EMIRATES airline maintains its leading position in the industry in terms of fuel efficiency due to its young, technologically-advanced fleet, Emirates Group's second annual "World Environment Day" report released Tuesday said. A key factor in the Group's environmental strategy, supported by the Boeing 777 order for an additional 50 aircraft in November 2011, is the airline's eco-efficient fleet which is at the cutting edge of fuel efficiency and environmental performance. With an average fleet age of only 6.4 years versus the global IATA average of 11.3 years, Emirates fuel efficiency results are 22.5 percent better than the IATA average and CO2 emissions are 18.1 percent better than the IATA average. Recognizing how an aircraft can impact the environment, the airline has partnered with various air navigation authorities around the world to test the most eco-efficient flight routings. One recent example featured in the report was Emirates participation in the INSPIRE Program (Indian Ocean Strategic Partnership to Reduce Emissions). Emirates' three test flights resulted in a combined fuel savings of nearly 7 tons of fuel and 22 tons of CO2 emissions. The ongoing work identifies potential fuel efficiency improvements and assists Emirates in future flight planning goals. The report recognizes the constant efforts and success of the Emirates Group employees over the 2011-2012 period, such as switching to lighter-weight Kevlar Cargo unit loading devices, saving 14,475 tons of fuel and 45,595 tons of CO2 emissions; increasing frequency of engine washes by Emirates engineering, saving an estimated 314 tons of fuel and 989 tons of CO2 emissions; eliminating e-waste through recycling obsolete PCs, monitors, laptops, printers, and toner cartridges, saving around 5,800 items from landfills; recycling over 33 tons of used clothing and shoes through staff donations, saving 40 percent more than the previous reporting year; and initiating a company-wide switch to recycled paper, saving approximately 1,700 trees, more than 400,000 kWh of electricity, 3.3million liters of water, and 250 tons of CO2 emissions.
