Jump on board mateys! Disney received an A on Friends of the Earth’s 2013 Cruise Report Card! http://www.foe.org/cruise-report-card

For anyone looking to take your family on a cruise, and especially love contributing to a “greener” planet, Disney Cruise Lines is the way to go! Today, I am going to inform you about Disney’s commitment to environmental stewardship on their cruises. Traveling has a very harmful impact on the environment, especially cruises, and the millions of people that take cruise vacations are unaware of the harmful environment impact. On average, the Environment Protection Agency estimates that passengers generate 170,000 gallons of water waste per day! Disney’s CSR focus is committed to minimizing their environmental impact.

Disney operates under a term called “sustainable tourism” which is tourism development that avoids damage to the environment, economy and cultures of the locations where it takes place. They strive to reduce its impact on the environment while providing a positive experience for their passengers on board. and is a leader in this effort. An environmental officer is on board every ship to monitor ships and teach environmental education classes to both staff and guests. They monitor the ships overall water quality and supply to make your vacation just right. Uniquely, all staff members are involved in the environmental initiatives department, which includes cast and the cruise lines to come up with new ways to improve the environmental footprint of the company as a whole. Energy use and carbon dioxide emissions are a big concern for the Disney cruise ships. Disney created energy management systems and scorecards to help minimize the use of CO₂ emissions. Their CSR efforts consisted of installing more efficient lighting on board, putting in automatic air conditioning control to optimize cooling resources, and increasing efficiency of heat exchangers.

The “green” magic doesn’t stop there though; Disney Cruise Line is consistently improving technology towards conserving water! They recycle water that is generated from the air conditioning system to supply fresh water for their laundry facilities. This can save 280 tons of water a day! One-third of the total water used on the ship is consumed by the laundry facility, and of course Disney installed more efficient washing machines that conserve more than 20% of water than their old ones. The excess heat is also used to power evaporators, which makes 1200 tons of portable water from seawater every day. That is almost double the amount of water passengers waste on board on average! Disney’s innovative thinking helps maximize their environmental stewardship. These improvements on their ships resulted in a 5% energy savings. Definitely take a look at Disney’s cruises and their other parks and resorts, they working their magic to set the bar higher for a greener environment.

Next Thursday, make sure to look for Mickey and his friends in the Macy’s Day Parade!