“The most ambitious sustainability strategy in the aviation industry to banish carbon from its operations,” has been unveiled by Finnair.
Addressing a small group of journalists in London, Topi Manner, Finnair CEO, said: “Aviation is a fast-paced industry subject to many changes, and everything impacts it. Maintaining a long-term perspective at all times, in all market situations is key. The plans we announced today prepare us for the next 100 years of Finnair’s future.”
The airline aims to reduce its net emissions by 50% by the end of 2025 from the 2019 baseline and achieve carbon neutrality latest by 2045. To help achieve this, Finnair will propose at its Annual General Meeting an amendment to the Articles of Association, to enable it to engage in activities which increase the positive effects and reduce the negative impact of its business on the environment and society.
Anne Larilahti, Finnair Vice President of Sustainability, said: “The ambitious targets we have announced today are achievable through the tangible steps which we know will make a real contribution to CO2 reduction.”
Managing weight and fuel is key in reducing the CO2 emissions from Finnair flight operations. Finnair has developed a plan to reduce unnecessary weight from each aircraft, and to operate flights more fuel efficiently. The target is to reduce fuel consumption by 15,000 tonnes per year.
As part of this, from 29 April, Finnair will remove travel retail sales from its short-haul European fleet and focus on pre-orders, reducing on average 50-100 kg from each flight, resulting in a total decrease of 70,000 kg in fuel consumption per year and 220,000 kg of CO2 emissions.
Finnair will also remove 230 tonnes of plastic from its flights, cutting single-use plastics in half by the end of 2022. In 2019, Finnair removed 80,000 kg of plastic through increased recycling and smarter material choices.
The airline will replace plastic cutlery from economy cabin dining with more sustainable knives, forks and spoons, thus reducing a further 53 tonnes of plastic from its flights per year.
To counter CO2 generated by meat production and cater to changing tastes, Finnair will also be introducing more vegetarian meal options for customers during 2020. The airline will take action to reduce food waste in catering operations by 50% by the end of 2022.
