Strategy & Governance of Sustainability at Air
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Sustainability Report — 2020 2 — CONTENTS AIR NEW ZEALAND SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2020 — Contents Introduction 03 Letter from the 04 Letter from the Chair 05 About Air New Zealand 06 Strategy & Governance Air New Zealand of Air New Zealand’s of Sustainability at Chief Executive Officer Sustainability Air New Zealand Advisory Panel Sections 08 01. 12 02. 16 03. 20 04. 24 05. Caring for Tackling climate Championing Strengthening Sustainability our people change & carbon sustainable sustainable dashboard & & communities emissions tourism & regions supply chains performance & reducing waste metrics 3 — INTRODUCTION — LETTER FROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER AIR NEW ZEALAND SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2020 — Letter from the Chief Executive Officer It has certainly been a very decarbonisation will be required, and ensure long-term industry in the past year – through our challenging year for the especially because family competitiveness. And we are up voluntary carbon offsetting aviation sector and for Air New connections, business, tourism for this challenge – because there function FlyNeutral, together and New Zealand’s key export are equally strong environmental, we have contributed close to Zealand. We have worked hard industries rely on international social and economic benefits to $1.5 million towards permanent to ensure the actions we have air transport. be gained. Investing in sustainable native forestry projects across taken over past months will alternative fuels will create skilled New Zealand and achieved an Being able to decarbonise our jobs benefiting regional New average uptake rate across all enable the airline to emerge business is considered vital to our Zealand; enable more resilient retail storefronts of 7.1 percent. competitively and sustainably long-term success and remains fuel supply chains; and utilise from the Covid-19 crisis. But an important part of our business Air New Zealand has a fantastic waste materials as feedstock from model, even as we navigate the story about what it has achieved some of the decisions we have forestry and landfills or municipal most challenging economic over the past decade and I’m had to make as an organisation solid waste, with the ability to circumstances we have ever seen as especially proud this year of our have been painful and I am transition to other feedstock gases an airline. Acting on climate change continued support for strong using green hydrogen in the future. grateful to the entire Air New is not something we consider to biodiversity outcomes with the Zealand whānau – both those be a choice; it is an integral part New Zealand’s high mix of Department of Conservation Greg Foran — Air New Zealand who are still employed with of the recent company-wide renewable energy, reliance on and to supporting regional Chief Executive Officer us, and those who are not – for strategy reset we have called Kia aviation for domestic connectivity, communities through domestic their incredible efforts and Mau (“get ready” in te reo Māori). and high proportion of relatively tourism – including advocating for Through this work it has become short distance regional flights better, more sustainable, tourism personal sacrifices through increasingly clear that as an airline also mean it is uniquely placed outcomes for New Zealand this really difficult time. and as a country, if we are to meet to be an early adopter of next communities. In the coming year The pandemic we are together our shared net zero by 2050 goal generation aircraft (electric, we will continue to build on the facing has accentuated the and take decisive action in the hybrid and/or hydrogen). Air New actions we have taken, leading importance of connection, and coming decade, we need to pursue Zealand is working with several and advocating for action on the crucial role international trade sustainable alternative fuels. aviation equipment manufacturers decarbonisation and in turn, to accelerate development and fulfilling our promise of taking links and international tourism play Sustainable fuels and the deployment of future aircraft and care further than any other airline. in the New Zealand economy. The infrastructure they rely on require engine technology. Establishing impact of the global pandemic significant upfront capital and new Ngā mihi New Zealand as a hub for aircraft has resulted in Air New Zealand policy settings to give producers innovation and an attractive operating significantly fewer confidence there will be long-term location for the trialling of future flights in the past year, which has demand and to ensure commercial aircraft technologies will accelerate seen our carbon emissions reduce viability to the end user. These fuels the commercialisation of next by 19 percent. While we will rebuild currently cost two to three times generation aircraft while also our airline, there is no doubt our that of traditional fuel – but that providing employment and regional emissions profile in the coming commercial gap can be narrowed. development benefits. years must be lower than it was Making this a reality will require Greg Foran pre-Covid. Air New Zealand is one close collaboration, investment A big thank you to our customers Air New Zealand of the most fuel-efficient operators from both the public and private too for your continued support. Chief Executive Officer in the world with a very modern sectors, and strong enabling We have been especially delighted fleet – but further significant policy to attract investment with voluntary offsetting rates October 2020 < BACK TO CONTENTS 4 — INTRODUCTION — LETTER FROM THE CHAIR OF THE SUSTAINABILITY ADVISORY PANEL AIR NEW ZEALAND SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2020 — Letter from the Chair of the Sustainability Advisory Panel This has been a terrible year it’s going to have to be on a steeply shocked aviation into a more acute for the global aviation industry. declining trajectory by then, and realisation both of its vulnerabilities And there will be no immediate capable of demonstrating exactly and of its obligations. what its contribution would be to Hopefully, it will have simultaneously bounce-back either. The avoiding the nightmare of runaway shocked governments into a lingering effects of Covid-19, climate change. A nightmare that realisation of how much smarter quarantine controls, residual will make the impact of Covid-19 they now need to be in providing on the global economy look like nervousness in some people the right policy settings to make it a minor market perturbation. about getting back on a plane, possible for airlines to do what they even after a global vaccination It is therefore very encouraging need to do. The new Government programme – it all points to a to see Air New Zealand doubling in New Zealand now has a precious slower recovery for aviation down on its Carbon Reduction opportunity to show what real than for almost every other Programme and its overall leadership looks like in that regard, Sustainability Strategy, as reflected working closely with Air New sector of the economy. in Greg Foran’s introductory Zealand to ensure that one of New It also points to the imperative, words. It would be so easy, facing Zealand’s most iconic companies Sir Jonathon Porritt — Chair of for all airlines, of positioning such incredibly difficult head can indeed continue to thrive Air New Zealand’s Sustainability strategically for that post- winds, having to take such painful indefinitely into the future. Advisory Panel decisions to ensure the company’s pandemic world. There are many And that, of course, is exactly what future success, just to put uncertainties about what that world sustainability means. will look like. But one thing that sustainability ‘on the backburner’. is absolutely guaranteed is that I can say categorically that this is there will be a far greater sense of not happening, and that all of us on urgency in addressing the Climate Air New Zealand’s Sustainability Emergency in which the world finds Panel (page 7) are impressed at itself engulfed. the leadership being shown here both by the Board and by the whole Many governments have – at Executive Team. long last woken up to the scale Sir Jonathon Porritt of this Emergency. And to the I have been deeply critical of the aviation sector in the past. Chair of Air New Zealand’s fact that we can no longer defer Sustainability Advisory Panel immediate radical action. The Ever since governments chose Intergovernmental Panel on to exempt international shipping October 2020 Climate Change tells us, quite and aviation from the binding agreement of the Kyoto Protocol straightforwardly, that emissions back in 1997, the response to of greenhouse gases need to halve accelerating climate change on over the course of the next decade. the part of both sectors has been The aviation sector will not be able complacent and obstructive. to halve its emissions by 2030. But If nothing else, Covid-19 has < BACK TO CONTENTS 5 — INTRODUCTION — ABOUT AIR NEW ZEALAND AIR NEW ZEALAND SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2020 — About Air New Zealand Prior to the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, Air New Zealand operated a global network, with a Pacific Rim focus, connecting passengers and providing cargo services to, from, and within New Zealand. As a small island nation in the Pacific, air travel provides a vital We carried more than 35,000 tonnes of cargo on our network in connection to the rest of the world and this became even more the past year, supporting New Zealand businesses and facilitating evident as global air travel reduced in the past eight months in urgent movements of medical and infrastructure supplies and transporting high value products to international markets. response to the pandemic. While passenger numbers have dropped significantly since March 2020 due to Covid-19, we operated five repatriation flights to get returning Kiwis home to New Zealand’s shores as well as 26 repatriation charter flights for stranded visitors in New Zealand.