JAL achieves Eco-First recognition and pledges a 23 percent improvement in fuel efficiency
JAL's Boeing 777 Eco-Jet
Fri 21 May 2010 – Japan’s Ministry of the Environment has presented Japan Airlines Group (JAL) with its Eco-First award in recognition of the airline’s various environmental conservation initiatives. The Eco-First programme was established in 2008 to encourage environmental preservation activities by companies in compliance with the Kyoto Protocol. During the past year, JAL has been involved with trialling new advanced flight operational measures and earlier last year conducted Asia’s first sustainable jet biofuel flight. JAL has also made an Eco-First Pledge in which it resolves to achieve a 23 percent reduction in CO2 emissions per revenue-tonne-kilometre (RTK) in 2020 compared with levels in 2005.
The Eco-First award commended JAL for its diligence in advocating environmental awareness and for conducting various recycling measures to minimize its environmental burden.
JAL is renewing its fleet with smaller, more fuel-efficient aircraft, reducing the weight of its aircraft and routinely washing its aircraft engines to improve performance and efficiency. The airline has also long been a contributor to assisting in forest fire surveillance and atmospheric research.
In June 2009 JAL began trialling the use of User Preferred Route (UPR) on flights between Tokyo Narita and Brisbane, as well as Sydney. The procedure sets a unique and optimal flight path for each aircraft to fly what it judges to be the most efficient route so shortening flight times and reducing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. During the previous month, the airline started using Continuous Descent Arrival (CDA) procedures for flights landing late at night and early in the morning at Osaka’s Kansai International (see story).
Biodiversity has also played a part in JAL’s environmental initiatives and to coincide with the UN’s International Year of Biodiversity, various activities have been lined up to promote the safeguarding of the Earth’s resources. JAL pilots already give up their time to teach school children about the importance of preserving nature. JAL says it will endeavour to strengthen its contribution to society through its Sky Eco environmental conservation activities.
This week, JAL has introduced a new initiative in which passengers are requested to shut their adjacent window shades before disembarking to save on power used to cool the cabin interior.
