AirAsia opens a new chapter in its efforts to drive industry engagement and spark greater collaboration by hosting its inaugural Sustainability Day, themed ‘Doing More with Less’.
Led by Capital A Chief Sustainability Officer Yap Mun Ching, the event saw an in-depth exchange on topics addressing AirAsia’s paths to decarbonization, as well as challenges and opportunities in implementing these strategies. The line-up of speakers, comprised of AirAsia technical heads and subject matter experts, discussed topics including how AirAsia factors ESG considerations into the deployment of its fleet assets, transfer prospects to greener biofuels, opportunities for ESG financing and talent management to achieve their talents. future growth demand.
Delivering the opening and closing messages of the day were AirAsia Aviation Group Ltd (AAAGL) Chairperson Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim and AAAGL Sustainability Adviser Prof. Tan Sri Dr. Jemilah Mahmood.
Capital A Chief Sustainability Officer, Yap Mun Ching said: “Today marks the first time that we will bring together all our key stakeholders from government officials, regulators, financial institutions, aviation analysts, business partners and media, to improve their understanding of the intricacies of aviation sustainability. As we rebuild our business after the pandemic, we are expanding and deepening our sustainability agenda by incorporating strong ESG practices into our strategic priorities so that we can recover stronger and better.
“Since aviation is a difficult sector to decarbonize, the decarbonization of aviation requires collaborative efforts not only from airlines but from all stakeholders in the industry if we want to achieve our goal of achieving -ot net zero by 2050. With reminders in the media almost daily that the world is likely to reach an environmental tipping point earlier than expected, this calls for immediate action by all parties to identify and potentially access the solutions that airlines need to reduce carbon emissions.
In his sharing of AirAsia’s net zero plan, Yap continued: “All airlines are facing four paths to decarbonise, namely upgrading their fleet, improving the implementation of green operating procedures, moving to biofuels and offsetting residual emissions. AirAsia’s top priority is to upgrade its fleet to the A321neo, widely recognized as the most fuel-efficient aircraft on the market today, and to expand and deepen its industry-leading fuel-efficiency program.
“Whether we use fossil fuels or biofuels, the question that should come first is whether we are using more than necessary. AirAsia’s fuel efficiency program is one of the best, if not the best in the world. Even as we explore new solutions, we can’t forget our strengths that enable us to achieve the lowest costs and emissions per seat in the industry,” he said.
In a panel discussion, AirAsia’s fleet and flight operations led an analysis of how the airline is incorporating ESG considerations into the deployment and use of its growing fleet. AirAsia currently has an order for 362 new A321neo aircraft to be delivered between 2024 and 2035. According to AirAsia Senior Manager of Flight Operations Projects, Development & Efficiency Jonathan Sanjay, since 2015, the airline has saved more than US$130 million in fuel consumption, while avoiding the associated CO2 emissions. AirAsia is also exploring options to introduce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) into its fuel mix before 2025.
The day session continued with valuable insights on the role of multiple stakeholders in facilitating the adoption of aviation biofuels by Christoph Behrendt-Rieken, the Lead SAF Expert of the EU-Southeast Asia Cooperation on Mitigating Climate Change Impact from Civil Aviation ( EU-SEA CCCA) CORSIA) Project implemented by the EU Aviation Safety Agency; and ESG financing options through aviation legal specialist Teo Hui Ling, who is also a partner at Reed Smith LLP. This was followed by a session on AirAsia’s experience of using diversity, equality and inclusion to create its competitive edge over the past 22 years, before concluding the day’s event with a special tour of the engineering complex at AirAsia, RedChain, where participants were introduced to the initiatives carried out by Asia Digital Engineering to transform aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul through digitalization.
In conjunction with the event, AirAsia also launched its Guide to Aviation Sustainability, a handbook of aviation sustainability terms to make common concepts related to the topic more accessible. The handbook also highlights the results from AirAsia’s own implementation of some of the measures listed. The publication of the booklet is supported by AirAsia’s business partners, namely Avolon, Honeywell, Mirus Aircraft Seating, PETRONAS, Shell Aviation and SITA.
More information on AirAsia’s Sustainability achievements, goals and targets is available in the Capital A Sustainability Report 2022.
