Iberia Flies Towards Sustainability

 

• More efficient aircraft, electric airport ground vehicles, cabin waste recycling, digitalisation of processes and renewable energy for powering ground installations are just a few of the airline’s initiatives for protecting the environment.
• The Spanish airline has published today its Sustainability Report 2018 where it summarizes the main environmental milestones reached by Iberia, as well as the social projects it is involved with. 
   

Iberia aspires for its operations to be as sustainable as possible, and to that end it is implementing numerous initiatives on the ground and in the air to make air travel cleaner.

This policy reflects the commitment to protect our planet by all Iberia staff, and it ranges from flying more fuel-efficient aircraft to reduce CO2 emissions, to using washable cups for coffee rather that disposable ones. 

 

Before the Flight

Both employees and customers are involved in these actions to make Iberia more sustainable.

-    Boarding pass in mobile phone: Why waste paper when your mobile phone can hold your boarding pass, downloaded from iberia.com or Iberia’s smartphone app? As much as 80 tonnes of paper can be saved each year this way.

-    Digital press: Using the Iberia app or when checking in for a flight, customers can choose amongst 7,000 international newspapers and magazines to download for free and read on their devices during the flight. The gradual substitution of print by digital publications will save some 640 tonnes of paper every year, reducing weight, and thus reducing fuel and emissions. 

Before Boarding

-    More sustainable Premium Lounges: In the recently renovated Premium Lounges in Iberia’s Madrid T4 hub returnable bottles have replaced  plastic bottles and cans reducing waste by one million cans and 200,000 single-use plastic empties a year.

-    Zero-emission electric airport ground vehicles: 80% of Iberia’s airport vehicle fleet has been renewed. We now have 400 electric ground vehicles, and the number continues to grow. In the instances in which this is not possible, catalytic converters have been installed to reduce emissions to a minimum.

On board

-    Fleet Replacement: Since 2018, Iberia has been replacing its long-haul fleet with an order of 20 Airbus A350-900s, and its short- and medium-haul aircraft with the A320neo. 

• Airbus A350-900: Its design, materials, and RR Trent XWB-84 engines make it the quietest aircraft in the market, and it consumes 25% less fuel and emits 25% less CO2 than its predecessors. 
• Airbus A320neo: This model is 50% quieter and emits 50% less NOx and 15% less CO2 than the aircraft it replaces. 

-    LIFE Zero Cabin Waste Project: Cabin wastes are now separated aboard all long-haul flight and starting this month on all other flights, for more efficient recycling and/or disposal. This will bring a reduction of 4,340 tonnes of CO2 emissions, the amount generated by 340 flights between Madrid and Barcelona.

-    ...and More: Iberia is gradually eliminating the use of plastic wrapping for the goods it distributes aboard its flights (headphones, blankets, etc.). It gives discounts to passengers who carry their own cups or drinking glasses, or who re-use those they are given. All these and other ideas still in the works are intended to reduce waste at origin, and to promote re-use, recycling, and a “sustainability culture”. 

In-house

Sustainability initiatives at Iberia’s installations include the gradual elimination of disposable cups at coffee machines, purchasing electric power only from renewable sources, and a new application to encourage and facilitate car-sharing by employees. 

Sustainable Report 2018

The Spanish airline has published today its Sustainability Report 2018 where it summarizes the main environmental milestones reached by Iberia, such as the delivery of the first A350-900 and A320neo aircraft, the airline’s digital transformation or the launch of the Diversity and Inclusion Plan. 

Iberia’s involvement with social projects in Spain and abroad, as well as the initiatives launched to improve the efficiency of operations to reduce its environmental impact reflects the airline’s social and environmental commitment in line with UN’s 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

To download Iberia’s Sustainable Report 2018, please click here