EASYJET

Sustainability Overview

In Sep 2022, easyJet took the remarkable decision to move away from carbon offsets as a sustainability pillar. Although controversial because of occasionally opaque outcomes, offsets have, in general, been a go-to solution for the industry till now. easyJet’s move opens up a new front for moving airline sustainability towards initiatives that directly impact carbon production and removal.

The airline is not shy to tout its sustainability credentials. For example, easyJet says its Airbus NEO aircraft are at least 15% more fuel efficient than the aircraft they replace and also have a 50% noise reduction.

The airline has also updated its sustainability strategy for “net zero by 2050” to include other holistic initiatives including introducing hydrogen-powered jet engines, using sustainable aviation fuel, more fuel-efficient planes and carbon capture to reach the target. It also said it will cut carbon emissions by 35% by 2035.

Source: easyJet

Meet The Changemaker

Jane Ashton is Sustainability Director at easyJet. With extensive experience in sustainable tourism and leisure travel management in multiple European travel companies, Jane brings a deep desire to create a more sustainable tourism model, which, in her words, delivers commercial success while optimising social value within environmental limits.

Although she is a sustainability champion, Jane believes that travel is undoubtedly a force for good, connecting friends and family, culture and understanding, and a very significant driver of direct and indirect economic benefit. However, as the climate crisis becomes ever clearer, so does the urgency with which all ‘hard to abate’ sectors – aviation included - need to tackle the challenge of decarbonisation.

“Ultimately, with investors, regulators and customers increasingly rewarding more environmentally efficient travel, it makes business sense to prioritise opportunities to reduce environmental impact, focusing on meaningful carbon reduction by investing in new technologies and innovative business practices”, she says.

Approach To Sustainability

At easyJet, Jane’s sustainability strategy (which launched end-2019) has encompassed several key areas:

The recently certified ISO14001- aligned IEnvA Environmental Management System for easyJet –the only major and low-cost airline in Europe to have achieved this. According to Jane, the formal structure of an Environmental Management System is “invaluable in engaging scores of managers across the business to systematically evaluate priority environmental impacts and develop measurements, targets, accountabilities, and improvement plans.”

The management of easyJet’s voluntary carbon credit portfolio (8.7M high-quality Gold Standard or VCS credits retired to date).

Collaborating across the business to develop easyJet’s Net Zero Roadmap – a pathway to transform the business to a low and ultimately net zero model by 2050.

Beyond these initiatives, the airline is also focusing on reducing the amount of plastic on their aircraft – more than 36 million single-use plastic items have been eliminated – as well as reducing waste and plastic within the wider operations and the supply chain. “We also recently introduced new crew uniforms made from recycled plastic bottles”, says Jane. “Forty-five bottles go into each outfit – with the potential to prevent 2.7 million plastic bottles from ending up in landfill or in oceans over the next five years.”

Looking Ahead

easyJet is aware that customers are increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of flying, therefore they expect and value efforts to manage and reduce it. Therefore, Jane also drives their communication about sustainability along the customer journey. She says she would welcome a Europe-wide methodology to communicate the carbon impact of individual flights. easyjet are involved in EASA’s (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) project to implement such an initiative.

easyJet’s roadmap is also aligned with the UNFCCC-backed Science-based Targets initiative’s (SBTi) Aviation Sector Decarbonisation approach, published a year ago following a development process of which easyJet was part of. “It is a logical follow-on from our ‘Race to Zero’ commitment to Net Zero by 2050, signed during COP26 last November”, she explains.

Jane believes the immediate opportunity lies beyond an individual airline’s capacity to change. She argues that smarter international air traffic management could lead to a 10% carbon reduction from aviation across Europe alone if the Single European Sky was finally implemented. (Ryanair, featured later in our report, argues for the same.)

In addition to their solo efforts, easyJet is also working with partners across the industry, including Airbus, Rolls-Royce, GKN Aerospace, and Cranfield Aerospace Solutions. Together with Rolls-Royce, airline is supporting the development of hydrogen combustion engine technology, capable of powering an easyJet sized aircraft in the future. Moreover, easyJet is also the first airline to support Airbus’ ZEROe programme for hybrid-hydrogen aircraft and recently signed a letter of intent with Airbus to support the development of carbon removal technology.

Sustainability is a road that we build together. When it comes down to taking care of our planet and our people, there is no such thing as competition. When airlines and organisations unite for the common good, complex problems are solved with much greater ease.

Xiomara Martin Vice President Marketing & Sustainability at Aeroméxico