Sutainable Operations in Aviation Industry Sector - Essay Example

Sustainable operations - industry sector report Executive Summary This paper mainly highlights the strategies and policies implemented by the avaiation companies so as to enhance their level of sustainability in the entire globe. It is mainly due to high level of consciousness over the issue of environmental pollution caused due to emission of varied types of harmful gases. Although, aviation is recognised as the key driver of economic, social and cultural development of the entire globe still it is facing varied types of challenges. It is mainly due to the growing concern of the environment in the entire globe. As a result of such types of environmental challenges, the growth of aviation industry reduced to a certain extent. Therefore, in order to retain its reputation, it implemented varied types of sustainable operations. Table of Contents Introduction 3 Background information 3 Issues in the Aviation Industry 3 Findings and discussion (comparison among the airlines) 5 Major issues confronting the aviation sector 5 Areas of sustainability identified and monitored 6 Use of Bio-derived Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (Bio-SPK) 6 Use of solar power 7 Improved technologies and Operations 7 Lighter and quieter engines 8 Removal of unfriendly materials 8 Sustainability issues not addressed in the reports and their dimensions 9 Recommendation 11 Conclusion 11 References 13 Introduction Background information The industry of aviation is described as one of the fastest growing segment in the entire globe. It is mainly due to the rapid transformation that took place in this sector after liberalization. As a result, the number of passenger as well as cargo airlines increased both in domestic and international levels. This geared the revenue by $ 147.2 billions along with an annual growth of 3 percent in 2011 and 2012. Side by side, the profit margin of the airline industry also enhanced by $ 2.1 billions that helped in contributing a significant portion to the gross domestic product (GDP) and gross national product (GNP). So, aviation industry presented a significant impact over the economic condition of the country as compared to others. Issues in the Aviation Industry The aviation industry is one of the most innovative one that connects individual and countries from one place to another. However, inspite of such positive effects, it is facing varied types of challenges. All of them are mentioned below: Effect of green houses gases (GHG) - due to the emission of varied types of poisonous gases such as carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and other air polluting gases, traps the outgoing sources of energy emitting from the lower surface of the ground thereby increasing its temperature as a whole. Depletion of ozone layer - due to the emission of varied types of harmful gases, the level of ozone is depleting day by day to a significant extent. Due to which, the rate of harmful ultra-violet rays are entering into the surface of the earth thereby making presenting varied types of disorders within the human beings. Aircraft noise pollution- aircrafts are also a prime reason for generating huge rate of noises thereby disrupting the general live of the society citizens. Due to which, approximately, 3 million individual all round the world are exposed to noise pollution as compared to other vehicles. So, such types of noise disturbances acted as one of the significant causes of environmental issues. Disposal of varied types of organic compounds- the disposal of organic compounds emitted from the aircrafts also creates high level of pollution. As a result, the level of cultivation in those areas reduces to a considerable extent. Therefore, it might be depicted from the above points that the level of pollution is increasing day by day to a considerable extent due to the growth of the airlines in the entire globe. Thus, due to the presence of such hindrances, there arises a question mark in its sustainability. Proposed statement including methodology In order to prepare this paper, varied types of steps are followed such as the issue is first found, then it is analysed and researched by viewing varied other airlines annual reports. It is done so as to know, the ways it is confronting the industries of airlines. However, for that I have done secondary research and followed qualitative methods. This proved quite effective for the paper. Framework of report To present this report, varied types of journals, books and industry reports are vividly analysed and researched and then an issue came into limelight. After that, the issue is then addressed along with the ways to resolve it. Side by side, the ways in which other airlines resolved it is also presented in this paper in a brief way after monitoring and analysisng it. Findings and discussion (comparison among the airlines) Major issues confronting the aviation sector There are varied types of challenges that are hindering the growth and development as well as sustainability of the aviation industry is stated below: Risk of dependence over fossil fuel- the over dependence of the aviation industry over conventional fossil fuels is presenting high level of risk. This is because, the amount of fossil fuel is lowering day by day that might be problematic for the aviation industries. Huge amount of finance gets involved – as the amount of fossil fuel is decreasing day by day, its rate is adversely increasing. As a result, the aviation industry people had to present huge amount of revenue to purchase these fossil fuels. Sustainability issues- due to the emission of varied types of environment polluting gases, its sustainability gets significantly hampered. Therefore, in order to retain its reputation and competitiveness, the major players of the aviation industry such as delta airlines, AMR Corporation, US airlines group and many others decided to get altered into Bio-derived Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene oils. Initiative towards sustainability Initiative 1 (Use of Bio-fuels) Initiative 2(Use of recycled products) Initiative 3(Lower weight Engines) Initiative 4(Waste Management) Virgin Atlantic • • Cathay Pacific & Dragonair • • Qantas • • • Singapore Airlines • • Southwest Airlines • • Emirates Group • • • • Therefore, due to the presence of such types of challenges, the rate of expansion and development of aviation industry is lowering day by day. Areas of sustainability identified and monitored Use of Bio-derived Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (Bio-SPK) In order to enhance its level of sustainability, the aviation companies like Virgin Atlanic is entirely dependent over bio-derived jet fuels. Bio-derived Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (Bio-SPK) is considered to be one of the best alternative aviation fuels as compared to conventional fossil fuels. Due to which, the level of pollution created due to the use of conventional fossil fuels also reduces significantly. Similarly, Cathay Pacific as well as Dragonair also desires to offer high concentration over the use of Bio-SPK oils in its engines. Therefore, the use of bio-derived synthetic paraffinic kerosene helps in reduction of Co2 by 31 % by 2020 (Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, 2013). Thus, it proved extremely significant for the industry thereby enhancing its rate of sustainability. Use of solar power Other than bio-fuels, the aviation industry also offered high level of concentration over alternative energy such solar power, hydrogen is also certain other options that might be used as aviation fuels as compared to fossil fuel (Southwest Airlines, 2012, p. 23-40). This is observed in Qantas airlines as compared to others. This might prove effective for the aviation industry to enhance its sustainability in the future days (Qantas, 2012, pp. 22-24). Therefore, it might be stated that due to innovative thinking and cooperation of all the members of the aviation industry, it became possible to cope up with varied types of challenges. Along with this, it also helped in reduction of the sustainability issues thereby enhancing the rate of customer’s loyalty and faith. Improved technologies and Operations International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), implemented innovative machines within the aircrafts so as to reduce the noise pollution caused by it. As a result, in recent age, the aircrafts are more than 70% fuel-efficient and almost 75% quieter than before. Along with this, the aircrafts of today age comprises of double decker seats along with attractive designs and speeds Such type of innovative thinking is seen within the airlines of Singapore and but not in Virgin Atlantic (Singapore Airlines, 2013, p.23-45). Apart from this, due to varied types of operational measures, the level of fuel consumption is significantly reduced that helped in reducing the amount of finance as well. Hence, it might be stated that due to technological and operational measures, the challenges of aviation industry faded away day by day (Qantas, 2012, p.12-20). Other than this, in order to check the rate of emissions of carbon from the emissions of the aircrafts, ICAO decided to use carbon emissions calculators (CMC). This devices help in calculating the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from each air travel of Southwest Airlines but not in Delta airlines (Delta Airlines, 2012, p.17-22). Along with this, use innovative technologies, aircrafts are flown at an optimal altitude proved extremely effective for the aviation players. Moreover, the minimization of the holding and stacking time around the airports also helped in improving the range of customers and revenues as well. Therefore, due to all these operational measures, the UN Environment Management Group (EMG) offered high level of recognition due to its efforts to minimize environmental impacts by enhancing operational efficiency. Lighter and quieter engines In order to present high level of comfort and satisfaction to the target customer, the aircraft industry players also implemented quite lighter and quieter engines so as to reduce the impact of noise pollution. This is seen in the flights of Emirates group and Vigin Atlantic among others. This helped in enhancing the level of pleasure and happiness of the customers to a significant extent (Virgin Atlantic, 2012, pp. 9-11). Removal of unfriendly materials In order to enhance the rate of sustainability varied types of environment unfriendly materials such as chromates and cadmium is removed entirely from the engines of Garuda Indonesia and Aisana Airlines but not in ANA group (Garuda indonesia, 2012, p. 15-20). Due to which, the efficiency and quality of the aircraft engines also became enhanced significantly (ANA GROUP, 2013). Sustainability issues not addressed in the reports and their dimensions Airport council international members worked cooperatively so as to reduce the environmental concerns and enhance the faith and trust of the customers over aviation industry. Thus, such proactive measures helped in reducing the environmental footprints to a certain extent (OECD, 2012, p.234-240). Other than this, due to the introduction of varied types of operational and technological measures, significant rate of improvement might be seen such as: Introduction of noise abated runways - the use of noise abated runways helped in reducing the rate of noises. That proved quite effective in reducing environmental noise pollution challenge and improved its level of competitiveness in this market (Icao, n.d, p.331-342). Use of flight tracks - flight tracks also helped in improving the efficiency of the flights resulting in amplification of its speeds as well. Due to which, the rate of dependency of the customers increased thereby improving its faith towards the aircrafts (Virgin Atlantic, 2012, p. 223- 230). Use of bio-fuels - the introduction of bio-fuel reduced the impact of carbon emissions from the aircrafts to a certain extent. Due to which, the issues arising green house effects reduced and minimized the environmental issues as well (The emirates group, 2012, p.24-32). Improvement of the reputation - due to the use of varied types of operational and technological measures, the reputation of the air craft industries increased. Along with this, the amount of tax received by the governments from the aviation industry also enhanced that improved the economic condition (Upham & et. al., 2012, p.220-226). Saving huge amount of finances - use of bio-fuels also helped to reduce huge amount of money. As a result, it might be used to introduce varied types of design and infrastructural innovativeness (GRI, 2012, p. 123-135). Improvement in market share- due to the introduction of varied types of innovative techniques, the market share of varied brands of the air craft industry also enhanced as presented in the below graph. Improvement in growth and expansion- varied types of inventive techniques helped in enhancement of the total growth and development of the aircraft industries. That enhanced its profit margin and range of customers. As customers are the prime requirements of this industry. Improvement of Customer services- due to the presentation of high level of customer services, the inner satisfaction and trust of the customers gets enhanced. As a result, the rate of sustainability in this aggressive market increased significantly (Farmer, 2007, p. 120-130). Improvement of customer retention ratio (CRR) - due to high level of services, inventive facilities, the rate of customer retention ratio also enhanced. This proved extremely beneficial for aviation industry thereby amplifying its brand value by almost 4% in 2013 as compared to previous year of 2012 (Elworthy & Holder, 1997, p. 112-116). Therefore, all the above points clearly revealed that the technological and operational measures presented positive impact over this industry as a whole (Upham & et. al., 2012, p.123-134). Recommendation In order to retain the renownedness in this aggressive market scenario, it is extremely essential to implement innovative changes within its operations and techniques. Along with this, innovation is also essential in customer services as well so as to satisfy their inner demands and desires. Only then, the reputation and growth of aviation industry might remain constant as compared to other sectors . Side by side, high level of support and cooperation to tackle the environmental issues also enhanced its equity and position within the minds of the environment conscious individual. Due to such collaborated efforts, the aviation industry proved successful in retaining its portfolio. Conclusion Conclusively, it might be depicted that the rate of sustainability of the aviation industry enhanced due to the introduction of varied types of inventive techniques and ideas. Along with this, the use of bio-fuels reduced the negative effects caused by the emission of carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide gases. This helped in reducing the effects of environment pollution as well as rate of depletion of ozone layer. Moreover, the use of such fuels also helped in presenting back huge amount of carbon dioxide that gets used at the time of cultivations and so it is also recognised as carbon neutralised fuel. Due to which, the negative impacts of global warming also reduced thereby making the global green and pollution free totally. Therefore, it may be stated that sustainability of the aviation industry is due to the joint efforts of all its members and organization associated with this industry. Along with this, the support of government also proved extremely worthy and satisfactory in varied aspects. References Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. (2013). Sustainable Development Report 2012. [Online] Available at: https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/?ui=2&ik=ac064582fe&view=att&th=1422193a2487f087&attid=0.2&disp=inline&realattid=f_hnl9hnpg2&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P-UVVK5x-Z1M_RHml2lZxtq&sadet=1383546559523&sads=lut5olJRCLcgxX7qILvMY5H7t4s [Accessed on 2nd November, 2013]. ANA GROUP. (2013). Annual Report, 2013. [Online] Available at: https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/?ui=2&ik=ac064582fe&view=att&th=1422193a2487f087&attid=0.1&disp=inline&realattid=f_hnl9hnp91&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P-UVVK5x-Z1M_RHml2lZxtq&sadet=1383547271785&sads=lSrNOoFi5pq4_MdY-pior1F1rX0 [Accessed on 2nd November, 2013]. Delta Airlines. (2012). Sustainability Report 2012. Atlanta: Delta Airlines Elworthy, S. &Holder, J. (1997). Environmental Protection: Text and Materials. Britain: Reed Elsevier. Farmer, A. (2007). Handbook of Environmental Protection and Enforcement: Principles and Practice. Earthscan: Britan. Garuda indonesia. (2012). Sustainability Report. Indonesia: Garuda indonesia GRI. (2012). Sustainability Reporting Guidelines & Airport Operators Sector Supplement. [Online] Available at: https://www.globalreporting.org/resourcelibrary/AOSS-Complete.pdf [Accessed on 2nd November, 2013]. Icao. (No. Date). Global Aviation and Our Sustainable Future. [Online] Available at: http:// http://www.icao.int/environmental-protection/Documents/RIO+20_booklet.pdf [Accessed on 2nd November, 2013]. OECD. (2012). Green Growth And The Future Of Aviation. [Online] Available at: http:// http://www.oecd.org/sd-roundtable/papersandpublications/49482790.pdf [Accessed on 2nd November, 2013]. Qantas. (2012). Qantas Sustainability Review 2012. Sydney: Qantas Airways. Southwest Airlines. (2012). Southwest Airlines one report.Dallas: Southwest Airlines Singapore Airlines. (2013). Sustainability Report 2013. Singapore: Singapore Airlines. The emirates group. (2012). Environment Report.Dubai: The emirates group. Upham, P. & et. al. (2012). Towards Sustainable Aviation. London: Routledge. Virgin Atlantic. (2012). Sustainability Report 2012. London: Virgin Atlantic. Read More