We know that flying comes with an environmental cost and now, more than ever, we need to take greater action to tackle the impact it has on our planet. That’s why at British Airways we’re on our most important journey yet – to a better, more sustainable future. We call it BA Better World. It means creating a great place for our people to work, reducing our emissions and waste and contributing to the communities we serve to build a thriving, resilient, responsible business. Our actions will help make a more connected world for everyone to live in and we’re excited to bring together our people, our customers and our partners to deliver what we believe will be our greatest achievement.
We are working towards achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 or sooner and while there is no single solution to this challenge, we have a clear roadmap of short-, medium and long-term initiatives to get there. In the short-term this includes improving our operational efficiency, investing in more efficient aircraft and progressively introducing sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) (the industry-recognised term) using waste feedstocks, as well as synthetic aviation fuel, while in the medium to longer-term we’re continuing to invest in the development and scale-up of SAF and looking at how we can help accelerate the growth of new technologies, such as low emissions hydrogen-powered aircraft and carbon capture technology.
We are flying more fuel-efficient aircraft including A350s, 787s, A320 and A321neos, which are up to 35 per cent more fuel-efficient than the aircraft they replace.
We believe that sustainable aviation fuel can be a real game changer for aviation. We’re investing in first-of-a-kind SAF plants in the UK and US to scale up the availability of this drop-in replacement for fossil fuels. And our parent company International Airlines Group (IAG) has already announced its largest SAF purchase agreement to date with e-SAF (power-to-liquid) producer ‘Twelve’, which will supply advanced e-SAF made from carbon dioxide, water and renewable energy to support IAG’s five European airlines, including BA. The next-generation fuel will reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90% versus conventional jet fuel.
In addition, IAG has to date committed 865 million dollars in SAF purchasing and investments and in April 2021 committed to 10 per cent of its fuel needs being fulfilled by SAF by 2030. In November 2021, we collaborated with bp to source enough sustainable aviation fuel with respect to all our flights between London, Glasgow and Edinburgh during the UK’s COP26 climate change summit that was held in Glasgow, reducing lifecycle emissions associated with taking our customers to and from the conference.
See our ‘What is Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)?’ section for more information
SUSTAINABILITY AT BRITISH AIRWAYS
As we work on decarbonising in the long term, carbon removals have an important interim role to play. It is a central part of our near-term plan, while alternatives to fossil fuels are developed and scaled-up and while new low carbon aircraft technologies advance. We have introduced a new online platform, CO2llaborate, which gives customers the option to learn more about the impact of their flying and contribute to climate projects. It is available via our.air portal and allows customers to contribute to environmental projects, such as carbon removals and the development of SAF directly from their seat whilst on board.
We’ve also introduced initiatives to improve sustainability in the air and on the ground including switching from diesel to renewably powered electric pushback vehicles and analysing the weight of our aircraft. In addition, we’ve made our inflight magazine and flight manuals digital, replacing the paper magazines and flight manuals on board. Where we do use paper on board, such as for our Club World and First menus, we work closely with our third-party suppliers, and have partnered with the Woodland Trust and Print Releaf to replant our paper footprint generated in the production of all our on board paper products.
As well as playing our part to reduce our environmental impact, we champion inclusion and diversity for our customers and colleagues, we deliver humanitarian aid in the UK and across the globe, we offer our customers a way to transform their spare change into life-changing opportunities for communities and we also support movements against human and wildlife trafficking.
Our BA Better World Community Fund, launched in April 2022 furthers the positive work we do within the UK and global communities we fly to and pledges to take positive action in many other areas of our business. For more information visit: https://www.britishairways.com/en-ba/information/about-ba/ba-better-world
OUR FLIGHTPATH TO NET ZERO BY 2050
STRONG TRACK RECORD
British Airways has a long track record of attention to aviation sustainability.
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Our parent company International Airline Group (IAG) was the first airline group to make a Net Zero Commitment. Our commitment is also Scope 3 inclusive – meaning it incorporates our entire value chain.
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IAG was also the first European airline group to commit to 10% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by 2030.
OUR FLIGHTPATH TO NET ZERO BY 2050
As an industry, aviation is currently reliant on fossil fuels. Low-carbon solutions for aviation are more complex than for many other sectors. But we believe our ambitious goal is achievable.
With short-term action already in place and development and innovation underway for medium and long-term solutions, we have a clear plan to deliver our goal. It’s our ‘flightpath net zero’ illustrated in the chart below.
Flightpath net zero is our plan of short-, medium- and long[1]term initiatives to get us to net zero emissions by 2050.
WHAT THE GRAPH SHOWS
- If no improvements are made to efficiency, then aviation’s carbon emissions would grow over time as demand for air travel increases. (Top grey line on graph)
- By investing in new aircraft, changing how we fly and, in time, introducing new low- and zero-emissions aircraft, we will deliver about a third of our emissions reductions by 2050. (Red wedge on graph)
- A further third of emission reductions will come from switching to sustainable aviation fuel, meeting about 50% of our fuel needs by 2050. (Grey wedge on graph)
- The final third will come from robust carbon reductions and removals in other sectors. (Blue wedge on graph)
- We’re also offering our customers the opportunity to address their carbon emissions today, which could mean together we could reach our destination sooner. (Aqua wedge on graph)
We’re under no illusions decarbonising aviation is a big challenge, but we have a plan and we are already taking action. Our short-, medium- and long-term decarbonisation plans are detailed below. Together, these actions map our way for ‘flightpath net zero’, our commitment to net zero CO2 emissions by 2050.
Find out how we’re progressing on our targets in our annual sustainability report
SHORT-TERM INITIATIVES
CHANGING HOW WE FLY
We are flying more modern, fuel-efficient aircraft including 16 Airbus A350s, 37 Boeing 787s, 20 Airbus A320neos and 10 Airbus A321neos, all of which are up to 35 per cent more fuel-efficient than the aircraft they replace. We have reduced aircraft noise by more than 10% per flight since 2015. The Airbus A320neo produces half the noise footprint area of the previous generation of Airbus A320s in our fleet and the Airbus A350 has half the noise footprint area of similar sized aircraft currently in our fleet.
As well as flying new, quieter aircraft we have also been modifying existing aircraft to help reduce noise impact. Additionally, we have been deploying technology and applying management focus to improve operational efficiency. Our pilots continually refine operational practices including continuous descents and optimised landing gear deployment. Wherever possible, we are replacing diesel and petrol vehicles with more sustainable alternatives, such as electric remote-controlled Mototok pushback vehicles. Our fleet of pushback vehicles, which are eco-friendly and emissions free, are powered by Heathrow’s 100% renewable electricity supply. So, aircraft on stand and Mototok pushback tugs are fuelled by wind power.
As part of our commitment to improving operational efficiency, we are currently trialling a state-of-the-art fully electric passenger bus at Heathrow, which uses 75% less energy. Also on trial is a new electric toilet service truck, while sustainable HVO fuel is being used across 750 airport vehicles and equipment at Heathrow HVO – or hydrotreated vegetable oil – is one of the cleanest fuels on the market and reduces emissions by up to 90% when being driven. Today, more than 90% of our vehicles and pieces of ground equipment at Heathrow Airport are either zero emissions electrical equipment when being used or driven (hybrids) or are operating on HVO fuel.
In addition, in February 2022 we launched new Fuel Dashboards for Captains, which aims to build awareness and insights to help flight crew make informed choices to help reduce emissions.
CARBON REDUCTION
While our focus is on in-sector reductions, we know that investing in carbon reduction projects has an important interim role to play so it is a central part of our near-term plan that we can deliver now, while alternatives to fossil fuels are developed and new technologies evolve.
We were the first airline to participate in carbon trading (buying credits to counteract our carbon emissions) in 2002 and have consistently campaigned for this policy across the globe as the most environmentally effective way to limit carbon emissions.
We have participated in the European Trading System (ETS) since 2012, which is mandatory. In 2016 governments around the world agreed to the first global economic measure to address aviation carbon emissions, under a scheme called CORSIA, which stands for Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for Aviation. Airlines reduce their emissions by purchasing equivalent carbon reductions from a diverse range of projects around the world, ensuring collective capping of the sector’s emissions at 2019 levels. We have participated in this mandatory scheme since its introduction in 2016.
Note: In June 2020, due to the effects of the global pandemic on air travel, ICAO adjusted the carbon offsetting baseline period used for measuring growth of CO2 emissions under CORSIA. The adjusted baseline will now be based on 2019 CO2 emissions for the aviation sector, instead of the planned average of 2019 and 2020. We will continue to work with governments and industry to enhance CORSIA and strengthen global carbon pricing.
CARBON CALCULATOR
We are empowering customers to make more informed travel choices if they choose to do so, with our upgraded climate software solution, CO2llaborate, in partnership with climate tech company CHOOOSE.
Customers are able to access the CO2llaborate platform directly from their seat during their flight using the airline’s free Wi-Fi portal, or at any time before or after their flight by visiting the CO2llaborate platform, which is accessible on ba.com or baco2llaborate.com. Through the platform, they are able to learn more about the emissions from their flight and contribute to climate projects, such as carbon removals credits or the development of SAF.
Corporate customers’ emissions
Our CO2llaborate platform also offers a dedicated climate programme for companies to measure, reduce and manage the carbon emissions associated with their business flying. Corporate customers get access to a dashboard that shows the CO2 emissions generated from their business travel and receive monthly emissions reports. Companies are then able to select how to address their carbon emissions by purchasing SAF or contributing to certified carbon removals projects. The platform enables users to track and report on their climate impact over time and learn about the climate solutions they are supporting.
About SAF
The SAF available on the CO2llaborate platform comes from the Phillips 66 plant in Humberside, which uses used cooking oil as the feedstock, providing lifecycle emissions reductions of more than 80% compared to traditional fossil-based jet fuel. The SAF is routinely delivered to British Airways via existing pipeline infrastructure that feeds directly into London Heathrow as part of our multi-year partnership with Phillips 66, which means all flights departing Heathrow fly using a small percentage of SAF.
All our SAF producers have sustainability certification from ISCC or ISCC (iscc-system.org) or RSB.
About carbon removals
Carbon removal credits are issued by projects that remove CO2 from the atmosphere or from the carbon cycle, and the credits are recognised by scientists, governments and regulators as a vital tool in helping to address climate change.
Alongside IAG, we have supported research and innovation to help accelerate the development of cutting-edge carbon removals solutions since 2019, as part of our commitment to achieving net zero emissions by 2050. We are committed to supporting a variety of innovative carbon removals solutions and are considering projects that are immediately available and independently verified today, as well as more innovative technology solutions.
The independently certified carbon removal projects available on the platform include the Blue Carbon Mangrove Project, a nature-based project which will support the reforestation and revegetation of degraded tidal wetlands in the Indus Delta Area in Pakistan and the Freres Biochar project in Oregon, USA, which sees the company’s biomass power production plant produce biochar, a carbon-rich charcoal-like material that is created when agricultural and wood waste is used as fuel. The process locks carbon into the solid material and prevents it from naturally decaying, locking carbon away and keeping it out of the atmosphere for several hundreds of years.
Watch our carbon removals video here, which forms part of our BA Better World docu-series:https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_ideFavKfRRmVKpDuGPnUiBBtbkVzKd6
Customers can also contribute to the development of SAF via our onboard HighlifeCafé menu app, found on the BA Better World tab.
THE ‘PERFECT FLIGHT’
In September 2021, with partners at Heathrow Airport, air traffic service provider NATS, fuel giant bp, Glasgow Airport and Airbus we took part in a project called the ‘perfect flight’. We powered a flight from London to Glasgow directly with sustainable aviation fuel, offset the remaining emissions and plotted the most fuel-efficient journey on our more fuel-efficient A320neo aircraft (that was painted in our new sustainability programme colours in partnership with Airbus), to show the progress we’ve made through the use of new technology.
This flight achieved a 62% CO2 emissions reduction compared with a similar flight that took place in 2010 – 34% from more efficient aircraft and operations, 28% from the use of sustainable aviation fuel and emissions were fully offset using high-quality, verified carbon offsets.
NEAR – MEDIUM-TERM INITIATIVES
SUSTAINABLE AVIATION FUEL
What is Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)?
Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is produced from sustainable feedstocks and is similar in chemistry to traditional fossil jet fuel. Using SAF results in a reduction in carbon emissions compared to the traditional jet fuel it replaces over the lifecycle of the fuel and can drop straight into existing fuel supply infrastructure and aircraft. It has the potential to provide a lifecycle carbon reduction of more than 80% compared to the traditional jet fuel it replaces.
SAF can be made from a number of feedstocks, including waste gases, crop & forestry wastes and household and commercial waste.
At present, the current maximum certified blend of SAF according to fuel standards is 50% and the maximum for each batch and type of SAF will vary depending on the feedstock and processing method used to produce it.
Why is it important?
Progressing the development and commercial deployment of sustainable aviation fuel is crucial to decarbonising the aviation industry.
We believe that SAF can be a game changer for the aviation industry, but the current supply of sustainable aviation fuel is just 0.04% of what the global aviation industry needs to fly sustainably – there is currently nowhere near enough for the industry to regularly fly using SAF. We have made progress in this area. But this is bigger than just us.
We need to scale up the development of SAF plants in the UK and are pleased to see that there is ambition from the Government to enable 10% SAF by 2030 and £165M funding for UK SAF plant development.
The UK has the experience and resources needed to become a global leader in the deployment of sustainable aviation fuel production facilities, which will boost the UK economy, the UK Plc brand and create thousands of new jobs.
What are we doing at British Airways?
Our parent company, IAG has to date committed $865 million dollars in SAF purchasing and investments and in April 2021 committed to 10 per cent of its fuel needs being fulfilled by SAF by 2030. Today SAF makes up just over 1% of our fuel supply.
British Airways has been at the forefront of the development of a waste to fuels pathway since 2010 and led the conversation with the UK Government to ensure waste-based fuels were included in the Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation (RTFO) in the UK in 2018. This is enabling us to progress with projects to construct production facilities in the UK.
We currently have partnerships with sustainable aviation fuel companies, including LanzaJet, Phillips 66, Aemetis, Nova Pangaea Technologies and Twelve, which form part of our near -medium-term initiatives to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
NEAR – MEDIUM-TERM INITIATIVES
LANZAJET
Our partnership with SAF provider LanzaJet will see us invest in LanzaJet’s first commercial scale Freedom Pines Fuels facility in Georgia, USA and acquire cleaner burning SAF from the plant, which is expected to be available to power a number of our flights in 2024. In addition, the partnership will involve LanzaJet implementing early stage planning and design for a potential commercial facility for British Airways in the UK.
The plant will convert ethanol, a chemical compound widely blended with petrol to reduce its carbon intensity, into sustainable jet fuel using a patented chemical process.
LanzaJet’s Freedom Pines demonstration plant in the US will help leverage the development of a roll-out of LanzaJet projects including the early stage planning and design of two larger-scale LanzaJet plants in the UK (which received government funding through the Green Fuels Green Skies competition – see below). BA’s initial offtake of SAF from these two UK plants one built will total 120,000 tonnes per year.
PHILLIPS 66
We are the first airline in the world to use SAF produced on a commercial scale in the UK after signing a multi-year agreement with Phillips 66 Limited. The SAF is being produced at scale for the first time in the UK at the Phillips 66 Humber Refinery near Immingham and is being supplied to us to help power a number of our flights.
We will purchase enough SAF to reduce lifecycle CO2 emissions by almost 100,000 tonnes, the equivalent of powering 700 net zero CO2 emissions flights between London and New York on our fuel-efficient Boeing 787 aircraft.
AEMETIS
Our parent company IAG and renewable fuels company Aemetis, Inc. signed a multi-year agreement to supply SAF to help power both British Airways and Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus’ flights from San Francisco Airport from 2025.
IAG will purchase a total of 78,400 tonnes of SAF over seven years, enough to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 248,000 tonnes (the equivalent of taking over 16,000 cars off the road) across the same time period. The SAF will be produced at the Aemetis Carbon Zero plant currently under development in Riverbank, California. This plant will be powered by 100% renewable electricity and is designed to sequester CO2 from the production process, significantly reducing the carbon intensity of the fuel.
NOVA PANGAEA TECHNOLOGIES
British Airways, LanzaJet and Nova Pangaea Technologies signed an agreement in November 2022 that will accelerate Project Speedbird, an initiative created by the companies in 2021 to develop cost-effective SAF for commercial use in the UK. As part of the agreement, we, along with our parent company, IAG, are investing in the project to support the next phase of development work that will help decarbonise the aviation industry and made an additional investment in Nova Pangaea Technologies in July 2023.
Project Speedbird can transform agricultural and wood waste taken from sustainable sources into 102 million litres of SAF per year and we intend to offtake all SAF produced at the facility to help power some of our flights
The SAF produced at the facility would reduce CO2 emissions, on a net lifecycle basis, by 230,000 tonnes a year. This is the equivalent emissions of approximately 26,000 British Airways domestic flights.
TWELVE
British Airways’ parent company, IAG, recently signed a purchase agreement with e-SAF provider, Twelve, based in California, US. The fuel is power-to-liquid, made from CO2, water and renewable energy and can reduce lifecycle emissions by up to 90% compared to traditional jet fuel. This is IAG’s largest SAF purchase agreement to date and will supply 785,000 tonnes of e-SAF, some of which will be off-taken by BA. It’s also the first agreement of its kind with a European airline and we expect to start receiving deliveries in 2025.
GOVERNMENT GRANTS
A number of aviation decarbonisation projects supported by British Airways and designed to help the industry achieve its targets of net zero carbon emissions by 2050, received Government funding in 2021. These included:
- Lanzajet – Nova Pangea Speedbird project – Scottish forestry residues to jet fuel
- Lanzajet – Carbon Engineering Atmosfuel project – air (carbon capture) to jet fuel
- Lanzatech – Port Talbot South Wales, Dragon project – alcohol to jet fuel
The projects are being funded by the Department for Transport’s Green Fuels, Green Skies competition – part of the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution.
The grants will drive meaningful progress towards the development of sustainable aviation fuel plants in the UK and the decarbonisation of the aviation industry
LONGER-TERM INITIATIVES
We are investing in research and innovation that will deliver solutions to truly decarbonise aviation such as through game-changing zero emissions aircraft, scaling up of carbon capture technology and, through our purchase of high-quality verified carbon reductions, we can direct vital funding into nature-based carbon removal projects that protect valuable ecosystems and biodiversity.
ZEROAVIA
As part of our plan to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, we have invested in ZeroAvia – a leading innovator in decarbonising commercial aviation – in an effort to accelerate the development of 50+ seater aircraft capable of running on low emissions hydrogen[1]electric power. Innovative zero emissions technology is advancing fast and we support the development of hydrogen as an alternative fuel source because we believe it has the potential to enable us to reach zero emissions on short-haul routes by 2050.
We first teamed up with ZeroAvia at the end of 2020 through our parent company International Airlines Group’s (IAG) Hangar 51 accelerator programme, in a project to explore how hydrogen-powered aircraft can play a leading role in the future of sustainable flying. As well as assessing the environmental advantages of the technology, we explored the operational, commercial and customer experience improvements that can be achieved.
ZeroAvia achieved a major technological milestone in July 2023 by completing ten hydrogen fuel cell-powered test flights of a commercial-size aircraft, the world’s first taking place in September 2020.
BA BETTER WORLD
SUSTAINABILITY ON BOARD
We are working hard to optimise the amount of single-use plastic on board and are actively seeking to source sustainable alternatives where possible.
We understand how important plastic reduction on board is to our customers and we work closely with suppliers to identify alternatives to single-use plastic items and will always source an alternative if one is available. Where a sustainable alternative doesn’t exist, we will invest, innovate and collaborate with suppliers to find a solution. Pre-Covid-19, we achieved the following plastic reductions:
First:
- Our new First temperature-regulating duvet is made from recycled plastic bottles – a bespoke material produced for British Airways that supports a truly circular economy
- There are approximately 19 recycled plastic bottles contained within each “AirBlend” duvet
Club World:
- Pre Covid, we started to roll out new bedding packaging and we started reintroducing them as of September 2021
- Blankets and duvets are now wrapped in paper bands instead of plastic wrapping. This has removed over 10m items of plastic off our flights in total in Club World (47 tonnes of plastic per year)
- Club World amenity kit packaging has also been redesigned saving 6.5 tonnes of plastic every year
World Traveller Plus:
- Our new World Traveller Plus amenity kit was designed with sustainability in mind, using material made from recycled plastic bottles
- World Traveller Plus blankets are no longer wrapped in plastic but are paper banded with FSC-certified paper, which will save approximately 20 tonnes of single-use plastic a year
World Traveller:
- We’ve swapped plastic swizzle sticks for sustainable bamboo versions, saving 45 tonnes of plastic every year. Bamboo is the fastest growing woody plant in the world and absorbs five times the amount of carbon dioxide and produces 35% more oxygen than a similar group of trees.
- We’ve partnered with Cru Kafé to create a signature blend of coffee which is 100% plastic free and has fully compostable packaging.
- We have removed plastic packaging from our World Traveller ear buds, saving 11.5 tonnes of plastic every year
- Began swapping plastic wrapping on headsets. In our World Traveller cabins, headsets are placed inside paper charity envelopes.
We’ve also introduced water bottles made from 50% recycled plastic and have removed inflight retail plastic bags. Our water bottles can be fully recycled, including the lid, label and bottle.
Replacing plastic is a complex, long-term project and requires a significant amount of research to ensure that removing it does not cause a detrimental impact elsewhere. For example, replacing plastic bottles with glass increases weight and therefore fuel burn and carbon emissions.
Safety measures that we had to put in place to protect the health of customers and crew because of Covid-19 have set our work back across the entire aviation industry. We are now pleased to be continuing with our commitment to reduce single use plastics on our flights, with initiatives such the use of paper banding on our Club World blankets and duvets, which we first introduced before the pandemic.
WASTE AND RECYCLING
Reducing food waste means less pressure on natural resources, water supplies and land where food is grown, as well as cutting greenhouse gas emissions from production, transportation and disposal.
Behind the scenes, we’re working to influence UK Government policy and regulation to allow more sustainable ways to divert food waste from landfill and incineration.
We are focused on reducing waste and ensuring that, where it is unavoidable it is disposed of responsibly, minimising the use of landfill and incineration and increasing re-use and recycling.
We segregate recyclable materials on board including glass, plastic bottles, newspapers and cans on inbound flights.
We send less than one per cent of our non-catering waste from our Heathrow and Gatwick operations to landfill.
In October 2023 we became the first international airline to recycle into New York. We have been working closely with IATA on the smarter regulation of international catering waste within the aviation industry and earlier this year signed a joint statement to pledge our support. Catering waste on flights outside the UK differ to flights from within the UK, so like other airlines, we adhere to Category 1 (CAT1) regulations on all our international flights. This marks an important step towards reducing our cabin waste and follows a successful trial to New York earlier this year.
In January 2021 we unveiled our new Speedbird Café pre-order menu for customers in Euro Traveller, which will allow customers to customise their journey by purchasing food, drink and inflight retail items up to 12 hours before departure. This helps us to cater correctly for what our customers want and helps reduce food waste on our short-haul routes. Fresh products are also wrapped in plastic free cellulose.
Since September 2023 all our UK airport lounges now feature Brita still and sparkling filtered water taps, replacing the use of more than 1.4 million plastic water bottles each year.
PROTECTING WILDLIFE
We are committed to protecting wildlife and have always adhered to the rules set out by the 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) treaty.
BUCKINGHAM PALACE DECLARATION
We are a signatory to the United for Wildlife Transport Taskforce, also known as the Buckingham Palace Declaration. We have committed to share any credible intelligence about high risk routes and methods of transportation, develop a secure system for passing information about suspected illegal wildlife trade to relevant customs and law enforcement authorities, and notify relevant law enforcement authorities of cargo suspected of containing illegal wildlife and their products and, where able, refuse to accept or ship such cargo.
Environmental Management System
Achieving excellence in environmental compliance is fundamental to our BA Better World Programme. In November 2023, we undertook a rigorous external environmental system certification process with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), successfully completing the IATA Environmental Assessment (IEnvA) with an assessment outcome of zero findings. This achievement demonstrates our dedication to robust compliance and adherence to environmental regulations. This achievement demonstrates our dedication to robust compliance and adherence to environmental regulations.
The IEnvA environmental management system is based on a Plan, Do, Check and Act cycle. The associated policies, objectives, procedures and plans ensure that an organisation is continually reviewing, evaluating and improving its environmental performance. This includes complying with legal and other obligations, developing processes to report environmental incidents, conducting and receiving training on environmental topics, participating in internal audits and evaluating and addressing findings as required.
BORN FREE PARTNERSHIP
In August 2019, British Airways Holidays announced a new partnership with the Born Free Foundation. The new policy sees the travel company commit to never promoting the captivity of wild animals and discouraging its hotel partners from doing so. As part of the partnership with Born Free, British Airways Holidays has committed to supporting both the creation of a new sanctuary space for rescued wild animals and Born Free’s Raise the Red Flag initiative which allows members of the public to make Born Free aware of captive wild animal welfare concerns.
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT
British Airways has a flagship charity programme called Flying Start, a global partnership with Comic Relief, which focuses on helping underprivileged young people have a better start in life. During flights we encourage customers to donate any spare currency they may have. Alongside customer donations, our colleagues raise hundreds of thousands of pounds every year.
Since the partnership launched in 2010, Flying Start has raised more than £28 million and helped more than 863,000 children and young people in the UK and overseas. For example, we have helped to provide vaccinations to 100,000 children in countries across Sub Saharan Africa, protecting them from potentially deadly disease, supported more than 1,000 children forced to live on the streets in India with access to healthcare and informal education, and provided support to more than 2,700 young carers across the UK with improved wellbeing and life skills.
In addition, in times of crisis internationally and in the UK British Airways works with partners, including the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) and the British Red Cross, to ensure that vital relief gets to where it’s needed as quickly as possible, helping to save lives and rebuild communities.
For more than 30 years we have supported our colleagues and customers in charitable giving in the communities we serve. In Aprill 2022 we launched a new BA Better World Community Fund, to further the positive work we do in communities across the UK. Through our BA Better World Community Fund, we hope to create more life-changing opportunities and further support organisations and projects that have a positive impact in communities within the UK, enabling us to support projects that deliver benefits for climate, communities, colleagues and nature.
Since its launch, the fund has reached more than £5 million through donations and funding on our Crowdfunder platform. The fund has supported more than 260 projects including providing funding for holiday clubs for children during the summer holidays as well as supporting other environmental, educational and inclusive charities.
For more information visit: https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/about-ba/ba-better-world/responsible-business
OUR PEOPLE
We care about our people and value their contributions to our business. Creating a diverse and inclusive workplace contributes to a sense of wellbeing and belonging, enabling people to thrive. This philosophy is embraced by our leaders, championed by our employee network groups and supported by our relationships with external partners.
INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY
With colleagues from all over the world and a global network spanning more than 250 destinations, diversity is an inherent part of our identity and we celebrate different perspectives, backgrounds and experiences. We have an inclusion and diversity strategy and are taking positive action in driving inclusion across our airline but we don’t shy away from the fact that there is more work to be done. We must ensure that we are both an inclusive and diverse organisation that is reflective of the world we live in and we are working on a number of programmes and initiatives to fulfil our commitments
For more information visit: https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/about-ba/ba-better-world/people
Last updated – March 2024
