EMIRATES Airline’s focus is to operate the world's most efficient fleet of aircraft, and as such is implementing a four part strategy to reduce emissions, according to Andrew Parker, senior vice president public and environmental affairs with the airline. This strategy includes the use of new technology throughout the group, spending billions on buying the latest aircraft, encouraging governments to make air navigation more fuel and emission friendly, and finally by being ever more efficient with their ground and office operations.
“Aviation is one of the world's most important economic and social catalysts and employs 32 million people worldwide. Our customers, staff and governments are increasingly conscious of the environment and emissions. As a responsible company, we want to make a difference,” said Parker.
He admitted however, that while aviation is only one small part - around two per cent - of the C02 emission problem, no matter how many advances were made by the airline, they could only ever be a small part of the global solution.
“Even factoring in likely growth, aviation is forecast to reach only three per cent of emissions by 2050. Of course, our environmental perspective has to be broader than just emissions.
Our focus is on how to be an ecologically efficient organisation based on the concept of growing our business, while trying to use fewer resources and creating less waste and pollution,” he said.
“If we achieve these aims, we win for our customers, the environment and our business.”
Parker said that other key goals include staff education, waste reduction and recycling, lower energy use and greater communication. Examples of this strategy in action include the Emirates Group’s recycling programme whereby employees recycle paper, cardboard, plastic and aluminium.
Emirates flight catering recycled over 100 tons of waste a month, and its flight operations professionals were looking into ways of flying more efficient routes, reduce onboard weight and continue to reduce fuel use.
Last year employees of Emirates Group won the Environmental Trophy at the 2008 Idea of the Year UK awards for devising and implementing a programme to segregate and recycle newspapers off loaded from Emirates aircraft in Dubai. This initiative will result in over 2,000 ton of paper recycling in the first year and therefore save 39,000 trees and 16 million gallons of water, according to a press release issued by the company last year.
The group will continue to support the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve and the creation of two of the world's most sustainable conservation based resorts, in Dubai and in Australia.
Also in Australia, Emirates Airline reported in December last year that it had saved almost 10 million litres of jet fuel and 772 hours of flight time in the five years since working with AirServices Australia (ASA) to pioneer a flight route planning and airspace management programme called Flex Tracks.
The Flex Tracks programme, which involves the use of sophisticated ground and cockpit technology to track live weather to chase tailwinds and favourable conditions, was developed by ASA and Emirates in December 2003. Analysis of the results over the past five years revealed that the partnership had delivered aggregated fuel savings of 9.6 million litres (equivalent to approximately 351 tanker trucks) and cut flight times by 772 hours and 21 minutes. The total fuel burn reduction was 26,644 tons of carbon dioxide and 163 tons of nitrogen oxide.
by Jonna Simon