This is about our approach to climate change and our environmental footprint, what we are doing to offer a more sustainable product and service, how we work with our suppliers to further the sustainability movement, and how we engage in the production of new technologies to improve sustainability in aviation.
ACS understands the importance of research and sharing knowledge and insight that comes from years of dedication, testing and validating results. Funding research can be difficult, especially for PhD students, so our Chairman, Chris Leach, saw an opportunity to work in synergy with a local university, researching future aviation technologies that can be practically applied to assist a PhD applicant with financial support, so they could concentrate on making a difference to aviation.
When Chris learned about Muram, her passion for sustainability and reviewed her research proposal on the exciting proposition of Wing Morphing, the decision to provide Muram with a scholarship was an easy one.
The Aviation Industry has been investing in research around more sustainable fuel options for a long time, and it is one of the best short term options to significantly reduce the industry’s carbon footprint. Instead of being refined from petroleum, it instead is produced from sustainable resources such as waste oils from biological origins, agri residues, or non-fossil CO2, and is very similar in its chemistry to the traditional fossil jet fuel.
We have also been investigating being able to offer our customers a “Book & Claim” scheme, whereby customers are able to purchase SAF for their flight, however it would actually be used by another airline from locations where it is available. Unfortunately, there is no current scheme with transparency or that is monitored or regulated, hence at this time we are not comfortable to offer this solution to our clients, however we continue to monitor any advancements made in this area.
Although not part of our direct operations, we believe the environmental impact of the flights we commission on behalf of our customers is something for us to work closely with our suppliers on. All suppliers we work with must comply with our Code of Ethics and provide data on the carbon footprint of the flights they provide to us, as well as to set their own targets for emission reductions and continuous improvement.
We recognise that not all suppliers have the same resources so for any supplier unable to provide the required information, we work with them and help them understand the processes required and how to take action.
We hold ISO14001 and ISO9001 accreditations and are proud to have been carbon neutral (using carbon offsets) across our global internal business operations since 2007. We don't purely rely on offsetting. We are also actively working to reduce our footprint through a series of initiatives: - We’re transitioning our company cars over to electric, switching to LED lighting within our offices, aiming to use 100% recycled paper in the short term, whilst also moving towards a paperless culture, with a zero waste to landfill commitment for our London office, which we are looking to extend internationally.
We have also established Corporate Environment & Social Responsibility committees around the world to further support and implement our environmental initiatives.
We get it, aviation is up there with the automotive industry and power generation as one of the industries which is polluting our planet, even accounting for the huge gains made in the sustainability and emissions efficiency of aircraft over the last 50 years.
In February 2020, we launched our carbon offset scheme, offering our customers the opportunity to offset the emissions of their flights for a small additional charge of 0.5% of their charter price.
Our target for 2023 is to increase the participation of our customers in our opt-in carbon offset program by 60% versus our 2022 figures.
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As Africa’s population is growing, forests are being cleared for human settlement and wood is being harvested faster than it is being replanted. Hestian’s improved cook stoves and fuel efficiency projects in Southern Africa directly reduce wood usage and indoor cooking smoke, which in turn slows deforestation and lowers household air pollution.
Hestian’s efforts have resulted in over 566,658 homes using improved cook stoves and institutions using 1,239 fixed institutional stoves which has helped create over 2,000 jobs.
UPC provide wind turbines that create clean energy, without releasing harmful emissions into the environment. One example of this is the 75 MW Sidrap Wind Farm project, located in the Sidrap region, in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. The project is Indonesia’s first utility scale wind farm and began providing power to the Southern Sulawesi PLN grid in March 2018. The project uses 30 Gamesa 2.5 MW turbines.
The Sidrap Project is in a location with strong winds as well as a supportive local community. Numerous jobs in both project development and construction have been created with the majority being filled by the local citizens from the region.
We are determined to grow our business in a responsible and sustainable way. This report indicates our direction of travel.
Read the full report here.
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