Carnival Corporation Joins United Nations Initiative Promoting Workplace Equality

MIAMI, Jan. 29, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's largest leisure travel company, today announced it is among the first companies to join the United Nations' Standards of Conduct for Business, a global campaign seeking to tackle discrimination against lesbian, gay, bi, trans & intersex (LGBTI) people in the workplace and in society. Carnival Corporation joins 272 major corporations as early supporters of the LGBTI diversity and inclusion initiative.

The United Nations Human Rights Office collaborated with the Institute for Human Rights and Business to develop the five pillars comprising the Standards of Conduct, reflecting the input of hundreds of companies from diverse business sectors. These principles align closely with Carnival Corporation's 2020 sustainability goals, including an ongoing commitment to building a diverse global workforce that currently represents over 150,000 employees from nearly 150 countries.

"As part of our ongoing efforts to build a sustainable, positive work environment and create opportunities for building a career with our company, we are committed to supporting diversity, inclusion and equality across our nine cruise line brands," said Roger Frizzell, chief communications officer for Carnival Corporation. "We salute the U.N. for its leadership and we hope many others will join the initiative. It is not only the right way to operate, but we also believe diversity of thinking plays a key role in driving innovation and providing a competitive advantage, so there are plenty of good reasons to be part of this important effort."  

The five standards outlined by the U.N. include a global call for companies to respect human rights of LGBTI workers, customers and members of the public; eliminate workplace discrimination against LGBTI employees; support LGBTI employees at work; prevent discrimination and related abuses against LGBTI customers, suppliers and distributors, and insist that suppliers do the same; and stand up for the human rights of LGBTI people in the communities where companies do business.

As additional global organizations sign on in support of the Standards of Conduct for Business, the United Nations Human Rights Office continues to build momentum for public awareness in support of LGBTI inclusion, promoting a culture of respect, diversity and equality in the workplace. The U.N.'s global campaign to promote greater equality for LGBTI workers is the largest of its kind to date.

"The U.N. is grateful to see Carnival Corporation, the leading international cruise provider, join more than 272 of the world's largest companies in expressing support for the United Nations Global LGBTI Standards for Business," said Fabrice Houdart, United Nations Human Rights Officer and co-author of the Standards. "Businesses play a key role in keeping the momentum for LGBTI equality globally and Carnival Corporation's support is a strong signal to the tourism industry and beyond."

As part of Carnival Corporation's commitment to equal rights, the company has been actively engaged in significant efforts on issues such as marriage equality. This includes supporting efforts by OUTBermuda and other LGBTQ community organizations to advocate for the legal recognition of same-sex marriages in Bermuda. The company has also shown support through LGBTQ cruises, onboard activities and special events, including the company's Holland America Line brand sponsoring the 2020 Seattle Men's and Women's Chorus Annual Dinner and Auction, and annual Pride events to raise awareness and funds for LGBTQ organizations, including the Los Angeles Pride Parade, Seattle Pride Parade and Southampton (England) Pride.

Additionally, the company has partnered with equal opportunity champions such as the Human Rights Campaign, Executive Leadership Council, Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility, Catalyst and Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics.

Carnival Corporation is regularly recognized by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, the educational arm of America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. This includes achieving a perfect score for four consecutive years in the organization's Corporate Equality Index (CEI), which rates U.S. companies on their treatment of LGBTQ consumers, investors and employees.

In January 2020, Carnival Corporation was also named one of the top companies in America on Forbes' annual list of Best Employers for Diversity for its outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. The company was recognized as the highest rated company in the cruise industry, the No. 3 employer in the travel and leisure sector and No. 77 overall among the 500 top employers.

Additional information on the Standards of Conduct for Business can be found at https://www.unfe.org/standards/, and more information on Carnival Corporation's commitment to diversity and inclusion is available here: https://www.carnivalcorp.com/corporate-information/diversity-inclusion.

About Carnival Corporation & plc
Carnival Corporation & plc is the world's largest leisure travel company and among the most profitable and financially strong in the cruise and vacation industries, with a portfolio of nine of the world's leading cruise lines. With operations in North America, Australia, Europe and Asia, its portfolio features Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, Seabourn, P&O Cruises (Australia), Costa Cruises, AIDA Cruises, P&O Cruises (UK) and Cunard.  

Together, the corporation's cruise lines operate 105 ships with 254,000 lower berths visiting over 700 ports around the world, with 16 new ships scheduled to be delivered through 2025. 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.

With a long history of innovation and providing guests with extraordinary vacation experiences, Carnival Corporation has received thousands of industry awards – including recognition by the Consumer Technology Association™ as a CES® 2019 Innovation Awards Honoree for OceanMedallion™. A revolutionary wearable device that contains a proprietary blend of communication technologies, OceanMedallion enables the world's first interactive guest experience platform transforming vacation travel on a large scale into a highly personalized level of customized service. The prestigious CES Innovation Awards honor outstanding design and engineering in consumer technology products. 

Additional information can be found on www.carnival.com, www.princess.com, www.hollandamerica.com, www.seabourn.com, www.pocruises.com.au, www.costacruise.com, www.aida.de, www.pocruises.com and www.cunard.com.

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SOURCE Carnival Corporation & plc

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