Aviation Sustainability and the Environment, CAPA 20-May-2021

This CAPA report features a summary of recent aviation sustainability and environment news, selected from the 300+ news alerts published daily by CAPA. For more information, please contact us.

Air Canada and EIA enter partnership to test emerging green technologies

Air Canada and Edmonton International Airport (EIA) entered (18-May-2021) a new partnership to reduce carbon emissions and advance sustainability initiatives in the aviation sector.

The partnership will test emerging green technologies at EIA's Airport City Sustainability Campus, including the following:

• Electrification of aviation equipment;
• Hydrogen fuel cell technologies;
• Green power generation using Airport City Solar, the world's largest airport based solar farm;
• Development and usage of sustainable aviation fuels, biofuels and hydrogen;
• Replacement of single use plastics with plant fibre materials;
• Drones for e-commerce and cargo delivery;
• Other initiatives in industries such as agriculture and forestry to offset carbon emissions. [more - original PR]

Original report: Edmonton International Airport and Air Canada form landmark green partnership

Edmonton International Airport and Air Canada form landmark green partnership

First agreement in Canada to reduce the carbon impact of air travel

Edmonton International Airport (EIA) and Air Canada are signing a new partnership to reduce carbon emissions and advance a green and sustainable aviation sector.

The EIA-Air Canada Sustainability Partnership aims to reduce the carbon impact of air travel with both organizations working together to test emerging green technologies at EIA's Airport City Sustainability Campus, an ecosystem that EIA created to foster environmental innovation. The partnership reflects both corporations' pledges to sustainability and reducing carbon emissions to a net-zero future.

The EIA-Air Canada Sustainability Partnership will focus on initiatives that will promote a cleaner environment and include the following:

• Electrification of aviation equipment
• Hydrogen fuel cell technologies
• Green power generation using Airport City Solar, the world's largest airport-based solar farm
• Development and usage of sustainable aviation fuels, biofuels and hydrogen
• Replacement of single-use plastics with plant-fibre materials
• Drones for e-commerce and cargo delivery
• Other initiatives in industries such as agriculture and forestry to offset carbon emissions

"Finding good partners who share our core values is critical. Air Canada is passionate about reducing its environmental impact and our partnership shows how airlines and airports can work together to promote a sustainable future. This is only the beginning as we know that there are tremendous opportunities to lead in both an environmentally and economically sustainable way."

- Myron Keehn, Vice President, Air Service and Business Development, Edmonton International Airport

"This partnership with Edmonton Airports is an important step towards our midterm 2030 objectives that roll up into our overall net zero by 2050 emissions goal. We look forward to working together in developing innovative, long term, sustainable airport and ground operations emission reductions that could potentially be scaled at other airports in Canada and internationally."

- Samuel Elfassy, Vice President, Safety at Air Canada

These commitments will create highly skilled jobs, stimulate economic development, and help attract more investment to the Edmonton Metropolitan Region as it transitions to a greener economy.

EIA and Air Canada partnered on a 2018 Edmonton to San Francisco flight that used sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), reducing the net emissions from this flight by 20 per cent. Air Canada and EIA will continue to pursue and advocate for the development of sustainable aviation fuels as a critical step to reduce carbon emissions.

As part of its commitment to net zero emissions from all global operations by 2050, Air Canada has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions from flights by 20 per cent by 2030 and from ground operations by 30 per cent compared to a 2019 baseline. EIA is the first and only airport in the world to sign The Climate Pledge, cofounded by Amazon committing to be carbon neutral by 2040.

To learn more about EIA's environmental sustainability visit flyeia.com/environment. Air Canada's ESG activities is detailed in the airline's Corporate Sustainability Report, Citizens of the World.

ANA Holdings to issue USD92m sustainability linked bonds

ANA Holdings announced (19-May-2021) plans to publicly offer JPY10 billion (USD91.6 million) of sustainability linked bonds with a five year maturity, supported by SMBC Nikko Securities Inc as a structuring agent in Jun-2021, further reinforcing the company's commitment to its environmental, social and governance goals. [more - original PR]

Original report: ANA HOLDINGS Announces to Issue Sustainability-Linked Bonds

ANA HOLDINGS INC. (hereinafter "ANA HD") announced today that it will publicly offer Sustainability-Linked Bonds further reinforcing the company's commitment to its environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals. The bonds will be offered this June in the amount of 10 billion yen with a 5 year maturitysupported by SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. as a structuring agent.

"The ANA Group has consistently prioritized social good in its actions and through the issuance of the Sustainability-Linked Bonds, will further drive change as we look for ways to adopt multifaceted approaches to meet our ambitious ESG goals," said Ichiro Fukuzawa, CFO of ANA HD. "We provide a crucial service connecting people and cultures, and it is our hope that the ANA Group will be a leader of change as the world emerges from the COVID-19 crisis."

Aim and Background of the Bond Offering

In order to achieve sustainable growth and to create both social and economic value, ANA Group has established a mid-term corporate strategy that focuses on ESG management. ANA Group identified the Environment, Human Rights, Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) and Regional Revitalization as its four main pillars and has incorporated them into its corporate strategy.

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As a global company, the ANA Group strongly believes in contributing to the achievement of the United Nations SDGs through its business activities. ANA HD offered Green Bonds for environmental initiatives in 2018 and Social Bonds for D&I initiatives in 2019. Our decision to issue the Sustainability-Linked Bonds is a result of our commitment to enhance initiatives in our all four core ESG values through the pursuance of our Sustainability Performance Targets (SPTs).

The ANA Group aspires to be a company that grows together with society by approaching global issues in a unique way. As we face the total impact of COVID-19, we recognize that our ESG values are becoming of greater importance for long-term sustainable development, and we will continue to address environmental and social issues from a mid to long-term perspective.

Selection of SPTs

The ANA Group utilizes external ESG-related indices (including the 4 select SPTs) to gain an objective understanding of our initiatives. As these external parties reflect the most up-to-date global trends and the will of a diverse set of stakeholders, we believe that they are ideal to assess our progress of ESG management.

The following are the SPTs for the issuance of Sustainability-Linked Bonds:

① Company listing on the DJSI World and DJSI Asia Pacific

② Company listing on the FTSE4Good Index

③ Company listing on the MSCI Japan ESG Select Leaders Index

④ Company rating of "A-" or above on the CDP

If two or more of the above SPTs have not been achieved at the end of fiscal 2022 (March 31, 2023), ANA HD will make a donation to organizations engaged in activities aimed at creating positive impacts on the environment and society, and aim to deliver additional positive impacts as much as possible.

The SPTs selected above are associated with the "Governance" aspect as the ratings results will be reflected in the compensation of our executives. The ANA Group has set targets to be achieved for the themes of "Environment" and "Society", and aims to achieve them by making "Governance" work.

The framework for the issuance of Sustainability-Linked Bonds has been reviewed and evaluated by Rating and Investment Information, Inc. (R&I), and has been recognized for complying with the "Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles 2020" of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA). In addition, R&I will review the company's disclosures and publish a report on the progress and achievement of the SPTs for the bonds.

LATAM Airlines Group launches onboard recycling programme

LATAM Airlines Group launched (17-May-2021) an onboard recycling programme for all domestic services in Chile.

The programme involves the sorting and separation of plastics, aluminium and glass onboard aircraft.

It will be expanded to LATAM subsidiaries in Ecuador from Jun-2021, Peru from Aug-2021 and Colombia and Brazil from Dec-2021.

LATAM will also expand its personnel uniform recycling programme to Brazil and Chile from Aug-2021 and Ecuador from Nov-2021. [more - original PR - Spanish]

Original report: Grupo LATAM inicia la implementación de programas de reciclaje a bordo y de uniformes para todas sus filiales

• Desde hoy, todos los vuelos domésticos en Chile contarán con la segregación a bordo de plásticos, aluminio y vidrio gracias al programa "Recicla tu viaje", que se lanzará en Ecuador en junio, en Perú en agosto y en Colombia y Brasil en diciembre.

• En Perú, el grupo reforzará su programa pionero de reciclaje de uniformes "Segundo Vuelo", que se implementará en Brasil y en Chile en agosto y en Ecuador en noviembre.

A 12 días de haber lanzado su estrategia de sostenibilidad, LATAM Airlines Group anuncia que implementará el reciclaje a bordo en todos los vuelos domésticos de los países donde opera y llevará el programa de reciclaje de uniformes desde Perú al resto de las filiales de aquí a fin de año.

Estas iniciativas de reciclaje son los primeros hitos que concreta el grupo tras revelar su plan de sostenibilidad a inicio de este mes. Cabe recordar que la estrategia de LATAM para los próximos 30 años contempla cuatro pilares de trabajo: gestión ambiental, cambio climático, economía circular y valor compartido y busca contribuir a la conservación de los ecosistemas y el bienestar de las personas de América del Sur.

Las acciones de reciclaje consideran, por una parte, la reactivación de "Recicla tu Viaje" en Chile, lanzado en 2019, y "Segundo Vuelo" en Perú que cuenta con tres años de historia. Ambos programas, suspendidos por la pandemia, se retoman hoy en esos países y se enmarcan dentro del pilar de economía circular.

"En el Día Mundial del Reciclaje, estamos anunciando dos iniciativas que pronto extenderemos a todas las filiales. Estas acciones permitirán acercar el cuidado del medioambiente a nuestros pasajeros y tripulantes y avanzar al objetivo de eliminar los plásticos de un solo uso antes del 2023 y transformarnos en un Grupo que genere cero residuos a vertedero para el año 2027", declaró el Vicepresidente de Clientes de LATAM Airlines Group, Paulo Miranda.

En el caso de "Recicla tu viaje", la tripulación segregará los residuos generados a bordo entre aluminio, vidrio y plástico en todos los vuelos domésticos en Chile. Una vez aterrizado el avión, dichos residuos serán entregados a LSG Sky Chefs, quien los transportará a los diferentes puntos de reciclaje. Este programa corporativo se estrenará en Ecuador en junio, en Perú en agosto y en Colombia y Brasil en diciembre.

Por su parte, "Segundo Vuelo" es un programa pionero que nace en Perú y corresponde al reciclaje de uniformes en desuso que se entregan a artesanas como insumo para la elaboración de productos. Gracias a este programa, el grupo no sólo minimiza el impacto en el medio ambiente mediante la conversión de residuo textil, sino que también apoya la construcción de una comunidad más sostenible a través de alianzas, generación de empleo y promoción del consumo responsable.

LATAM Perú tiene como aliadas a las artesanas de SISAN, quienes utilizan los textiles para producir artesanías que resaltan las iconografías del santuario de Pachacamac. Dado el éxito de la iniciativa, LATAM la implementará en Brasil y en Chile en agosto y en Ecuador en noviembre.

United Airlines collaborating with 16 environmental partners

United Airlines announced (16-May-2021) a collaboration with 16 new environmental, non profit partners to advance sustainability efforts across its hub cities and Hawaii.

The partnerships are part of the carrier's plans to become 100% green and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 100% by 2050. [more - original PR]

Original report: United Strengthens Sustainability Commitment Through Collaboration with More Than a Dozen New Community Organizations

Airline supports organizations focused on clean-technology innovation, recycling strategies, and grassroots environmental education and justice

United works with more environmental, nonprofit partners than any other major U.S. airline

United announced today that it has teamed up with more than a dozen new environmental, nonprofit partners to advance sustainability efforts across the airline's hub cities as well as Hawaii, complementing the airline's commitment to become 100% green and reduce its greenhouse gas emissions 100% by 2050.

Among the 16 new partners are Carbon180 and RMI, which have worked with United to support decarbonization and Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) initiatives at a policy level; Delta Institute and Liberty Hill, which have participated in listening sessions and awareness events with United employees; and Galveston Bay Foundation and Kanu Hawaii, with which United employees volunteered in Houston and on the islands of Oahu, Maui and Kauai in local cleanups and sustainable agriculture activities throughout Earth Month.

Since 2018, United has contributed more than $60 million in cash and in-kind contributions to nonprofit partners and United employees have volunteered more than 220,000 hours in communities across the country. With the addition of these new sustainability partners, the airline now supports 27 organizations focused on clean-technology innovation, recycling strategies, grassroots environmental education and justice, and other social impact initiatives - more than any other major U.S. airline.

"We are excited to partner with nonprofits in every one of our hub markets who are focused on protecting the environment, advocating for change, and driving innovation in sustainability," said Suzi Cabo, Managing Director, Global Community Engagement at United. "We have committed to becoming the most environmentally conscious airline in the world and, to achieve this, have a responsibility to drive meaningful change in the communities that we serve and put our people and planes to work for the greater good."

United's Global Community Partners

United will work with the following environmental partners in 2021:

Global - Organizations that support broad programs from wildlife and nature conservation to renewable energy, located in the U.S. and around the world.

-Audubon International

-Carbon180*

-Conservation International

-Good360

-GRID Alternatives*

-RMI*

Environmental Innovators - Organizations that foster research, development and programming focused on reducing carbon in the atmosphere and promoting renewable energy.

-Elemental Excelerator (San Francisco and Honolulu)*

-LA Cleantech Incubator (Los Angeles)

-Prime Coalition (Boston)*

-Rutgers University (Newark)*

Environmental Justice and Equity - Organizations that fight to ensure a more equitable future for our communities' most vulnerable members.

-Air Alliance Houston (Houston)*

-The Alliance Center (Denver)*

-Delta Institute (Chicago)*

-Groundwork Elizabeth (Newark)*

-Liberty Hill (Los Angeles)*

-San Francisco Baykeeper (San Francisco)

United Employee Social Impact - Organizations that support United's on-the-ground commitment to connecting people and uniting the world through employee volunteer opportunities.

-California State Parks Foundation (Los Angeles and San Francisco)

-City Parks Foundation (New York City)

-Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) (Washington, D.C.)*

-Galveston Bay Foundation (Houston)*

-Greater Newark Conservancy (Newark)

-Kanu Hawaii (Honolulu)*

-Mile High Youth Corps (Denver)

-New York Restoration Project (New York City)

-Potomac Riverkeeper Network (Washington, D.C.)*

-Shedd Aquarium (Chicago)

-Volunteers for Outdoors Colorado (Denver)*

*Denotes a new partnership in 2021.

United's 100% Green Commitment

At United, we believe the airline industry needs to be bolder when it comes to making decisions that confront the climate crisis. That's why we've committed to become 100% green and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions 100% by 2050 by taking the harder, better path of reducing emissions from flying, rather than relying on traditional carbon offsets.

Here are some of the ways we're making sustainability the new standard in flight:

• United has more publicly announced SAF purchase commitments than any other airline in the world. In fact, United's commitments are nearly as large as the rest of the world's airline's commitments combined.
• In April 2021, we launched the first-of-its-kind Eco-Skies Alliance SM program. Working with the airline, more than a dozen leading global corporations will collectively contribute towards the purchase of approximately 3.4 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) this year.
• In February 2021, we announced an agreement to work with Archer Aviation to accelerate the development and production of their electric aircraft - an urban mobility solution that has the potential to serve as an 'air taxi,' giving United customers another opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint before they even board a United flight.
• In 2020, we became the first airline to announce a commitment to invest in carbon capture and sequestration by committing to a multimillion-dollar investment in 1PointFive, a joint venture between Oxy Low Carbon Ventures and Rusheen Capital that plans to build the first industrial-sized Direct Air Capture plant in the United States. A single plant is expected to capture and permanently sequester one million tons of CO2 each year, the equivalent of the work of 40 million trees, but covering a land area about 3,000 times smaller.
• In 2019, we committed $40 million toward an investment initiative focused on accelerating the development of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other decarbonization technologies. That same year, we operated the Flight for the Planet, which represented the most-eco-friendly commercial flight of its kind in the history of commercial aviation.
• In 2018, we became the first U.S. airline to commit to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions-50% by 2050.
• In 2016, we became the first airline globally to use SAF in regular operations on a continuous basis with SAF from World Energy.

Nagoya Chubu Centrair Airport aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050

Nagoya Chubu Centrair International Airport announced (12-May-2021) it aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Nagoya will use 2013 as its baseline and aims to achieve a 46% reduction in total carbon emissions from this baseline by 2030.

The airport will implement the following measures to achieve these targets:

• Convert all aviation lighting to LEDs;
• Develop solar power generation facilities;
• Replace ground support vehicles with electric and hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles;
• Work with stakeholders to facilitate and encourage use of sustainable aviation fuels. [more - original PR - Japanese]

Excerpt from original report: セントレア・ゼロカーボン 2050 宣言

中部国際空港株式会社は、2050 年までに空港からのＣＯ２排出について実質ゼロを目指す「セントレア・ゼロカーボン 2050 宣言」を表明いたします。

地球温暖化対策は国際社会共通の喫緊の課題であり、我が国においては、昨年 10 月に、2050 年
までに温室効果ガスの排出を全体でゼロとする「2050 年カーボンニュートラル」が宣言され、
さらに今年 4 月には 2030 年度の温室効果ガスを 2013 年度比で 46％削減するとの新たな目標が
示されたところです。

これまで、中部国際空港ではコージェネレーションシステムの導入、ターミナルビルへの太陽光
発電システムの設置、水素エネルギーの活用など、環境負荷低減に取り組んでまいりましたが、
この宣言を機に CO2 排出実質ゼロを実現すべく、さらに取組みを推進してまいります。
今後とも、空港関係事業者等で構成するセントレアエコエアポート推進協議会をはじめ、国や
自治体等と連携を強化し、ＣＯ２排出実質ゼロの実現を目指してまいります。