Going green was a key topic at the 2021 APEX/IFSA conference in Long Beach. The CEOs and Presidents from United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Japan Airlines, Turkish Airlines, Atlantic Airways, Spirit Airlines, Star Alliance, Southwest Airlines, JSX, and Saudia all emphasized the importance of sustainability in the Airline Industry.
Sustainability is also a high priority with airline inflight services operations—ranging from waste management to weight reduction to smart packaging and fuel savings. To reduce CO2 emissions, airlines are looking at several key areas within their in-flight services operations, including:
- Adopting the mantra of “reduce, recycle, and reuse”
- Decreasing the amount of meat served on board as well as increasing vegetarian options grown sustainably with fresh, responsible ingredients
- Reducing food containers and cutlery wastage with hand-held items for breakfast and lightening the weights of the meal service carts that get boarded on every flight
- Utilizing recycled materials to replace porcelain dinnerware
- Cutting their carbon footprint by reducing CO2 in their supply chain, by using locally sourced and seasonal foods that decrease the carbon footprint.
Airline CEOs are taking the lead in their sustainability initiatives and have aggressive plans to be fully climate positive by 2030. They also talked about:
- Becoming carbon neutral for all domestic flights by utilizing sustainable aviation fuel
- Investing billions of dollars in more efficient operations for a better carbon-neutral future
- Adopting the Make Green Initiative by 2050
- Obtaining net-zero carbon emissions by 2050
Airlines are taking significant steps to become more carbon neutral and environmentally friendly. By far, reducing fuel consumption is the best way for airlines to reduce greenhouse gases. And by lowering inflight service weights, airlines can achieve sustainability sooner. By reducing the use of single-use plastics, recycling, and implementing more efficient and accurate meal planning, airlines decrease the amount of wastage and lower their overall onboard service weight. This leads to cutting fuel consumption and, thereby, reducing their overall carbon footprint.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of our series on Sustainability in the Airline Industry.