable the continued use of conventional fuel storage and bunkering with fewer modifications compared to other emerging fuels in the market at this time. However, the production of green methanol is still in the early stages and will require continued investments to sufficiently scale for distribution and consumption globally.

Collaboration

The pathway to net zero will be complex and will require significant collaboration across NCLH’s network of stakeholders including suppliers, communities, governments and NGOs to collectively partner and find solutions to combat climate change. The company said it is continuously exploring partnerships to champion efforts surrounding the development of green fuels along with the global infrastructure to produce, store and distribute these fuels. NCLH also views cross-sector collaboration as a catalyst for effective and accelerated change and is an active member in industry associations, such as the Methanol Institute, and regional forums.

In addition, NCLH continues to partner with key ports to accelerate the use of shore power technology which allows cruise ships to connect to onshore electrical power grids to supply much of the power needed while docked. While the land-based infrastructure expansion is underway, NCLH is also equipping its ships with the technology needed to plug-in, targeting to have approximately 70 per cent of its fleet equipped by 2025.

“We are encouraged to see the significant progress and momentum across sectors to decarbonize, but fundamental challenges continue to exist for the cruise industry to fully decarbonize by 2050,” said Jessica John, vice president of ESG, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.

“Rather than waiting for these challenges to dissolve, our strategy is about acting now to implement solutions for efficiency today, innovate for future solutions and collaborate with our stakeholders along the way. Underpinning this strategy is good governance and effective risk management as we work to advance our climate action efforts and build our Company’s resilience.”

Featured Image: Norwegian Spirit returning to Australia after the pandemic (NCL)