Loading

Aviation Sustainability and the Environment, CAPA 30-Jul-2020

Analysis

Boeing reports 2019 environmental highlights

JetBlue Airways releases Social Impact Report and ESG Report

ABEAR, Gol and LATAM join CPLC

Leeds Bradford terminal replacement 'one of the most sustainable airport buildings in the UK'

Stuttgart Airport to increase solar energy production tenfold to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050

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.

Boeing reports 2019 environmental highlights

Boeing reported (23-Jul-2020) the following environmental highlights for 2019:

  • Developing new products with 15% to 25% greater efficiency, in support of the aerospace industry's goal to achieve carbon-neutral growth in 2020 and drive a 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050;
  • Offering airline customers the option to fly their new aircraft home on sustainable fuel;
  • Securing more renewable energy to power operations by joining the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance, a community of large energy buyers accelerating a zero-carbon energy future;
  • Reducing solid waste sent to landfills by 15% and water consumption by 7% since 2017, against a goal to drive a 20% reduction in both metrics by 2025;
  • Launching the 777 ecoDemonstrator flying test bed to assess sustainable technologies;
  • Collaborating with external partners and local nonprofits to support environmental sustainability;
  • Receiving an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award for Sustained Excellence for the 10th consecutive year;

Boeing is working to achieve its the following environmental goals by 2025:

  • Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25%;
  • Reducing water use and solid waste to landfill by 20%;
  • Reducing energy use by 10%;
  • Reducing hazardous waste by 5% at worksites. [more - original PR]

Original report: Boeing Advances Environmental Leadership

-- Global Environment Report showcases improved environmental performance

Boeing [NYSE: BA] today released its 2020 Global Environment report, highlighting how the company is sustainably designing and building products, while conserving resources and reducing waste across its global operations.

The company has set ambitious 2025 environmental goals - which include significant reductions in emissions, waste, and water and energy consumption - and made solid progress toward these targets in 2019.

"Our ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability is important to our overall strategy," said Greg Smith, Boeing executive vice president of Enterprise Operations, chief financial officer and interim leader of Communications. "Innovation is part of Boeing's DNA and we apply this inventiveness to help solve the fundamental global challenge of climate change."

Boeing's 2019 environmental highlights include:

  • Developing new products that are 15% to 25% more efficient in support of the aerospace industry's goal to achieve global carbon-neutral growth in 2020 and drive a 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050.
  • Offering airline customers the option to fly their new airplanes home on sustainable fuel.
  • Securing more renewable energy to power operations by joining the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance, a community of large energy buyers accelerating a zero-carbon energy future.
  • Reducing solid waste sent to landfills by 15% and water consumption by 7% since 2017, significantly advancing the company's goal to drive a 20% reduction in both metrics by 2025.
  • Launching the 777 ecoDemonstrator flying test bed to assess sustainable technologies, including new wing fin technology that improves efficiency during takeoff and landing and could save airlines millions of gallons of fuel each year.
  • Collaborating with external partners and local nonprofits to support environmental sustainability through educational outreach, community involvement, land conservation and habitat restoration.
  • Receiving an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award for Sustained Excellence for the 10th consecutive year.

Boeing is working to achieve its environmental goals by 2025, which include reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25%; water use and solid waste to landfill by 20%; energy use by 10%; and hazardous waste by 5% at worksites. Boeing's industry-leading fuel efficient product offerings are enabling the industry to achieve a global approach to carbon-neutral growth starting in 2020 and a 50% reduction by 2050.

Boeing is the world's largest aerospace company and leading provider of commercial airplanes, defense, space and security systems, and global services. As a top U.S. exporter, the company supports commercial and government customers in more than 150 countries. Boeing employs more than 160,000 people worldwide and leverages the talents of a global supplier base. Building on a legacy of aerospace leadership, Boeing continues to lead in technology and innovation, deliver for its customers and invest in its people and future growth.

JetBlue Airways releases Social Impact Report and ESG Report

JetBlue Airways released (23-Jul-2020) its 2018-2019 Social Impact Report and an abbreviated 2019 Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Report.

The carrier has achieved consistent reductions in Scope 1-3 emissions on an intensity basis for the past five years, and has improved 2.2% from 2018 to 2019. The carrier has also offset more than 2.6 billion pounds of CO2 emissions in partnership with Carbonfund.org since 2008.

Looking forward, the carrier is reviewing its training modules for cultural sensitivity, identifying ways to reshape policies and talent processes to reduce bias and promote inclusivity, expanding opportunities for minority and women owned business partners and also investing in students from under represented communities through the JetBlue Foundation. [more - original PR]

Original report: JetBlue Releases Annual Social Impact and Environmental Social Governance Reports

JetBlue (Nasdaq: JBLU) today released its 2018-2019 Social Impact Report, as well as its abbreviated 2019 Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Report.

-- Airline Reaches a Milestone in Volunteering with One Million Hours of Caring Focused on Community, Youth and Education and the Environment --

-- Leading up to going Carbon Neutral on All Domestic Flights, JetBlue Reduced Emissions by 2.2 percent per ASM through Improvements in Aircraft Fuel Efficiency and Electric Ground Service Equipment --

JetBlue (Nasdaq: JBLU) today released its 2018-2019 Social Impact Report, as well as its abbreviated 2019 Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Report.

The annual reports outline the JetBlue For Good pillars - community, youth and education and the environment. The social impact report focuses on how and where JetBlue crewmembers volunteered for one million hours of caring and the airline's philanthropic efforts, while the ESG report identifies key sustainability factors that affect the airline's business and financial performance.

"The JetBlue experience keeps people and culture at the heart of everything we do," said Icema Gibbs, director corporate social responsibility and diversity, equity & inclusion, JetBlue. "Over the past few months, we've realized that our mission of inspiring humanity is more essential than ever. As a values-based airline, we have a long history of using our voice to unite our crewmembers, customers and communities during difficult times. We try to make change in ways that are authentic to us. Bringing our mission of inspiring humanity to life isn't new. These reports showcase our ongoing work to make a positive impact for the environment, in our communities and beyond."

JetBlue For Good 2018-2019 highlights -
Youth and Education

  • JetBlue's Soar with Reading program brought the magic of reading to children in areas known as book deserts in San Francisco, Oakland, and New York City. To date, JetBlue has donated $3.75 million worth of books to kids in need.
  • Through the 2018 and 2019 Swing For Good campaigns, JetBlue and its business partners raised much-needed funds for youth and education focused charities and distributed more than $2 million to DoSomething.org, First Book, Together We Rise, Feeding Children Everywhere and the JetBlue Foundation.
  • The JetBlue Foundation continued its work to add more diversity in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and aviation by supporting education programs focused on girls and women, people of color and other communities who are under-represented in these areas. The JetBlue Foundation has supported more than 90 STEM and aviation programs with $1.7 million in grants, in-kind support and mentoring.

Environment

  • JetBlue recently announced plans to achieve carbon neutral flying for its domestic routes later this year as a critical and measurable step toward reducing its contribution to global warming. JetBlue aims to avoid emissions through a new, fuel-efficient fleet and optimized operational efficiency and by pursuing sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) where feasible. Over the past five years, JetBlue has achieved consistent reductions in Scope 1-3 emissions on an intensity basis, and improved 2.2 percent from 2018 to 2019.
  • For emissions that cannot be avoided, JetBlue will soon offset CO2 emissions from jet fuel for all domestic flights. Leading up to this launch, JetBlue has offset more than 2.6 billion pounds of CO2 emissions in partnership with Carbonfund.org since 2008. More details will be announced shortly.
  • By converting to electric ground service equipment (eGSE) at New York's JFK Airport, JetBlue is projected to cut four million pounds of CO2 greenhouse gas emission per year, reduce ground fuel usage by approx. 200,000 gallons fuel and improve its bottom line with more than $500,000 in ground fuel savings annually.

Community

  • In the wake of Hurricane Maria, crewmembers rose to the occasion and provided more than 450 relief flights and $1.2 million in grants from the JetBlue Crewmember Crisis Fund to impacted crewmembers located in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
  • In 2019, JetBlue added a new destination to its network - Destination Good, flying 100 customer volunteers to a surprise location for four days of service on Giving Tuesday.

Looking ahead to 2020 and beyond -

Between the coronavirus pandemic and the civil outcry for racial justice and equality, 2020 has challenged JetBlue to shift gears to meet immediate needs. This included flying nearly 2,000 medical professionals to areas in need to support relief effort, transporting personal protective equipment to New York City and delivering critical supplies to health care facilities, and donating one million TrueBlue to the American Red Cross and other organizations to aid in relief work.

"Thank you to our crewmembers for their dedicated service during the pandemic getting essential personnel and travelers, for whom travel was not an option but a necessity, to their destinations safely," said Gibbs. "Our crewmembers also sought out ways to help in their local communities, all while taking care of their own families and personal needs during this trying time."

JetBlue is also working to ensure that Black Lives Matter and are equally valued, and eradicating racism. JetBlue has committed to fight against racial injustices and reduce bias and barriers starting with accelerating its diversity and inclusion equity action plan to better support people of color within the airline such as expediting a concerted effort for more leadership diversity.

To start, these efforts incorporate but are not limited to:

  • Reviewing training modules for cultural sensitivity
  • Identifying opportunities to reshape policies and talent processes to reduce bias and demonstrate inclusivity
  • Expanding opportunities for minority and women-owned business partners
  • Investing in students from underrepresented communities through the JetBlue Foundation to reduce the barriers to entry and create educational and employment opportunities in the aviation industry

Want to get in on the good? - If you would like to join JetBlue in doing good, loyalty members can donate points through the TrueBlue Points Donation Platform to a variety of social justice charities that are working to help eradicate racism. JetBlue is encouraging giving by donating one million points each to the New York Urban League and long-standing partner - Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP) to help their work for racial equality and justice. Points go directly to the selected charity, and each may use them for travel for their organization. For more information or to donate points visit trueblue.jetblue.com/donate-points.

JetBlue's 2018-2019 Social Impact Report can be found here and the 2019 ESG Report can be found here.

Giving back is part of JetBlue's DNA and is core to its mission of inspiring humanity -

Centered around volunteerism and service, JetBlue For Good focuses on the areas that are most important to the airline's customers and crewmembers - Community, Youth/Education and the Environment. JetBlue's core programs and partnerships directly impact the areas where its customers and crewmembers live and work by enhancing education and providing access to those who are traditionally underserved. Signature programs include the award-winning Soar with Reading initiative, which has provided more than $3.75 million worth of books to kids who need them most and Blue Horizons For Autism, which helps introduce air travel in a realistic environment to families and children affected by autism. Join the #JetBlueForGood conversation on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, check for regular updates, and get involved.

ABEAR, Gol and LATAM join CPLC

ABEAR, Gol and LATAM Airlines Brasil joined (17-Jul-2020) the World Bank's Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition (CPLC). CPLC's goal is to implement a framework of carbon pricing to assist with reaching international CO2 emissions reduction targets. [more - original PR - Portuguese]

Original report: ABEAR integra iniciativa global de liderança em precificação de carbono do Banco Mundial

ABEAR integra iniciativa global de liderança em precificação de carbono do Banco Mundial

A Associação Brasileira das Empresas Aéreas (ABEAR) passou a integrar nessa terça-feira (14) a Coalizão de Liderança em Precificação de Carbono (CPLC, da sigla em inglês), iniciativa do Banco Mundial, que reúne líderes de governos, setor privado, academia e sociedade civil de diversos países para compartilhar experiências e aprimorar o entendimento global sobre precificação de carbono, além de expandir a base de evidências para sistemas e políticas mais eficazes sobre o assunto. A GOL e a LATAM, empresas fundadoras da ABEAR, também integram o grupo.

Liderada pelo ministro de Energia do Chile, Juan Carlos Jobet, e pelo presidente da SUEZ e presidente honorário da ENGIE, Gérard Mestrallet, a Coalizão é uma iniciativa voluntária de 34 governos nacionais e subnacionais, mais de 164 empresas de diferentes setores e regiões e mais de 85 parceiros da sociedade civil e instituições acadêmicas. A CPLC conta com um Comitê Diretor composto por 13 integrantes do setor público e privado, de diversos países, eleitos em Assembleia Geral. A diretora de Relações Institucionais da ABEAR, Marina Mattar, é a única brasileira eleita para integrar o Comitê.

"O Brasil tem um grande potencial para liderar as discussões sobre uma economia de baixo carbono no cenário global. Precisamos aproveitar o momento de saída da pandemia para construirmos uma nova agenda estratégia de recuperação econômica sustentável para o Brasil, que incluam políticas ambiental e climática, alinhadas a normas internacionais, e que incentive mão de obra qualificada, desenvolvimento de novas tecnologias e a criação de empregos nessa área para viabilizarmos investimentos externos que garantam o crescimento sustentável do Brasil", diz a diretora de Relações Institucionais da ABEAR, Marina Mattar, integrante do Comitê Diretor da CPLC. "Nesse sentido, a inserção da ABEAR na CPLC é uma clara demonstração de que o setor aéreo brasileiro não apenas se importa com o assunto, como quer estar no 'cockpit' desse debate internacional", conclui a diretora da Associação.

O intuito de longo prazo da CPLC é contribuir para a implementação de instrumentos de precificação de carbono em escala global e com ambição suficiente para ajudar a cumprir metas internacionais de redução de emissões. No caso da aviação, as metas estão estabelecidas pelo Esquema de Compensação e Redução de Carbono para a Aviação Internacional (CORSIA, da sigla em inglês), da Organização da Aviação Civil Internacional (OACI). "Teremos agora neste grupo a oportunidade de estudar as melhores práticas utilizadas em outros países, para que possam ser pensadas e discutidas no Brasil. A participação da ABEAR no CPLC é essencial para o desenvolvimento da aviação do futuro", diz o consultor técnico da ABEAR, Rogério Benevides.

Leeds Bradford terminal replacement 'one of the most sustainable airport buildings in the UK'

Leeds Bradford Airport said its "proposed replacement terminal has been specifically designed to be one of the most sustainable airport buildings in the UK", with the airport being "very clear in our proposals in how we will reduce risk of increased emissions and meet demand for seven million passengers in a more sustainable way than our previously consented scheme" (thetelegraphandargus.co.uk, 22-Jul-2020). The airport noted its terminal construction will "ensure that Leeds Bradford can be ready for the next generation of flying and continue to move towards the sustainable future".

Stuttgart Airport to increase solar energy production tenfold to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050

Stuttgart Airport committed (27-Jul-2020) to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 in its new environmental master plan. In order to do so, the airport aims to increase solar energy yield more than tenfold to 30GWh as well as install smart sensors to intelligently control energy by making the most accurate possible forecasts for solar power production, in collaboration with the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems. [more - original PR - German]

Original report: ZIEL SOLARFLUGHAFEN: STUTTGART AIRPORT BESCHLIESST KLIMASCHUTZPLAN

Die Flughafen Stuttgart GmbH (FSG) will den Landesflughafen bis 2050 klimaneutral betreiben. In langjähriger Vorarbeit hat die FSG jetzt einen wissenschaftlich fundierten Ab­bau­plan für ihre CO2-Emissionen entwickelt. Der Masterplan Energie und Klima 2050 zeigt auf, dass der Flughafen bezogen auf das Jahr 1990 die direkten Treibhausgasemissionen um knapp 90 Prozent aus eigener Kraft reduzieren kann. Dafür soll unter anderem der Ertrag aus Fotovoltaik am STR um das Zehnfache steigen. Wolkenkameras werden dabei helfen, die Energie intelligent zu steuern, indem sie möglichst exakte Prognosen zur Solarstrom-Produktion am STR erstellen.

"Die Studie des Flughafen Stuttgart zeigt, was beim Klimaschutz möglich ist, wenn wir alle Register ziehen. Ich bin zuversichtlich, dass der Landesairport bis 2050 CO2-neutral betrieben wird. Der Schlüssel dafür ist der kon­sequente Einsatz von Technologien der Energie- und Mobilitätswende. Nur so können wir langfristig Mobilität und Umweltschutz vereinbaren", sagte Verkehrsminister Winfried Hermann bei der Vorstellung des Klima­schutzplans des Landesairports am Montag, den 27. Juli 2020.

"Unser Masterplan Energie und Klima 2050 ist ambitioniert. Wir werden ihn mit aller Kraft verfolgen, be­nö­tigen dafür aber auch eine hohe Investitionskraft, um alle Gebäude und Anlagen zu erneuern. Mit technolo­gischen Lösungen und dem entsprechenden Know-how kann es uns gelingen, die Emissionen um knapp 90 Prozent zu reduzieren. Die Expertise dafür haben wir in unserem Unternehmen aufgebaut", sagte Walter Schoefer, Sprecher der FSG-Geschäftsführung.

Im Masterplan Energie und Klima 2050 ist in Fünf-Jahres-Schritten bis 2050 festgelegt, welche Investitionen in energieeffiziente Anlagen zum Beispiel in den Terminals, in Elektromobilität oder klimafreundliche Strompro­duktion getätigt werden sollen. Der gesamte Energiebedarf am STR soll zukünftig nahezu komplett aus regenerativen Quellen gedeckt werden - sowohl durch eigene Erzeugung alsauch durch Zu­kauf. Den Ertrag aus Fotovoltaik am Standort will der Flughafen von derzeit 2,5 auf rund 30 Gigawattstunden steigern.

Bei der Entwicklung des Konzepts ließ sich der Flughafen vom Fraunhofer-Institut für Solare Energiesysteme ISE beraten und unterstützen. Die FSG nutzt für die Planung ein Simulationstool, das es ihr erlaubt, passgenau auf Veränderungen zu reagieren. Mit dem Leitbild fairport STR will der Flughafen Stuttgart dauerhaft einer der leistungsstärksten und nachhaltigsten Airports in Europa sein.


Wolkenkameras für möglichst exakte Prognosen

  • Vier Wolkenkameras der Hochschule Offenburg und eine Kamera vom Zentrum für Sonnenenergie- und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden-Württemberg scannen im Sekundentakt den Himmel über dem Airport. Verknüpft mit den Wetterdaten können so sehr genaue Prognosen zur Solarstrom-Produktion am STR erstellt werden.
  • Die Wolkenkameras sind ein Element des intelligenten Energiesystems (Smart Grid), das am Landes­flughafen entsteht, um das Net-Zero-Ziel bis 2050 zu erreichen.
  • Das Ziel: Das Energiesystem so zu steuern, dass z.B. Elektrofahrzeuge dann geladen werden, wenn die Solaranlagen gerade viel Ertrag bringen. Die Fahrzeuge dienen so auch als Stromspeicher.

Want More Analysis Like This?

CAPA Membership provides access to all news and analysis on the site, along with access to many areas of our comprehensive databases and toolsets.
Find Out More