Sustainability Advisory Panel
Air New Zealand has engaged a Sustainability Advisory Panel to advise us on all aspects of our sustainability journey. This panel is referred to as our ‘Critical Friend’, providing critique and advice on our sustainability strategy. Find out more.
Our carbon commitments
Air New Zealand is a leader in examining its flight operations to reduce carbon emissions. In the period 2006 to 2016 we improved our fuel efficiency by 22 percent. In 2016 we engaged an independent IATA Operational Efficiency team to conduct an onsite review of our operations, benchmarking our performance against carbon management international best practices, and identifying potential new initiatives to reduce our carbon emissions. We have subsequently launched a Carbon Reduction programme to enable us to realise further carbon savings.
Our fleet enhancement
We were the first airline to take delivery of the revolutionary Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner in 2014, an aircraft 20 percent more fuel efficient than its predecessors. Over the next five years we plan to invest approximately $2.1 billion in new aircraft. As of June 2016, our average seat-weighted fleet age was 7.5 years, contributing to significant fuel efficiency gains, ensuring we gain the significant carbon emission reductions.
We also aim to lead the way on the ground by operating one of New Zealand’s most technologically advanced, renewably powered electric ground fleets. In 2016, we started to transition more than 75 light vehicles to electric options, with the transition now complete.
Sustainable biofuel
In 2008, we successfully completed the world's first commercial aviation test flight, powered by the sustainable second-generation biofuel jatropha, which has played an important role in the certification of aviation biofuels for airlines globally. This was a joint initiative between Air New Zealand, Boeing, Rolls-Royce and Honeywell UOP, and was carried out as part of commercial aviation's drive for more sustainable air travel for future generations.
Our customers
Customers wanting to help offset their personal carbon emissions can do so through the Air New Zealand voluntary carbon offsetting function. Customers can also support environmental projects in New Zealand by making a donation to the Air New Zealand Environment Trust.
Our people
Thousands of Air New Zealanders have joined the "Air New Zealand Greenteam" and are offered the opportunity each month to participate in community activities. Sustainability is more than a state of mind - it is a business-wide Air New Zealand way of doing things.