Qatar Airways

Fuel and Environmental Management are the major concerns to the aviation industry next to safety and customer satisfaction. However whereas safety and customer satisfaction are part of the corporate culture, fuel and environmental management require change management in order to continuously adapt to the ever changing business, political and social environment. Change management requires a top down approach and a clear vision as well as the full buy-in at all levels in the organization.

Qatar Airways therefore designed a wide ranging Environmental Management System around its six step environmental policy. As the first airline in the region we implemented a fuel efficiency program in early 2007. However we do not stand still and decided to move from "program" to corporate culture under our newly launched Five Pillar Corporate Social Responsibility Program "The Oryx Flies Green".

We have a dedicated Fuel Optimisation department whose primary focus is to identify ways in which we can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels as part of our Integrated Fuel Management Program. This includes weight reduction on the aircraft, more efficient routings, new takeoff and landing procedures, improved engine wash program, aerodynamic cleanliness, increased use of Ground Power Units instead of the aircrafts' Auxiliary Power Unit, and much more.

As a result, Qatar Airways has already implemented a significant number of flight/ground operations and engineering procedure enhancements and weight-reduction initiatives to help to reduce fuel consumption and carbon footprints.

Furthermore Qatar Airways is getting ready to comply with the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), a scheme that is aimed at the reduction of carbon emissions by aviation.

Our dedicated Environmental Department looks at ways how to reduce the usage of water, paper and other material and with that reduce waste. Recycling of on-board and airport waste is our next big step forward. Our new home base, New Doha International Airport www.ndia.com will be a masterpiece in environmental engineering.

We also work on the political front as member of the Aviation Global Deal Group. We recognise the urgent need to combat climate change. And we believe that the aviation sector can and must play a part in the next global agreement on climate change.

International aviation emissions are a global concern. They were left out of the Kyoto Protocol, due to the difficulties in assigning emissions to any specific country. Ongoing efforts to address our sectoral emissions since then have been largely unsuccessful.

That is why we have joined the Aviation Global Deal Group. We are working together to develop a practical, business-led solution that helps contribute to global efforts to address climate change. Please follow this link to learn more about the work of the AGD Group: www.AGDGroup.org

Qatar Airways was also voted into the International Air Transport Association's Environmental Committee (IATA ENCOM) at the last Annual General Meeting in June 2009. To read more about the IATA ENCOM please follow this link: http://www.iata.org/workgroups/env.htm

This job that is never finished and Qatar Airways is committed in doing our part to make the world a better place for future generations.

To read Qatar Airways' Environmental Policy, please click here.

To learn more about Aviation & The Environment, please visit www.enviro.aero