PUTTING SUSTAINABILITY AT THE HEART OF BRITISH AIRWAYS

by Carrie Harris Director of Sustainability, British Airways

Just over a year ago, British Airways launched the BA Better World programme as part of their continued commitment to put sustainability at the heart of the business and to help build a better, more sustainable future. Just over a year later, BA’s Director of Sustainability looks back on some of the progress made.

Since launching the programme, we’ve been embedding the three key pillars of BA Better World – People, Planet and Responsible Business – across all parts of the airline to ensure we are delivering against our goals. Here are some highlights of the programme:

People

We’re working hard to ensure we’re a diverse and inclusive company.

Creating a diverse and inclusive workplace contributes to a sense of wellbeing and belonging, enabling our colleagues to thrive. This philosophy is embraced by our leaders, championed by our employee network groups and supported by our relationships with external partners. We’ve recently established a successful reverse mentoring programme, with senior leaders being mentored by a colleague from a diverse background to talk about their lived experience within our business, their career development and our organisational culture to help us ensure that we’re more innovative, creative and successful. We’ve also launched wellbeing roadshows and our new network of mental health first aiders to support colleagues and their families if they need it.

Planet

We’re focused on taking urgent action to tackle our climate impacts.

Now, more than ever, we need to take greater action to tackle the impact that flying has on our planet. We know we must do all we can to tackle climate change now. Because there is no greater priority.

Sustainability is not new to us. We already have a track record of leadership and three years ago, as part of our parent company International Airlines Group, we committed to achieving net zero CO2 emissions by 2050.

While there is no single solution to this challenge, we have a clear roadmap of short, medium and long-term initiatives to get there. In the short-term this includes improving our operational efficiency, investing in more efficient aircraft, funding carbon offset projects to mitigate emissions on UK domestic flights and progressively introducing sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). In the medium to longer-term we’re continuing to invest in the development and scale-up of sustainable aviation fuel, and looking at how we can help accelerate the growth of new technologies such as zero emissions hydrogen-powered aircraft and carbon capture technology.

In April 2022 we took in our first-ever supply of UK-produced sustainable aviation fuel, made from waste cooking oil. It’s now routinely delivered into Heathrow operations, so all BA flights leaving Heathrow now fly using a small proportion of SAF. We’re working on scaling up the development of SAF through several partnerships.

We’ve also continued to empower our customers by allowing them to make sustainable choices when flying with us. Now, if customers wish to reduce their carbon footprint further, in addition to the existing option for customers to offset their emissions, they can purchase sustainable aviation fuel in combination with high-quality verified carbon offsets. This can be purchased online before or after their journey, or via our onboard Wi-Fi portal directly from their seat. This can all be done on our new and upgraded online platform, called CO2llaborate, accessible for both individual and corporate customers, in partnership with climate tech company CHOOOSE, further helping passengers understand, calculate and address their travel emissions. CO2llaborate features more precise emissions calculations and a new adjustable slider to give customers more control over the amount of SAF versus verified carbon offsets they wish to purchase.

Responsible Business

We’re actively supporting communities around the world and engaging customers in our sustainability programme.

For more than 30 years we have supported our colleagues and customers in charitable giving in the communities we serve worldwide. In March 2022 we launched our new BA Better World Community Fund to support projects across the UK, which has already delivered more than £760,000 of funding to over 30 charities, and these non-profit organisations are delivering positive change across social inclusion, environmental protection and climate action and through access to education and employment.

In times of crisis, British Airways works with partners including the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) and the British Red Cross, to ensure that vital relief gets to where it’s needed as quickly as possible, helping to save lives and rebuild communities. We have recently sent aid for emergency responses in Ukraine, Pakistan and India. In May 2021 we sent 27 tonnes of medical aid to Delhi to support communities facing rising Coronavirus cases.

Positioning sustainability at our heart to deliver transformational change is a huge challenge, but it’s also a privilege. Over the last year, I’ve been able to share our vision for BA Better World, and it’s been inspiring to receive such a positive response from colleagues and customers from all over the world. We’re excited to bring together our people, customers and partners as we continue to develop our sustainability strategy and deliver what we believe will be our greatest achievement.

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About the company

As a global airline and the UK’s flag carrier, British Airways has been flying its customers to where they need to be for more than 100 years. The airline connects Britain with the world and the world with Britain, operating one of the most extensive international scheduled airline route networks together with its joint business, codeshare and franchise partners. British Airways flies to destinations in more than 65 countries. Its principal place of business is London, with its main home at Heathrow Terminal 5. In 2021, the airline won six Business Traveller Awards including Best Short-Haul Carrier, Best Airport Lounge, Best Frequent Flyer Programme, Best Travel App and Best New Seat. In September 2021, British Airways launched its sustainability programme, BA Better World, committing to put sustainability at the heart of everything it does and with a clear roadmap to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. British Airways is a founding member of the airline alliance oneworld, which serves around 1,000 destinations across the globe. The latest information on the measures British Airways is taking to ensure its customers have a safe experience when travelling can be found on ba.com. The British Airways press office can be contacted at press.office@ba.com. To book visit BA.com and connect on Facebook @BritishAirways and Instagram @british_airways.