Aviation Sustainability and the Environment, CAPA 27-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.

Singapore Airlines Group commits to net zero carbon emissions by 2050

Singapore Airlines Group (SIA) committed (24-May-2021) to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 through investing in new generation aircraft, adopting low carbon technology and sourcing for high quality carbon offsets.

The group will also collaborate with stakeholders in Singapore to develop a holistic decarbonisation plan towards a goal of strengthening the country's air hub and maintaining its competitive advantage.

SIA provided the following sustainability highlights to date:

• Order book comprises new generation models including A350-900 and A320neo, as well as Boeing 777-9, 787 and 737 MAX 8. These aircraft are up to 30% more fuel efficient and have reduced carbon emissions compared to older models;
• Invested in engineering improvement packages for airframes and engines which help to reduce drag and improve engine efficiency;
• Active member of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group since 2011;
• Launched a series of green package flights in 2017 from San Francisco to Singapore that incorporated sustainable aviation fuels, fuel efficient aircraft and optimised air traffic management measures;
• Worked with Swedavia in 2020 to uplift sustainable aviation fuels on flights departing from the city;
• Participant in ICAO's Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, which seeks to cap the industry's growth in carbon emissions from 2020. [more - original PR]

Original report: SINGAPORE AIRLINES GROUP COMMITS TO NET ZERO CARBON EMISSIONS BY 2050

The Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group today announced its commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, reinforcing its long-standing strategy of working towards decarbonisation and environmental sustainability across its operations.

The Group's airlines, Singapore Airlines, Scoot and SIA Cargo, will use multiple levers to achieve this goal. These include investing in new-generation aircraft, achieving higher operational efficiency, adopting low-carbon technology such as sustainable aviation fuels, and sourcing for high quality carbon offsets.

SIA Group has pursued multiple projects in support of its sustainability goals even amidst the Covid-19 pandemic. For example, the Group completed the installation of solar panels on all of its office buildings in Singapore. This generates renewable energy that provides up to 18 per cent of its electricity demand, or enough to power around 2,300 four-room apartments in Singapore for a year.

In 2020, SIA rolled out a new regional Economy Class meal concept that offers increased food choices for customers. It features tableware comprising sustainable paper packaging and bamboo cutlery, reducing the amount of single-use plastics in the cabin. This packaging weighs 50 per cent less, helping to lower fuel consumption. Everything from the tableware to the food waste will be sent to an eco-digestor to be converted to refuse-derived energy pellets that can replace fossil fuels and coal.

Mr Goh Choon Phong, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Airlines, said: "We have remained focused on our sustainability goals even as we navigated the Covid-19 pandemic. We know that this is also an increasingly important issue to both our customers and staff. With today's pledge to achieve net-zero emissions, we buttress the SIA Group's leadership position on this topic and reinforce our commitment to finding ways to tackle our impact on the environment.

"Today, the most effective and direct way for an airline to materially lower carbon emissions is by operating a young fleet of aircraft. The SIA Group's fleet has an average age of under six years, making it one of the youngest in the world. Over the last year, we have retired 45 older aircraft. We will be gradually replacing them with new-generation aircraft that are up to 30 per cent more fuel efficient, and will substantially lower our emissions in coming years.

"However, we can't achieve our goals on our own. We will continue to collaborate with governments, the airline industry, and partners such as aircraft manufacturers, technology providers, and fuel suppliers, both in Singapore and around the world. We must work together to push the envelope, and find innovative solutions that help us meet our targets on this journey."

How the SIA Group aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050

The SIA Group's aircraft fleet has an average age of five years 10 months, and it continues to invest in the latest technology. The Group's order book comprises new-generation models such as Airbus' A350-900 and A320neo Family and Boeing's 777-9, 787 Family and 737-8 Max. These aircraft are up to 30 per cent more fuel-efficient and have reduced carbon emissions compared to older models.

There is also a relentless focus on increasing fuel efficiency through improvements in operational procedures. For example, the SIA Group has invested in engineering improvement packages for airframes and engines which help to reduce drag and improve engine efficiency. The Group's airlines continuously aim to improve fuel productivity through initiatives such as reducing fuel usage through aircraft weight management, and optimisation of flight routes. Innovations in technology and data analytics will also pave the way for more significant improvements, and the Group will continue to engage research institutions to explore such ideas.

Singapore Airlines has been an active member of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group (SAFUG) since 2011. In 2017, SIA launched a series of green package flights from San Francisco to Singapore that incorporated sustainable aviation fuels, fuel-efficient aircraft and optimised air traffic management measures. In 2020, SIA worked with Stockholm's Swedavia Airport to uplift sustainable aviation fuels on flights departing from the city. These activities have helped to improve the Group's understanding of the logistics and procurement of renewable fuels. SIA is actively working with partners and stakeholders to explore opportunities to scale up the adoption of sustainable aviation fuels across our network.

Beyond reducing direct emissions, carbon offsetting can play an important and complementary role. The SIA Group is a participant in the International Civil Aviation Organisation's Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), which seeks to cap the industry's growth in carbon emissions from 2020. While offsetting is particularly important in the mid-term, it is also expected to remain relevant in the long run to mitigate residual emissions. In order to secure high quality carbon offsets, the Group will continue exploring pathways through partnership that will allow us to source high quality carbon offsets.

As the SIA Group embarks on this journey towards net zero emissions by 2050, it will continue to collaborate with like-minded partners to develop a robust sustainable aviation fuel supply chain and carbon market. This includes working together with stakeholders in Singapore to develop a holistic decarbonisation plan, which complements Singapore's goal of strengthening the country's air hub and maintaining its competitive advantage into the future.

easyJet holidays to offset holiday emissions

easyJet announced (20-May-2021) easyJet holidays is now the first major tour operator to offset the carbon emissions directly associated with its holidays, including the fuel from services and transfers as well as the energy from hotel stays. [more - original PR]

Excerpt from original report: Results for the six months ending 31 March 2021

Sustainability

Despite the impact of the pandemic, easyJet has continued to reaffirm its commitment to sustainability, which is of significant and growing importance to our customers. 72% of consumers say that the sustainable behaviour of a company is now a more important factor in a purchase decision since the global outbreak of Covid-19. The likelihood of consumers choosing easyJet over another airline as a direct result of our carbon offsetting policy continues to increase steadily, rising to 45% for YTD 2021 (an increase of 4 percentage points compared to FY20 figures). We are also proud to announce that easyJet holidays is now the first major tour operator to offset the carbon emissions directly associated with its holidays - the fuel from flights and transfers plus the energy from hotel stays.

In November 2019 we established our new Sustainability Strategy, focused on driving down our environmental impact. Our strategy has three pillars: tackling our carbon emissions; stimulating carbon innovation; and going beyond carbon.

· Tackling carbon emissions: We were the world's first major airline to operate carbon neutral flying across our entire network, and we continue to work tirelessly to minimise carbon emissions across our operations. We continue to operate a fleet of modern, fuel efficient aircraft and are always looking for more ways to be fuel efficient and emit less carbon. Alongside our continued efficiency efforts, we believe that radical action to address the impact of climate change is also needed. In 2019 we became the only major airline worldwide to offset all our organisation's direct carbon emissions (scope 1 and 2), through programs that plant trees or avoid the release of additional carbon dioxide. Since then we have retired over 3 million carbon credits from high-quality projects to provide carbon neutral flights to our customers at no additional cost to them. We remain committed to our approach on carbon offsetting and have continued to offset all our flights through the pandemic. We also continue to advocate smarter regulation for aviation that rewards carbon efficiency.

· Stimulating carbon innovation: We are supporting the development of new technologies to reinvent aviation as quickly as possible. Offsetting can only be an interim solution, while zero emissions technology is developed. We are collaborating with several industry leaders to support technological step change: Wright Electric in their development of 'Wright 1' - an all-electric 186-seater; and a strategic partnership with Airbus in their ambition to develop a zero-emission commercial aircraft by 2035. We are excited to see the growing momentum behind these disruptive technologies such as all electric, hybrid and hydrogen. There is significant potential for these technologies, particularly on short-haul networks such as our own.

· Going beyond carbon: We are constantly looking for more ways to take action outside of carbon reductions including having taken steps to reduce the amount of plastic used on our services but are also now debuting new crew and pilot uniforms made from recycled plastic, which is our latest initiative in our drive to reduce waste. To date we have already removed over 27 million individual items of plastic from our inflight retail. We are also aiming to reduce waste and plastic at easyJet and within our supply chain. We are creating a culture where employees can champion sustainability and in the future we will focus our charitable efforts on environmental sustainability. We are also particularly pleased that easyJet's long-term work with our charity partner UNICEF, who we have supported through on-board collections since 2012, will continue with the focus of collections this summer supporting Unicef to fund COVAX global vaccinations, with Unicef's aim being to deliver 2 billion vaccines by the end of 2021. Hundreds of easyJet crew members have volunteered to help at vaccination centres across Europe, with many of them having trained to deliver the vaccines.

CAAC to ban use of plastics at airports and on passenger services

CAAC issued and implemented (25-May-2021) its 2021-2025 civil aviation industry plastic pollution control work plan, which will prohibit the use of disposable non degradable plastic at airports with annual passenger throughput of two million passengers or more and on domestic passenger services.

The measure will be expanded to all Chinese airports and all international passenger services from 2023. [more - original PR - Chinese]

Excerpt from original report: 《民航行业塑料污染治理工作计划（2021-2025年）》正式印发

《民航行业塑料污染治理工作计划（2021-2025年）》正式印发

为坚决贯彻落实党中央、国务院关于加强塑料污染治理的重大决策部署，根据《关于进一步加强塑料污染治理的意见》有关要求，近日,民航局印发实施《民航行业塑料污染治理工作计划（2021-2025年）》（以下简称《工作计划》），对当前及今后一段时期加强行业塑料污染治理提出了阶段性目标，并作出具体工作安排，深入推进民航业绿色发展。

　　2019年我国民航完成旅客运输量6.6亿人次，货邮运输量753.14万吨，机场和航班对一次性不可降解塑料杯、餐具、塑料袋等塑料制品消耗量较大。据了解，一些民航企业率先启动塑料污染防治工作，如国航积极推进安全可循环餐具替代；东航开展机上垃圾分类试点；厦航全面实现机上塑料杯替换，采购机上环保餐具；首都机场集团、上海机场集团、广东机场集团、四川省机场集团等制定标准规范，推动成员机场有序实施航站楼内垃圾分类收储运和航班垃圾规范处理。随着我国疫情防控向好态势不断巩固，民航运输加快复苏，全行业对资源能源刚性需求仍将增加，需要进一步加大力度，系统推进包括塑料污染治理在内的行业降碳减污工作。

　　《工作计划》以机场和航空公司作为塑料污染治理的重点，坚持减量化、标准化、循环化，坚持创新驱动、多元参与、协同共治，促进政府监管和行业自律有机结合，明确提出行业2025年禁限塑工作目标为：到2025年，民航行业一次性不可降解塑料制品消费强度较2020年大幅下降，替代产品应用水平明显提升，塑料等垃圾智慧化、规范化回收处理体系基本建立，民航行业与塑料污染治理相关产业协同更加深入有效。

　　《工作计划》主要围绕机场、航班以及民航直属单位等相关责任主体明确工作任务。根据实施计划及内容，自2022年起，一次性不可降解塑料袋、一次性不可降解塑料吸管、搅拌棒、餐/杯具、包装袋均在年旅客吞吐量200万（含）人次以上机场相关区域及国内客运航班内禁止提供，2023年起实施范围将进一步扩展至全国机场及国际客运航班。民航直属单位实施更为积极的禁限塑举措，自2021年7月起禁止主动提供上述一次性不可降解塑料制品，充分发挥引领作用。2025年，全国机场不可降解塑料胶带、一次性不可降解塑料雨布、缠绕膜等货物包装用品使用量大幅下降。此外，《工作计划》在加强源头管控同时，提出鼓励通过技术创新、管理创新、多元协同等方式提升替代产品应用和废物回收利用水平，推动建立健全行业塑料制品采购、使用、回收、储运、处置等环节管理体系。

　　为确保行业禁限塑工作取得实效，《工作计划》要求行业各相关单位提高认识，明确职责分工，加强工作协同，民航各地区管理局做好行业监管，狠抓工作落实，保障行业禁限塑工作有序推进；研究单位和行业协会要加快推动标准规范编制推广，积极宣传引导，广泛凝聚共识，营造良好工作氛围。

Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport commits to net zero by 2030

Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport announced (21-May-2021) it will achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030. The commitment to achieve net zero by 2030 incorporates all emissions under Sydney Airport's operational control.

This comprises both 'Scope 1' emissions that are generated by the airport's vehicle fleet and natural gas use, and 'Scope 2' emissions, representing the emissions created during the production of the airport's electricity needs.

The airport's Scope 2 emissions, which represent 93% of emissions under the airport's operational control, will be eliminated by reducing electricity use and switching to 100% renewable energy.

Scope 1 emissions account for 7% of the emissions under the airport's operational control and will be reduced by moderating reliance on natural gas, transitioning vehicles to low or no emission technology, and phasing out fuel powered equipment.

If there is a residual proportion of Scope 1 emissions which cannot be eliminated by alternative technologies or management practices, these can be offset by the purchase of credits from carbon removal projects.

Initiatives to reduce Scope 3 emissions will range from offering the airport's retail and commercial tenants renewable energy to facilitating the uptake of sustainable aviation fuels. [more - original PR]

Original report: Sydney Airport commits to net zero by 2030

Amadeus: COVID-19 still creating changes to business travel

Amadeus business travel SVP Asia Pacific Renaud Nicolle, via the company's official blog, reported (20-May-2021) COVID-19 will "undoubtedly accelerate some of the trends we have been seeing in business travel, such as digitalisation and creating frictionless travel experiences".

There are still open questions around topics of questions around duty of care, well-being, remote working, digitalisation, and sustainability:

The pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on travel. However, with the travel and tourism industry on the road to recovery in certain parts of Asia Pacific, the way we travel has changed, especially for business customers. While the new normal for corporate journeys is different to before, COVID-19 will undoubtedly accelerate some of the trends we have been seeing in business travel, such as digitalization and creating frictionless travel experiences.

I recently participated in a Lufthansa Innovation Hub study together with peers from Skift, BCD Travel and other leading companies and organizations from the wider travel ecosystem to weigh in on the future of business travel. While we can't predict the future, we tried to answer questions around duty of care, well-being, remote working, digitalization, and sustainability. Four overarching themes were derived from the study, namely the virtualization of work, employee well-being, sustainability concerns and traveler empowerment. We believe these are the foundations that will shape the future of business travel.

Importance of face-to-face meets in a hybrid workforce

As a result, it is likely that corporations bring even more focus and importance to face-to-face meetings to promote social engagement, and promote a sense of belonging, in addition to one-on-one sessions like talent development or performance assessment discussions to increase intimacy and engagement. 36% of Amadeus' customers believe MICE will go through a deep transformation, driven by virtual meetings, trade fairs and hybrid events. Our latest Reboot. Recharge. Rethink Business Travel survey says so.

As people start travelling for business again, duty of care should be the primary value-add for corporations to help employees navigate through disruptions quickly and bring back traveler confidence, even for shorter trips.

Duty of care taking center stage

As far as duty of care is concerned, employee health and safety has become the top priority for employers globally. Industry experts predict that this will be a major factor in restoring business travel. The focus on overall health and wellbeing will be improve employee satisfaction and talent retention. While health, safety and wellbeing are the main drivers for recovery, millennials will place culture and employee experience high on their list to join or stay with a company. Organizations will need to focus on implementing traveler well-being programs that counter the stresses of traveling, in their talent acquisition and retention strategies. For example, employees may be given more flexibility when traveling for business - such as a wider selection of hotels or allowing bleisure travel - as a means to address well-being.

Sustainable travel is the future

In this area, experts are divided on the impact of sustainability on the future of business travel. Sustainability has long been a key trend before the pandemic. However, COVID-19 has led to carbon emissions plummeting, less congestion on freeways and cleaner air space in big cities. This gives us an unprecedented opportunity to rethink the way we travel in a way that is more sustainable, more responsible and addresses some of the environmental and social concerns. It starts from an individual level when a traveler has the choice to personalize and book their journey.

At Amadeus, sustainability expands through all we do as a business and we are constantly looking at how we can make travel more sustainable. Another area we see a lot of potential in leading the shift towards sustainable travel is in Multimodality. Multimodal solutions have been identified as a response to making transport greener and more accessible, by allowing travelers to adopt the less polluting modes of transport whenever possible, fostering a more sustainable journey. Learn more about multimodal travel.

Empowering travelers with a mix of self-service and expert guidance

While travel is likely to be subjected to increasing restrictions, experts see a shift towards empowering employees to make travel decisions voluntary in the short term, driven by tech-enabled self-services. Beyond the online services to manage bookings, airports and airlines have introduced touchless interactions, contactless payment options, digital servicing and high-level personalization with updated content that enables safe travel. For example, self-service kiosks and auto bag drop units without physical inputs are being introduced at airports that allow the use of mobile phones to control the device or leverage a QR code to automatically print bag tags from contactless printers. Some airports are even offering check-in and bag-drop to take place at different areas within the airport such as car parks and dining areas, or off the airport entirely at hotels and train stations.

This was the trend before COVID-19 and it will continue after, where the traveler wants to do as much as they can on their own, when and where they want, with access to personalized and relevant information. However, the pandemic highlighted the critical role that travel agencies and travel experts play. Looking at the help travel agents provided customers to avert and navigate disruptions during lockdowns and restrictions across the globe, travelers want to access travel managers, but also be able to use the same self-service digital tools. Hence, a hybrid model integrating both digital self-service tools and the human touch to manage business travel is highly likely moving forward.

Challenges remain. But we must focus on defining a strategy to recover from the crisis and emerge stronger. The key to success is to focus on travelers, nurture partnerships, be open, act fast, and think long-term. Now is the time to work together to Reboot, Recharge, Rethink Business Travel.