Participation reflects Air Canada's ongoing commitment to reduce its footprint
MONTREAL, April 22, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Air Canada announced today it is celebrating Earth Day with employee and community events to highlight its commitment to the environment and its continuing efforts to reduce its footprint. Since 1990 Air Canada has improved fleet fuel efficiency by 38 per cent, and in 2015 alone its fuel saving initiatives are estimated to have reduced fuel consumption by approximately 11,000 tonnes.
"As a global company, Air Canada regards itself as a citizen of the world and we therefore take our environmental responsibilities seriously, especially with respect to reducing emissions that contribute to global warming. Not only is this the right thing to do, it is something our employees and other stakeholders ask of us, so we are pleased to include them in our celebration of Earth Day," said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada. "We have pledged to meet the collective industry goal of carbon neutral growth by 2020 and reduce emissions 50 per cent by 2050 relative to 2005. We are well on the way to achieving these goals, having improved our fuel efficiency by nearly 10 per cent since 2009 alone."
Among activities to mark Earth Day, Air Canada is:
- A sponsor of today's Earth Day Ball in Toronto. The event celebrates outstanding environmental achievement in Canada. It hosts more than 400 businesses and environmental leaders. For more information https://earthday.ca/earth-ball/
- Supporting tree planting events in May involving employees at Camilla Park in Mississauga on May 7, and École Secondaire Dalbé-Viau in Lachine on May 8.
- Launching its participation in the Partners in Project Green People Power Challenge with employees. This friendly competition at Air Canada's Toronto Pearson base engages employees and drives sustainability results through competitions against other organizations in green events.
Earlier this month, Air Canada announced it will participate in Canada's Biojet Supply Chain Initiative, a three-year collaborative project with 14 stakeholder organizations to introduce 400,000 litres of sustainable aviation biofuel (biojet) into a shared fuel system at a yet to be determined Canadian airport. For more information about Air Canada's environmental programs and accomplishments, please refer to its Leaveless environmental site or Citizens of the World, Air Canada's annual corporate sustainability report, both available at www.aircanada.com
About Air Canada
Air Canada is Canada's largest domestic and international airline serving more than 200 airports on six continents. Canada's flag carrier is among the 20 largest airlines in the world and in 2015 served more than 41 million customers. Air Canada provides scheduled passenger service directly to 64 airports in Canada, 55 in the United States and 87 in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America. Air Canada is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's most comprehensive air transportation network serving 1,330 airports in 192 countries. Air Canada is the only international network carrier in North America to receive a Four-Star ranking according to independent U.K. research firm Skytrax. For more information, please visit: www.aircanada.com, follow @AirCanada on Twitter and join Air Canada on Facebook.
SOURCE Air Canada
