SUSTAINABILITY: NO FLY BY NIGHT PROGRAMME

Over the past 18 months, PHI has been on a mission to shape our approach to sustainability. Our vision is simple – to be a responsible partner in the industries we serve as the shift from fossil fuels to a renewable energy future progresses.

What started as a pilot project to measure carbon emissions at PHI International’s bases in New Plymouth, New Zealand and Mackay, Australia has flourished into a roadmap to achieve more sustainable business practices across all of PHI Aviation.

Using New Zealand as a test case, we enlisted the help of a local sustainability organisation with expertise in supporting global companies like PHI to make a start in minimising their impact on the environment.

With their support, we shaped the foundation of a strategy for implementing more sustainable business practices across our entire organisation focused on four key areas – our team, our community, our footprint and our business.

To ensure we were using consistent and comparable metrics that align with global environmental standards, we looked to the Future-Fit Benchmark Goals and KPIs to evaluate our existing sustainability practices and performance.

Future-Fit is linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and is widely considered to be among the ‘gold-standard’ of sustainability benchmarking, making it a good starting point for us to assess where our business currently sits on the sustainability scale, and how we move forward.

PHI Aviation Managing Director, Keith Mullet said:

The decisions we make today should not only preserve the longterm sustainability of our business, but also make a positive difference to the world we live in. This is important to us, our people, our clients and our stakeholders.

We know we have a critical role to play, contributing to more sustainable business practices and helping to achieve better environmental, social and governance (ESG) outcomes for all.

In April, PHI established a Sustainability Steering Group led by PHI Aviation’s Vice President of Health, Safety, Environmental and Quality (HSEQ), Robert Bouillion.

One of its first tasks is to find a sustainability consultant to support the implementation of the roadmap across the business.

A shortlist of potential partners is currently under review. Robert said:

Using an independent consultant with specific expertise will allow us to instil the right training, competencies and understanding in teams across our business of sustainability and ESG issues.

By building our understanding and capability in-house, our people will be better equipped to navigate the complexities of implementing sustainability in our company.

This approach has been tried tested with success in New Plymouth and Mackay, where teams have been trained to measure and report on carbon emissions.

As the initiative is rolled out to PHI’s other locations in the future, carbon emissions measurement is one of many practices that PHI’s people will learn more about to help drive progress towards our vision.

Keith said:

Sustainability is a big part of our plan going forward. In the past year and a half, we have really built up our understanding of what sustainability and ESG means.

Due to climate change, we now see natural disasters such as major storms, floods or fires so often that they are starting to become normal occurrences, rather than extraordinary events.

Even so, there is still confusion about what sustainability act ually is, and how sustainable practices can reduce our climate impact.

It is much more than just recycling and electric vehicles. It flows through our entire operation – from the way we treat our people and our communities to our impact on the planet and the ethical practices by which we govern the business.

It is the right way to run our business and it is what our customers expect of us.

We are excited to be working to ensure the most responsible practices are in place in our industry – and that is something we want to be a part of for many years to come.

Sustainability: Our Four Areas of Focus

Our goal is to be a responsible partner in the industry by actively participating in the eventual transition from oil and gas to renewable energy sources.