AFRAA and Envisa met on 26 July at the AFRAA headquarters in Nairobi to discuss and set roadmap of actions to collaborate on environmental sustainability for Africa. Ms. Sharon Mahony – Envisa Associate Sustainability and CEM Expert and World Business Partner for ACI Africa and Asia Pacific & Middle East paid a courtesy visit to AFRAA for the important meeting.
The main areas of collaboration covered under the AFRAA-Envisa engagement include: joint actions under auspices of the AFRAA Sustainable Aviation Fuels Task Force, training, sensitization and capacity building for African airlines through workshops and expert advice on policy framework. Environmental sustainability is one of the key priorities for AFRAA actions for the development of the air transport sector in Africa.
The current focus among African aviation actors is to reduce as much CO2 as possible through investment in new and modern aircraft, operating more efficiently and investing in smarter airport infrastructure and facilities. In addition the people involved in this transition must be trained , change requires new competencies and investment in continuous learning and reskilling at all levels. African airlines’ commitment to sustainable environmental practices are noticeable through operational decisions and policy changes as recommended by IATA and ICAO and the Industry itself (AFRAA) in the following areas:
- Striving for the most efficient operations – flying more direct routes, aircraft continuous climb, and decent operations (CCO and CDO)
- AFRAA and AAIG engaged African airlines in User Preferred Route/Free Route Airspace trials towards FRA implementation in the entire African airspace
- Investing in new and modern aircraft
- Taking measures to reduce carbon footprint including working with Airports implementing ACI’s ACA (Carbon Reduction Programme)
- Introducing recycling initiatives at airline including aircraft cabin and airport facilities such as IATA’s IEnEVA Programme specifically for Airlines
- Integrating environmental programmes and certifications (such as ISO family ) into all planning and decision-making processes
- Adapting energy and water efficient practices
- Encouraging improvement in the performance of suppliers through the development of environmental criteria within the framework of sustainable procurement policies.
- Developing Sustainability Roadmaps and implementing a process such as Collaborative Sustainability Partnerships to facilitate stakeholders working together and monitoring progress
- Aligning and developing Business Cases for Sustainability related investments to ESG Frameworks