Sustainability debate: Planet

This year’s WTCE brought sustainability leaders together on the same Taste of Travel platform and saw them commit to further collaboration on the industry’s key challenges. Julie Baxter moderated the debate…

Jon Godson, IATA

The facts around cabin waste don’t look good and pressure is mounting for change. IATA’s most recent survey showed an estimated 1.43kgs of cabin waste is generated by each passenger per flight. 20% of that is untouched F&B. Overall, airline cabin waste – which totalled 6.1MT in 2018 – is expected to double by 2030. In 2020 waste was down to 2.6MT, but post-pandemic it will be at 5.7MT for 2024.

For this to change, airlines need to optimise provision of inflight products and really understand, and own, the cost of waste, providing demand signals to market to encourage new products and recycling, reuse and recovery infrastructure. But we also need to see more coordinated actions to promote regulatory change. IATA is working to engage with the regulator, challenging current risk assessments and working with relevant stakeholders to harmonise rules globally. When it comes to cutting use of Single Use Plastics, for example, intentions may be very good but again regulations differ everywhere and even act against greener choices.

The waste issue is very definitely on the agenda now and we need to come together to develop standard plastic inventory methodology; guidance on sustainability criteria for products that account for full lifecycle and replacement strategies and support operational handling, risk management, cost analysis, regulatory clarity and viability.

Matt Crane, ASF

On the surface it looks like aviation is going in the right direction but digging deeper it's clear that International Cabin Waste regulation, requiring incineration and landfill, mean sustainability is being used onboard to improve perception without actually recovering or recycling much.

The ASF works independently as a collaborative forum bringing together suppliers, caterers, airlines, airports, associations and governing bodies to share knowledge, best practice, ideas and problems with the aim of standardising the materials used for inflight products and services. By standardising the materials we use onboard we can support and present the case for legislative change to allow recovery, recycling and circularity.

Our WTCE panel represents all aspects of the inflight sector – we must put our shoulders together, line up together behind IATA and show that as an industry we are acting ‘as one’ with a singular focus on standardisation and regulatory change. Together we will cover more ground, involve a higher level of expertise and influence. Aviation is a major contributor to climate change – passengers are watching and expect us to a

Gregoire James, IAWMA

New collaborations will aid the transition to circularity. Industry associations have increased

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cooperation and stakeholders are lending insights with new advancements and reusability.

IAWMA is focused on three key levers on waste: cross-sector and functional collaboration; bridging supply and collection gaps; and communicating tangible and measurable results.

We aim to collaborate to initiate programmes and resource recovery for airlines and airports as they advance their sustainability activities. These will help the airline's bottom line as well as giving passengers confidence that the industry is moving in the right direction. We need to embed circularity in our operations, closing supply and collection chain gaps so all can rally around circularity. Slowly the industry is moving the needle on issues passengers care about.

Joe Leader, APEX/IFSA

Sustainability has moved up to the top of our priority list in honour of our passengers and our world.

The APEX/IFSA Board of Governors unanimously voted for it as a priority not only for 2022, but for our industry moving forward. The fundamental to change is to understand where changes can be made that genuinely make a difference, and what those changes should be. IFSA and APEX members are now actively collaborating around the processes they use to assess the sustainability of products. As the leaders serving our industry, APEX/IFSA are working to share product validations and research to cut duplications. The importance of communicating sustainable progress to passengers cannot be underestimated. Even small steps forward create a valuable point of difference. Airlines are increasingly committed to incremental improvements year on year, and it is collaboration that will get us to a sustainable aviation industry.

Simon Frischerman, ACA

ACA caterers are right at the forefront of the onboarding process and see first-hand the waste. We are keen to work with our airline clients and other associations to find viable solutions. Collaboration and joint guidelines are being developed. We see strong potential for the use of technology – pre-ordering and AI technology for example – so airlines can adapt what they load based on factual data, not just guesswork. Ultimately, a lot of positive measures are ruled out by restrictive and complex legislation. It is coming together to achieve change with this that will really make the difference. •

IATA International Air Transport Association | ASF Aviation Sustainability Forum | IFSA International Flight Services Association/ Airline Passenger Experience Association | ACA Airline Catering Association | IAWMA International Aviation Waste Management Association