Royal Caribbean·Shipping / Logistics·Miami, Florida, USA·Founded 1997·Last verified 31 May 2026
25
out of 100
Significant gapsPending Review

Royal Caribbean operates the world's largest cruise ships with rising absolute emissions despite intensity improvements. The company discloses Scope 1, 2, and partial Scope 3 data but lacks validated climate targets four years after promising SBTi alignment. Fleet remains 98% fossil-fuel powered; a wind farm offset covers ~10% of emissions. EPA fined the company $473,685 in 2024 for waste violations, continuing a 25-year pattern of environmental penalties.

The calculation

Every score shows its working.

Same formula for every company. No curve. No private weighting.

SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × Scale
Industry base impact
Shipping / Logistics sector ceiling.
30 / 100
Performance score
Sum of the 10 rubric questions, scored 0–10 each.
38 / 100
Raw score
Weighted average before scale penalty.
(0.3 × 30) + (0.7 × 38) = 35.6
Scale penalty
Multiplier based on absolute emissions volume — physics-first.
× 0.7
Final score
Rounded. Significant gaps.
25 / 100
The ten questions

Where Royal Caribbean is strong, and where it isn't.

Strongest on Carbon Footprint — Operations and Carbon Footprint — Supply Chain (6/10, 5/10). Weakest on Emissions Trajectory and Targets & Commitments (1/10, 2/10).

Where the evidence comes from

Every document used, listed.

14 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which rubric questions it informed.

11 of 14 sources are third-party verified or public record.

[1]Third-party verified
Tracenable — Royal Caribbean Cruises GHG Emissions
Ongoing
Q1Q2Q3
View →
[2]Self-reported
Royal Caribbean Group — Energy Efficiency
Ongoing
Q1Q4
View →
[3]Public record
GCaptain — World's Largest Cruise Ship Climate Liability
Unknown
Q3
View →
[4]Public record
Trellis — Royal Caribbean's Creative Onshore Renewable Energy Procurement
Unknown
Q4
View →
[5]Third-party verified
World Wildlife Fund — Royal Caribbean Group Business Partnership
Ongoing
Q5
View →
[6]Third-party verified
GSTC — Royal Caribbean Group 2023 Seastainability Report
2023
Q5Q6Q8Q9
View →
[7]Public record
Seatrade Cruise — Royal Caribbean Carbon Emissions 2025 Target
Unknown
Q6
View →
[8]Self-reported
Royal Caribbean Blog — Environment Category
Ongoing
Q7
View →
[9]Third-party verified
Friends of the Earth — Cruise Line Environmental Scorecard
2024
Q7Q9
View →
[10]Self-reported
PR Newswire — Royal Caribbean Destination Net Zero Program 2050
2021
Q8
View →
[11]Public record
EPA — Royal Caribbean $473,685 RCRA Penalty Announcement
2024
Q10
View →
[12]Public record
Violation Tracker — Royal Caribbean Cruises Enforcement History
Ongoing
Q10
View →
[13]Public record
The Columbian — Cruise Liners Weaken IMO Climate Rules 2022
2022
Q10
View →
[14]Public record
Cruise Hive — Cruise Lines Ranked Worst Environmental Report 2024
2024
Q9
View →

If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.

Royal Caribbean in context

Where Royal Caribbean sits among shipping / logistics peers.

Among the 14 major shipping / logistics brands we've scored, Royal Caribbean sits 10th of 14.

10/14
Royal Caribbean's rank
30
Industry average
18
Industry low
46
Industry high
How this score has moved

Royal Caribbean's score over time.

today

Score history begins 6 April 2026.

As Royal Caribbean's score updates, the trajectory will appear here.

We're backfilling historical scores for FTSE 100 and S&P 100 companies over the coming weeks.

What's being contested

This score is not currently being contested.

Every challenge is published. We'd rather be corrected than wrong — that's the whole point.

No challenges submitted yet. If you have evidence that contradicts this score, you can challenge any question above — cite a public source and we'll review it.

About Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean Group is a Miami-based cruise line operating 28 ships across three brands (Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Silversea). As the world's largest cruise operator by fleet size, it transports ~5.7 million passengers annually through Caribbean, Mediterranean, Alaska, and Asian waters. Founded in 1972 and publicly traded, the company is a major player in global leisure shipping.

Founded
1997
Headquarters
Miami, Florida, USA
Employees
~98,200
Annual revenue
~$16.5B
Company website ↗
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