“Reducing carbon emissions and making a profit can go hand in hand.”

Aviation is a catalyst for growth, a vital conduit for world trade and a major global employer. Nearly 57 million jobs and $2.2 trillion in global GDP are supported by aviation. Aviation plays a key role in promoting sustainable development. With these benefits comes an impact on the environment. In 2012, aviation produced 689 million tonnes of CO₂ or around two per cent of the global total. The aviation sector recognises the need to address the global challenge of climate change and is playing its part. In 2009, it adopted an ambitious set of commitments for the short to medium and long-term, including that of carbon neutral growth from 2020 contingent upon critical aviation infrastructure and technology advances achieved by the industry and government.

ICAO Goals

In 2010, the 37th Session of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Assembly adopted the following goals for aviation:

• A global annual average fuel-efficiency improvement of two per cent until 2020 and an aspirational global fuel efficiency improvement rate of two per cent per annum from 2021 to 2050.
• A collective medium-term global aspirational goal of keepng the global net carbon emissions from international aviation from 2020 at the same level (CNG2020).

Emissions are produced by the burning of fossil fuels, which power aircraft jet engines. There are also suggestions that because the majority of these emissions are released at a high altitude during a flight, these emissions may have a bigger impact than if they had been released on the ground.

Virgin Atlantic Leading from the Front

It is for the entire aviation industry to galvanise efforts to reduce carbon footprint. One of the airlines leading from the front is Virgin Atlantic, thanks largely to its mercurial leader Richard Branson who has set several trends in airline business. One of them certainly is reducing carbon emissions. Virgin Atlantic recently released its efforts in this direction and Richard Branson has said “Reducing carbon emissions and making a profit can go hand in hand. I’m pleased to share the latest progress Virgin Atlantic is making towards improving our environmental impact.”

Change is in the Air

“As the wonderful ‘Change is in the Air Sustainability Report’ illustrates, reducing greenhouse gas emissions does not have to be at the expense of cutting profits. In 2014 we operated more flights and carried more people than any year since 2007. Our absolute carbon footprint was 12 per cent down since this baseline,” added Branson.

How the airline is going about this, Branson explains: “The investment, delivery and rollout of our new fuel and carbon-efficient Airbus A330-300 and Boeing 787-9 fleets are at the heart of this progress. We had taken delivery of our first two Dreamliners end last year and at least 15 more are on the way. These are already proving to be about 30 per cent more efficient than the aircraft they have replaced. Reducing aircraft noise is another priority for Virgin Atlantic. Last year, we cut average noise output per aircraft movement by over 2dB after becoming the first airline to set itself noise targets and implement an Aircraft Noise Management Strategy. It was great to receive the Quiet Mark certification to recognise this achievement. We also managed to cut energy use across all UK sites by 23 per cent since 2008-09, while innovative waste management solutions have enabled us to divert 92 per cent of ground waste from landfill.”

Branson stated: “Being committed to reducing carbon emissions has been at the heart of the Virgin Atlantic brand for many years and is something we care deeply about.”

Reaffirming the vision, Branson added: “We are by no means being complacent about this progress – it is a small step forward on a long journey. We are moving steadily towards our target of achieving 30 per cent savings in CO₂ for every tonne of passengers and cargo flown between 2007 and 2020. But there is a long way to go. We will share as much as possible as we move forward on this journey together.”

Young and Fuel-Efficient Fleet

Virgin Atlantic has a young and fuel efficient fleet that are operated to best practice standards. The airline is working with an independent emissions verification specialist to audit the carbon footprint of its fleet and will be publishing biannually on its website, a report on progress against emissions efficiency targets.

Ambitious Targets

The target is to achieve a 30 per cent improvement in fuel-efficiency per revenue tonne kilometre between 2007 and 2020. Revenue tonne kilometre (RTK) is a standard aviation industry measure of efficiency. In simple terms, Virgin wants to achieve a 30 per cent reduction in the amount of fuel needed and therefore emissions generated, to carry each tonne of passengers and cargo over one kilometre. This will be made possible through a fleet renewal programme. Virgin is investing in fuel-efficient aircraft best suited to the airline’s operational model. Virgin recently ordered 15 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, which burn around 27 per cent less fuel per flight than the A340-300s they will replace.

“We’re on our way to reach our target to reduce our CO₂ per revenue tonne kilometre by 30 per cent from 2007-20. Thanks to our fuel-efficient A330s and 787-9s we’ve already seen a 10 per cent reduction. We’re also gearing up for a proving flight with our sustainable fuel partner, LanzaTech. This will be a vital step towards certification and commercialisation of this innovative sustainable fuel,” said Branson.

Virgin Atlantic has an internal fuel panel which is made up of pilots, engineers and other technical experts from its flight operations team. They meet every month to ensure that the airline achieves its goal through initiatives such as engine compressor washing which allows the aircraft engines to operate more efficiently and educating pilots on more fuel-efficient procedures for take-off and landing.

Reducing Weight

Virgin has a cross-company group of experts who meet monthly to identify where the airline can make weight savings. Each tonne of weight removed from just one of Virgin’s aircraft saves over 420 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year. Key to this challenge is working with the aircraft interior manufacturers to deliver lightweight high quality products that have a good maintenance life-cycle on all the new aircraft.

“Through better building management and behaviour change, we are smashing our target to reduce UK ground energy use by 20 per cent from 2008-09 to 2020-21 having already reduced by 23 per cent by 2014-15.”The fuel-efficiency of Virgin’s ground transport fleet has increased by 60 per cent and CO₂ emissions have decreased by 32 per cent since 2009. The airline has also introduced telematics to encourage smarter driving. On the ground the airline has been installing water saving taps to help reduce water usage. It has helped to reduce the total UK water usage by two per cent since 2012.

Indian Scenario

Carbon emissions from Indian and foreign airlines rose 1.57 per cent in 2013 to 15.63 million tonnes, although down from 16.33 million tonnes in 2011 when India’s civil aviation regulatory authority, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), first started measuring the sector’s carbon footprint. The total last year represents less than one per cent of the country’s anthropogenic emissions, significantly lower than the corresponding global total of two to three per cent. Despite the increase in emissions, the carbon efficiency of Indian scheduled passenger airlines improved from 0.99 kg of CO₂ per revenue tonne kilometre in 2012 to 0.96 in 2013, which compares to a global average for the sector of 0.95 last measured in 2011. The DGCA estimates emissions may nearly double to 28 million tonnes by 2020 in the absence of further efficiency improvements, given the rapid growth of the Indian air transport market.

Performance of Six Airlines

Emissions data for the 2013 report came from six Indian scheduled carriers — Air India, Jet Airways, JetLite, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir—plus four joint venture airports at Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai. Together with a seventh new start-up airline Air Costa, the airlines were responsible for the transportation of more than 61.4 million domestic passengers in 2013.

In accordance with reporting international emissions separately, those from Indian scheduled passenger airlines, as well as foreign scheduled airlines, to international destinations from India for 2013 reached 64,72,000 tonnes of CO₂, a small decline of around one per cent compared to 2012 and a 1.89 per cent fall from a peak of 65,97,000 tonnes recorded in 2011.

The overall rise in reported emissions in 2013 over the previous year is partly explained by a 3.61 per cent increase in aircraft movements, which was offset by a decrease in carbon emissions per aircraft movement of 0.22 per cent. Passenger numbers in 2013 grew by 6.42 per cent over 2012, although average carbon emissions per passenger decreased by 2.86 per cent from 158.3 kg to 153.8 kg.

According to the DGCA, the best performing airline in terms of improving fuel and carbon efficiency was Jet Airways, with smaller improvements by SpiceJet, GoAir and Air India. Small performance declines by IndiGo and JetLite were also recoreded. Some Indian scheduled passenger airlines are below the global average, while others are above, suggesting there is room for further improvements in efficiency.

The DGCA attributes the recent improvements to newer, more fuel-efficient aircraft joining Indian fleets, such as the Boeing 787 with Air India and the Bombardier Q400s operated by SpiceJet, along with the fitting of fuel-saving devices such as sharklets and winglets on narrow-body Airbus and Boeing aircraft. Other initiatives noted in the report include engine washing by Air India, single-engine taxi procedures by Blue Dart, onboard weight reductions by Jet Airways and fuel management improvements by SpiceJet.

DGCA Proposals

Given the substantial growth expected in Indian aviation and the accompanied growth in CO₂ emissions, the DGCA has proposed a number of measures including further development of the annual carbon footprint report, the dissemination of information and reporting on emissions and the holding of regular workshops for operators of airlines and airports. The development of annual carbon footprints, dissemination of information/reporting and delivery of relevant workshops, will underscore India’s commitment to addressing the challenge of aviation and climate change in a comprehensive and effective manner and safeguard the industry’s potential to grow.