Aviation Sustainability and the Environment, CAPA 05-Jun-2020

KLM CO2 emissions down 4% in 2019 compared with 2005, 175k pax fly carbon neutral

Original report: Air France-KLM Sustainability Report 2019 available now.

The impact of the COVID-19 crisis is unprecedented and it is still unclear how exactly the world and societies will look like after this pandemic. The crisis has hit the globe as it transitions to a more sustainable economy. The aviation sector is also undergoing fundamental change as a result. Even in these difficult times, KLM will not lose sight of the challenges that climate change poses to society. Even better, our work will be continued with even more effort.

In the past 30 years, KLM has already taken many steps towards making aviation more sustainable, and last year this was reflected in the sustainability initiative Fly Responsibly. A sustainable operation, innovation, and collaboration with other parties have been - and still are - the foundations on which our operation is built and they will continue to play a vital role in the reconstruction of our company and sector coming out of this crisis.

KLM President & CEO Pieter Elbers

For the 15th consecutive year, Air France-KLM secured a place in the top three of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) Airlines category in September 2019. KLM is extremely proud of this position, which indicates how successful KLM is at working to make airlines and the aviation sector more sustainable. Below is a summary of the most important activities KLM undertook in 2019. (The full list can be found in the appendix "2019 at a Glance").

Fly Responsibly

In June 2019, KLM launched Fly Responsibly as part of its ongoing commitment to ensure a more sustainable future for aviation. Fly Responsibly encompasses everything KLM is doing, and is going to do, to make its activities more sustainable and is predicated on three strategic pillars: Reduce, Replace, Compensate. In an open letter published worldwide in 2019, KLM invited stakeholders across the aviation industry to join forces to develop sustainable solutions for the sector. Under the banner Fly Responsibly, KLM invited - and continues to invite - other airlines, partners, customers and employees to use KLM's sustainability projects and resources, and to share their insights and experiences with KLM in return.

Reducing carbon emissions, SAF and compensation

The KLM Group has cut its total carbon emissions by 4% since 2005 and by 31% per passenger (compared to 2005). The targets for 2030 stand at -15% and -50% respectively. Fleet renewal has contributed substantially to this result. In 2019, KLM took delivery of eight new, quieter and more fuel-efficient aircraft, including the Dreamliner 787-10.

KLM is also continuing to invest in Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). Last year KLM purchased 6911 tonnes of SAF and announced that it would be building the Netherlands' first SAF production plant in partnership with SkyNRG. This will enable KLM to increase its use of sustainable fuel in the near future. New partners also joined KLM's Corporate Biofuel Programme: Microsoft, SHV Energy and Neste.

KLM has also taken further steps to reduce carbon emissions on the ground. It aims to achieve a carbon-neutral ground operation by around 2030. Last year, KLM reduced its ground operations' carbon emissions by 50%, compared to the previous year (2018). This was achieved by buying in green energy and deploying electric ground equipment.

175,000 passengers' travel was carbon neutral last year, thanks to KLM's compensation programme CO2ZERO. This scheme enabled 680 hectares of tropical forest to be planted in Panama.

Reducing waste volume

KLM has already achieved a 19% reduction in non-recyclable waste, which it aims to cut further to 50% by 2030 (compared to 2011). This will be achieved by producing less waste overall and by increasing the proportion that can be recycled. KLM is also investing in other innovative ideas, such as recycling different kinds of catering items within a closed system and recycling PET bottles into 3D-printer filament to make aircraft repair and maintenance tools.

Flying V

KLM has also contributed to research into an innovative aircraft design, called Flying V, at Delft University of Technology. This concept represents an entirely new approach to aircraft design, which will make long-haul flight operations much more sustainable in future.

Replacing short-haul flights

Thalys, NS and KLM last year joined forces for the action plan Smart and Sustainable, to prepare to replace short-haul flights with international rail links. The first daily service that KLM intended to remove from its flight schedule and replace with a train service was Amsterdam-Brussels. This was planned for the end of March 2020.

UPS (NYSE:UPS) today announced the company will commemorate World Environment Day on June 5 by matching the carbon offsets of all packages shipped via its carbon neutral program during the month of June. UPS carbon neutral counterbalances the estimated carbon impact of each shipment by purchasing certified carbon offsets.

"There is truly no better way to honor World Environment Day than to facilitate actions that will help the planet," said Suzanne Lindsay-Walker, UPS chief sustainability officer (CSO) and vice president of environmental affairs. "UPS hopes to create more awareness about our carbon neutral shipping option so additional customers will take advantage of it, thus helping to fund large-scale carbon reduction programs and reduce the total carbon impact of shipping on the environment."

To participate, shippers pay a small fee to offset the carbon footprint of shipping their packages then UPS will match these offsets throughout June. This is essentially doubling the shipper's impact thereby allowing the shipper to potentially net out "carbon negative" in June. The per package flat rate price for the optional service is $0.05 for UPS® ground services and $0.20 for UPS Next Day Air®, UPS2nd Day Air® and UPS 3 Day Select® services.

UPS started its carbon neutral program in 2010 and offsets more than 60 million packages annually for customers, which equates to more than 100,000 metric tonnes of carbon offset each year. UPS has supported projects worldwide that include forestation, landfill gas destruction, and wastewater treatment. UPS carbon neutral option is verified by Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS), an inspection, testing, and verification company. Additionally, UPS's carbon offset process adheres to The CarbonNeutral Protocol from Natural Capital Partners.

UPS's carbon neutral offering is just one way the company is helping shippers reduce their impact on the environment. Customers can also choose more sustainable last mile delivery options and solutions designed for more efficient returns. One option is to direct packages to UPS Access Point® locations (such as The UPS Store, CVS pharmacy, Michaels or Advance Auto Parts) where consolidated deliveries can take place for multiple consumers preventing several delivery attempts to a single residence. On the returns front, UPSworks with a company called Optoro, using its returns optimization platform that helps shippers maximize recovery value and reduce items going to landfills. Additionally, customers can participate in UPS's Eco Responsible Packaging Program or UPS can conduct a carbon impact analysis on their shipping.

Furthermore, customers benefit from the carbon reduction efforts UPS undertakes in its own operations. During the last decade, UPS has invested more than $1 billion on alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles as well as supporting infrastructure. The company is now the largest user of renewable natural gas in the transportation industry and has a specialized alternative fuel and advanced technology fleet of more than 10,300 vehicles. Recently, UPS announced plans to purchase more than 6,000 natural gas trucks through 2022. And, in January, UPS announced an investment in the UK-based technology startup firm Arrival and committed to buy 10,000 of their electric vehicles. UPS is an important part of its customers' supply chains and continues to offer sustainability solutions that impact their value chains.

UPS will automatically match all offsets during the month of June.

EDF: IATA requested change to CORSIA would effectively postpone it for three to five years

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) published (21-May-2020) an analysis of a rule rewrite sought by IATA to the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), which caps the carbon emissions of international flights at the average of 2019-2020 emissions, and requires airlines to use alternative fuels or offset any emissions above that baseline. Citing the COVID-19 crisis, IATA asked the ICAO Council to change the baseline to 2019 emissions only by Jun-2020.

EDF modelled the proposed change under five post COVID-19 emission scenarios. The analysis finds that in most scenarios, the rule rewrite would "effectively postpone the start of the programme for three to five years". EDF stated that rewriting CORSIA's rules would "not only give airlines a free pass to pollute for the next half-decade, it would undermine investor confidence in airlines' climate commitments at a time when regaining investor confidence is crucial to the sector's survival".

The body added that CORSIA already includes a flexibility mechanism that would lower airlines' offset obligations in its first three years, giving airlines essentially the same amount of offset responsibilities in the programme's "pilot phase" as if the pandemic had never happened. [more - original PR]

Original report: CORSIA: Industry-sought rule change threatens aviation climate program

Bombardier (TSX: BBD.B) today released its 2019 Activity Report, reaffirming its commitment to sustainability and highlighting the Company's progress over the past year towards achieving its environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals.

"As a company entrusted to safely move millions of people around the globe every day, Bombardier is proud to be a leader in sustainable business practices," said Éric Martel, President and Chief Executive Officer, Bombardier Inc. "Moreover, the current global health and economic crisis has demonstrated that sustainability is more important today than ever before. With this Activity Report, we hope to send a clear message reaffirming our commitment to pursuing ambitious ESG goals as we look to move beyond the current crisis."

Recognized among Corporate Knights' Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World, Bombardier is committed to developing efficient, cost-effective and innovative products, efficiently managing resources in its operations and across its supply chain, and transparently and annually reporting on its progress.

The Company also believes that the manner in which it delivers its results is as important as the results it achieves, which includes maintaining the highest ethical standards, creating a people-centric and healthy work environment and supporting the communities where it operates.

Bombardier's 2019 Activity Report highlights the Company's progress in integrating ESG considerations across the organization. Notable achievements from the past year include playing a leadership role in promoting the adoption and availability of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in business aviation; exceeding its goal of providing more than 1,000 paid internships in Canada and launching an updated Code of Ethics, Supplier Code of Conduct and enhanced ethics and compliance program.

In 2020, Bombardier expects to announce and deploy a renewed global sustainability strategy, overseen by its Board of Directors, to create value for stakeholders and further the company's goal of building a world-class, sustainable business for the long-term.

Bombardier has published reports about its sustainability performance since 2008.

• Funded by the European Commission, ESTiMatE will develop advanced software for the smart prediction of pollutant emissions and soot in aero-engine combustors.
• This new tool is being developed using a novel approach that combines sophisticated experiments and reaction models.
• The tool will have a significant impact on the design of cleaner engines for the aeronautical sector.

The European ESTiMatE project (Emissions SooT ModEl) is addressing Europe´s 2050 vision of reducing the environmental impact of aviation by developing an advanced modelling and simulation software tool to allow more reliable analysis and prediction of the soot formation process in aero-engines. The tool will be an important factor in designing engines that will consume less fuel and emit fewer emissions, especially soot.

The project is coordinated by the Barcelona Supercomputing Center in collaboration with aero-engine manufacturing giant Rolls-Royce. With a funding of €1.8M, ESTiMatE´s modelling strategy involves simulations of chemical evolution of jet fuel and particle formation in aero-engine combustors.

"Our project uses a multidisciplinary approach for the study of the formation and destruction pathways of soot and further pollutant emissions," said ESTiMatE coordinator Oriol Lehmkuhl. "We are integrating research and industrial design based on advanced CFD modelling and simulation with experimentation. Our aim is to develop a highly reliable and smart software tool that will be more accurate and more efficient than those used in the industry today."

ESTiMatE´s work will strengthen Europe´s aeronautical sector by reducing the time and cost involved in aircraft design, testing, and certification. There will also be positive implications for the environment and the population worldwide due to the reduced emissions.

"The aviation industry has largely benefitted society but it is also responsible for CO2 and other emissions that not only contribute to global warming but also affect public health. The ultimate goal of the ESTiMatE project is to help reduce this industry´s negative impact and to make aviation more sustainable for future generations," said ESTiMatE technical manager Daniel Mira.