easyJet becomes the first low-cost airline to obtain certification showing that it has taken environmental issues into account.
The reward will not completely make us forget the difficult summer that the company made its customers, particularly Spanish, go through, but easyJet welcomed good news at the start of the school year, by receiving full IATA IEnvA accreditation for its environmental management system. This program, initiated by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), lists all the airlines that report notable efforts in this area.
easyJet proves its good environmental practices
The British company easyJet has therefore validated the IATA IEnvA certification, an environmental assessment program based on voluntary work, which makes it possible to independently assess and improve the management of environmental issues by an airline. As such, it becomes the first low-cost airline in the world to obtain this certification, joining other companies such as Air Canada, British Airways, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines.
The IEnvA program is accessible to all airlines, even those which, like easyJet, are not members of IATA. Recognized worldwide, the latter is intended to improve the environmental performance of carriers and now complies with the international standard of the ISO 14001 environmental management system.
During the support, the IEnvA provides advice to airlines, on-board catering services, ground handlers and aircraft maintenance services. This is to help them identify, manage, monitor and control their environmental issues, over time and not just for the time of the assessment, which can be up to 24 months.
Recycled plastic items, sustainable uniforms… easyJet multiplies initiatives
The IEnvA commits airlines to permanently address their environmental impact, which obviously includes the direct carbon emissions resulting from the flights of its aircraft, but also the more global environmental impact. As such, the firm recalled its objective of reducing its carbon emissions by 35% by 2035, with net zero carbon by 2050.
easyJet, for example, has eliminated more than 36 million single-use plastic items used on its flights (an impressive source of waste that is still far too underestimated in the aeronautics sector today). The company ensures that all residual waste is recycled as much as possible, and specifies that it is seeking even more efficient solutions.
The company has also equipped its flight personnel with new uniforms, made from recycled plastic bottles. 45 bottles are enough to compose a uniform. Over the next five years, easyJet says the measure could save 2.7 million plastic bottles from falling into the oceans or ending up in landfills.
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