Fred. Olsen Becomes First Cruise Line With Silver Carbon Literacy

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines has been awarded Silver Carbon Literate Organization status by The Carbon Literacy Project, becoming the first cruise line to reach the Silver CLO tier. The award was presented June 3 at the Project’s seventh annual CLO Awards after Fred. Olsen expanded carbon-literacy training to 88 employees across 17 departments.

The Silver award follows the Bronze CLO accreditation Fred. Olsen achieved in November 2025. The company said the program now reaches 40 percent of its workforce and is intended to help employees identify ways to reduce the carbon impact of daily operations.

Training linked to operational changes

“Achieving Silver Carbon Literate status is a proud moment for Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines,” said Dominic Simpson, sustainability manager at Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines. Simpson said colleagues had shown a commitment “to better understanding our carbon impact” and to taking “meaningful, informed action in support of a more responsible future for our sector.”

Fred. Olsen connected the training to specific changes across its operation, including the digitalization of selected shipboard services and AI-powered food-waste monitoring onboard the Bolette. The line currently operates three ships, Bolette, Borealis and Balmoral, on UK-based itineraries from ports including Southampton, Dover and Liverpool.

What Silver CLO status entails

The Carbon Literacy Project’s CLO framework has four accreditation levels: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Bronze, Silver and Gold applications are assessed against training, impact and advocacy criteria; Platinum adds a research category.

Organizations applying above Bronze must show that they meet lower-tier requirements and provide evidence for the tier sought, including certified-employee records. The criteria also require individual and collective pledges, and accreditation is valid for three years.

For Silver, the Project’s criteria include integration of Carbon Literacy into performance management and visual promotion on the organization’s website. The award therefore requires evidence beyond participation in a training course, although Fred. Olsen did not disclose how many employees hold individual Carbon Literate certification.

“Carbon Literacy is an essential skill, vital to every thriving industry and workplace,” said Dave Coleman, co-founder and managing director at The Carbon Literacy Project. “Nothing proves this quite like a major player in a high-impact industry gaining Carbon Literate Organization accreditation.”

Fred. Olsen has not announced a timetable for seeking Gold or Platinum status. The Gold tier would require certification for a majority of the workforce and two additional actions from the Project’s collaboration, training-delivery, sponsorship or case-study categories.