Qatar Airways starts programme to meet second level of IATA's environmental management certification scheme

Qatar Airways starts programme to meet second level of IATA's environmental management certification scheme | Qatar Airways,IEnvA

Thu 7 Apr 2016 – Having achieved the foundation level of IATA’s Environmental Assessment (IEnvA) certification scheme, Qatar Airways has begun implementing additional environmental management system procedures to attain stage 2 certification. The programme will cover all aspects of the airline’s global operations, including flight and ground operations, and corporate activities. By the end of 2017, it aims to have reached full industry certification of its approach to managing climate change, waste, water consumption and emissions. IATA Director General Tony Tyler said that while a number of airlines had implemented other comparable environmental management systems, IEnvA was the first system designed specifically for the aviation sector. Qatar Airways has also renewed its commitment to working with the industry’s Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group (SAFUG) to develop sustainable biofuels.

 

The IEnvA programme uses environmental standards and recommended practices developed for the aviation sector by a joint team of environmental experts from within and outside the industry. As part of the certification, IATA says it will independently assess the quality of Qatar Airways’ environmental procedures and the extent to which its environmental management system is effectively implemented.

 

“Qatar Airways is a member of IATA’s Environment Committee, and as such, our social and environmental responsibilities are of the upmost importance to us. We have made a firm commitment to allocating time and resources to continuously improving our environmental performance and establishing a sustainable aviation industry,” said the airline’s CEO Akbar Al Baker.

 

“Ensuring strong environmental governance is a collective challenge for the airline industry. Qatar Airways has been one of the pioneers of the IEnvA process and has pledged its support to lead the industry to establish a bespoke environmental certification scheme that meets the unique environmental challenges facing airlines.”

 

Added Tyler: “I am delighted that Qatar Airways has satisfied the stage 1 assessment and committed to implementing the stage 2 standards. This makes Qatar Airways one of the world’s leading carriers in the areas of environmental responsibility and sustainability.”

 

The airline says it is refreshing its environmental strategy following the creation of a group-wide Environmental Affairs function and this has included reviewing membership with a range of stakeholder groups to align with strategic objectives.

 

“While Qatar Airways has been a member of SAFUG for several years, we decided to renew our commitment by re-signing the SAFUG pledge,” said an airline spokesperson. “This reflects our recognition that biofuels could play a role in enabling aviation to achieve its climate change targets if affordability and sustainability continue to be addressed. The commitment underpins our intention to participate even more actively in the SAFUG network as our business continues to expand and our industry explores the potential for aviation biofuels.”

 

The SAFUG pledge commits airline members to using fuels only from biomass sources that do not compete with food or drinking water supplies, lead to significant reductions in total lifecycle GHG emissions, come from projects that lead to socio-economic improvement in developing countries and ensure protection for high conservation value areas and native eco-systems.


Qatar Airways says it is reviewing the suitability and availability of a number of alternative bio and non-bio aviation fuels.

 

 

Links:

Qatar Airways – Environment

IATA Environmental Assessment (IEnvA) programme

SAFUG

 

 

Qatar Airways’ VP Environmental Affairs Iain Groark (left) and SVP Group Safety and Security Ashish Jain (right) met with IATA’s Manager, Environmental Assessment Stephen Causby (centre) in Qatar to launch the airline’s IEnvA stage 2 certification process:

 

 


 

 

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