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Covering the 2013-2014 fiscal year, the report, audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers, presents environmental performance data from a range of Group activities, including airline operations, dnata’s cargo and ground handling businesses and a wide range of commercial activities on the ground – from engineering to catering.

Airline operations constitute the main environmental impact of the Emirates Group, and the latest report highlights ongoing improvements in Emirates’ fuel efficiency as the airline continued to add new aircraft to its fleet and prioritise fuel-saving operational techniques. 

Key to the Group’s environmental strategy is the airline’s eco-efficient fleet, which is at the leading edge of fuel efficiency and environmental performance. The improvements have been driven by deliveries of 24 new passenger aircraft and freighters, and the removal from service of four older aircraft, together with ongoing efforts to drive operational efficiencies across a fleet which is already one of the world’s youngest and most efficient.

With an average fleet age of only 6.2 years versus the global IATA wide body fleet average of 11.7 years, Emirates’ fuel efficiency results are 14.5% better than the IATA average. Total fuel efficiency for all passenger and freighter flights improved by 0.5%, dropping to 0.3089 litres per tonne kilometre (L/TK). Similarly, carbon dioxide emissions dropped to 0.764 kilograms of CO2 per tonne kilometre (gCO2/TK), improving efficiency by 0.4%.  

“As the Emirates Group continues to expand its global operation and build its workforce, we endeavour to meaningfully fulfil our environmental responsibility wherever we operate. We do that by looking for environmental efficiencies in the air and on the ground. The Environmental Report is a report card for our continuing efforts in this regard, and also a performance benchmark against the previous year and with the industry. It illustrates our successes, as well as areas for improvement,” said His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline & Group.

Other report highlights include: 

-          Continued improvement in noise performance. The A380 is one of the world’s quietest aircraft, and as Emirates takes delivery of more A380s and Boeing 777s, the fleet’s average noise levels continue to fall. We calculate noise efficiency factors for take-off and landing to measure our overall noise impact, and these showed improvements of 2.4% and 10.1% respectively.

-          Reduction in CO2 emissions in ground operations. In the Group’s ground operations, a major efficiency initiative for our Dubai ground transport fleet enabled reductions of 2,500 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year.

-          Recycling. dnata's Airport Operations team recycled 1,700 tonnes of paper products from Emirates aircraft cabins in Dubai, contributing to a total of 7,555 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill across the Group.

-          Conservation programmes. Emirates continues to make significant progress on its conservation programmes in Dubai and Australia, with both wildlife and plant life benefiting from its efforts. In cooperation with the Dubai Engineer’s Office, 15,000 indigenous ghaf trees were planted in the Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve to enhance the habitat for wildlife. The Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa in Australia won awards for its sustainability achievements, and worked with research institutions to expand knowledge of the valley’s wombat and kangaroo populations.

-          In 2013 Emirates launched ‘A Greener Tomorrow’, a programme to support not-for-profit environmental or conservation organisations through the provision of a funding award. The funding for ‘A Greener Tomorrow’, which was raised through recycling programmes across the Emirates Group, was awarded to organisations in Malawi, Pakistan and the Philippines.