RESPONSIBLE TRAVELLER

Environmental performance takes centre stage at Emirates

OTLEY TOM WORDS

An overview of how the Dubai-based carrier is striving for sustainable operations and much more

Since 2018, the Emirates Group has combined its annual environmental reporting with its nancial reporting, to “provide business context to environmental performance”. Here, Business Traveller highlights key aspects of the company’s sustainability and environmental performance, as outlined in the 2020-2021 annual report, which is available to download in full online (theemiratesgroup.com/annualreport).

Reducing fuel emissions

Emirates has a modern and fuel-e cient eet with an average age of 6.5 years. It also has a fuel e ciency programme that helps reduce unnecessary fuel burn through the use of a fuel monitoring system, exible route planning with air navigation partners, air tra c management to develop e cient routes and aircra weight management to reduce aircra weight (and thereby fuel burn).

Some of the programme’s most recent initiatives include: 1. e operation of ‘ ex tracks’, or exible routings where the airline partners with air navigation service providers to create the most e cient ight plan for each ight, taking advantage of natural tailwinds, while avoiding headwinds and weather systems. ese e orts have been ongoing since 2003, and the airline has also been working with IATA to extend this routing system across the world as a standard operating procedure where possible. 2. Working with air tra c management providers to develop protocols that enhance operational e ciency. For instance, reducing the number of ights placed into holding patterns, increasing the availability of Free Route Airspace, and developing more e cient routings. 3. Introducing a robust fuel monitoring system and advanced data analytics, which has resulted in reduction of discretionary fuel upli from crews and dispatchers. 4. Introducing fuel-e cient practices while the aircra is on the ground, such as: the use of ground power units instead of the aircra Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) and switching one or two engines o while taxiing in a er landing. 5. e implementation of idle reverse thrust on landing, instead of switching the engines into reverse thrust. 6. e improvement of loading e ciency to match the ideal trim line, resulting in a more a Centre of Gravity (CG) position and less fuel burn. 7. Aircra weight management – Emirates continuously reviews its in ight product and cabin environment to reduce aircra weight (and thereby fuel burn) without compromising on customer experience. Recent initiatives include the use of data analytics and in the near future of machine learning (ML) and arti cial intelligence (AI) to better forecast potable water upli in each ight. HOT STATS 6.5

YEARS

is the average age of Emirates’ fleet 8,112 individual solar panels on the Emirates Flight Catering plant rooftop 95

MILLION

plastic bottles saved from landfill and made into economy class blankets

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE: Muhammed Tariq, AVP Engineering and Saeed Mohammed, CEO, Emirates Flight Catering on solar rooftop power plant; The Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve (DDCR); Emirates operates a fuel-e icient fleet

8. Moving its cockpit crew entirely to electronic ight bags, which saves weight from the traditional ight bags and also helps its pilots perform ight management tasks more easily and e ciently with less paper.

Well-maintained aircra contribute to e cient ight operations too. Emirates uses an innovative foam wash technique for cleaning aircra engines that helps it to save about 200 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year across its eet. It also utilises a dry wash technique to clean its aircra , which saves 11 million litres of water annually and keeps the aircra cleaner for longer. is reduces the aircra ’s fuel consumption because of less accumulation of dirt and reduces the number of times the aircra has to be washed to about three times a year.

Emirates has also invested in solar power systems to generate clean electricity at two of the airline’s major facilities in the UAE – Emirates Engine Maintenance Centre and Emirates.

Flight catering

e Emirates Flight Catering solar roo op power plant has 8,112 individual solar panels and is expected to generate 4,195 megawatt-hours of electricity annually, allowing the company to reduce traditional energy consumption by 15 per cent across its laundry, food manufacturing and sta accommodation facilities. Consequently, EKFC’s carbon dioxide emissions will decrease by three million kilogrammes annually – the equivalent of the annual electricity use of 518 family homes.

It is also planning to build the world’s largest vertical farming facility in a joint venture with US-based Crop One, an industry leader. e 130,000 sq controlled environment facility will produce 2,700 kilogrammes of high quality, herbicide- and pesticide-free leafy greens daily, using 99 per cent less water than outdoor elds. Its location will enable quick delivery of fresh products within hours of harvest, maintaining the food’s nutritional value and reducing carbon emissions associated with transportation. ese two installations are expected to produce savings of up to 3.8 million kilogrammes of carbon dioxide emissions annually.

Carbon emissions

On carbon emissions, the airline says that as well as the above e ciency measures, it supports the development and introduction of the Carbon O setting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). It is also encouraging the development of a commercially viable supply chain for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and conducting trials of, and purchasing, electric and hybrid ground equipment and vehicles to replace diesel-fuelled equipment.

As yet, the airline has not released details of this, saying it “continues to explore partnership opportunities in the few destinations on its network where SAF is being made available, and is reviewing longer-term prospects for technologies such as power-to-liquid fuels”.

Responsible operations

Emirates also states it is “committed to responsible consumption by making careful decisions about what items we purchase, how we source them, how we manage disposal of waste and how we consume water and power”.

Due to the large scale of the airline’s operations, “even a small change can make a big positive impact with low-carbon footprint”, it says, noting there are between 50,000 to 60,000 items on each Emirates ight, from the food served to the toiletries, safety equipment and bed linen.

It also “prioritises suppliers that can demonstrate ethical and sustainable practices while delivering good value and quality”.

For example, its tea supplier, Dilmah Tea, has achieved carbon neutrality, ensuring that tea options served in all cabin classes are sustainable. e airline has also used economy class blankets made from recycled plastic bottles since 2017. is has so far saved 95 million bottles from land ll.

Protecting biodiversity

Emirates has actively supported fragile habitats since 1999 when it established the Al Maha Desert Resort and Spa in Dubai featuring a 27 sqkm conservation reserve for the protection of desert fauna and ora. In its rst years, 70 Arabian Oryx were reintroduced, and 6,000 indigenous trees and shrubs planted. is became the foundation for the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve (DDCR), which was created in 2003 and expanded the protected land area to 225 sqkm. Representing about ve per cent of Dubai’s total land area, this is the biggest piece of land Dubai has dedicated to a single project. Emirates funds the DDCR and sits on its management board. Following the success of Al Maha and the DDCR, in 2009, Emirates opened the Emirates One & Only Wolgan Valley, a conservation-based resort that occupies one per cent of a 2,800-hectare nature reserve in the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area (in NSW, Australia). On opening, it was the rst carboNZerocerti ed hotel in the world. Emirates invested more than $94.1 million into this project to ensure the conservation of the unique biodiversity of this valley and has since planted in excess of 175,000 native trees and shrubs across the site.

Emirates stresses it has “zero tolerance on carrying banned species, hunting trophies or any products associated with illegal wildlife activities”. Its ground-handling colleagues are trained in IATA’s Live Animal Regulations and its own internal policies on carrying wildlife, with frontline employees trained to recognise and report suspicious cargo.