Emirates’ Airline operations, which constitutes the main environmental impact of the Emirates Group, has seen ongoing improvements in its fuel efficiency, as the airline continues to add new aircraft to its fleet and prioritise fuel-saving operational techniques.
Key to the Group’s environmental strategy is the airline’s Eco-efficient fleet, which is at the leading edge of fuel efficiency and environmental performance. The improvements had been driven by deliveries of 24 new passenger aircrafts and freighters, and the removal from service of four older aircraft, together with ongoing efforts to drive operational efficiencies across a fleet which is already one of the world’s youngest and most efficient.
This is according to the Emirates Group’s fourth annual Environmental Report, which measures and tracks the Group’s environmental performance, as well as identifies examples of best practices across the 75,000 workforce.
Covering the 2013-2014 fiscal year, the report, audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers, presents environmental performance data from a range of Group activities, including airline operations, cargo and ground handling businesses, and a wide range of commercial activities on the ground – from engineering to catering.
With an average fleet age of only 6.2 years versus the global IATA wide body fleet average of 11.7 years, Emirates’ fuel efficiency results are 14.5 per cent, better than the IATA average. Total fuel efficiency for all passenger and freighter flights improved by 0.5 per cent, dropping to 0.3089 litres per tonne kilometre (L/TK). Similarly, carbon dioxide emissions dropped to 0.764 kilograms of CO2 per tonne kilometre (gCO2/TK), improving efficiency by 0.4 per cent.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline & Group, stated: “As the Emirates Group continues to expand its global operation and build its workforce, we endeavour to meaningfully fulfill our environmental responsibility wherever we operate. We do that by looking for environmental efficiencies in the air and on the ground.
“The Environmental Report is a report card for our continuing efforts in this regard, and also a performance benchmark against the previous year and with the industry. It illustrates our successes, as well as areas for improvement.”
Other areas highlighted in the report include continued improvement in noise performance- as Emirates continues to take delivery of more A380 (one of the world’s quietest airliners) and Boeing 777s, the fleet’s average noise levels continue to fall and overall noise impact for takeoff and landing showed improvements of 2.4 per cent and 10.1 per cent respectively. A major efficiency initiative for the airline’s Dubai ground transport enabled reduction in CO2 emissions in ground operations of 2,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year.
Dnata’s Airport Operations team also recycled 1,700 tonnes of paper products from Emirates aircraft cabins in Dubai, contributing to a total of 7,555 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill across the Group. Emirates continues to make significant progress on its conservation programmes in Dubai and Australia, with both wildlife and plant life benefiting from its efforts. In cooperation with the Dubai Engineer’s Office, 15,000 indigenous ghaf trees were planted in the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve to enhance the habitat for wildlife. The Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa in Australia won awards for its sustainability achievements, and worked with research institutions to expand knowledge of the valley’s wombat and kangaroo populations.
In 2013, Emirates launched ‘A Greener Tomorrow’, a programme to support not-for-profit environmental or conservation organisations through the provision of a funding award. The funding for ‘A Greener Tomorrow’, which was raised through recycling programmes across the Emirates Group, was awarded to organisations in Malawi, Pakistan and the Philippines.
Source: GNA
