For the World

Etihad is committed to achieving high standards in sustainability within our industry, aligned with global frameworks and the goals of the United Arab Emirates. We do this by working to identify the "million little things" that will come together to see incremental, measurable, and overall beneficial change of our environmental impacts, both as an airline and the industry. We work closely with partners in every corner of our value chain and know that progress is most effective when contributed by all minds thinking as one.

We are committed to maintaining thought leadership in topics of innovation and sustainability in our industry, and our strategy is built upon expertise gathered from partners, industry peers, experience, critics and local and global government policy. Etihad was named Environmental Airline of the Year by Airline Ratings for the second year in a row and continues its streak of success by maintaining Stage 2 rating in IATA’s Environmental Assessment Programme; a testament to our commitment to improving environmental practices across all our business functions.

2022 Sustainability report
2020-2021 Sustainability report
2022 compliance on key performance indicators report

Environmental Sustainability & Climate Action for Aviation

For Etihad, "Environmental Sustainability" refers to the effort to reduce or manage the impact of aviation and our business on the environment while maintaining the ability to fulfil our obligations as a business (including operational and commercial growth) and perform in line with the global definitions of sustainable development.

Our Principles
  • Achieve majority of emissions reductions through in-sector measures
  • Align with industry voluntary roadmaps and frameworks
  • Collaborate with UAE industrial ecosystems to maintain thought leadership
  • Remain transparent and proactive in sustainability issues
  • Continually develop strategic roadmap for targets
dreamliner
mangrove
Our Objectives:
  • Achieve Net Zero by 2050 in line with the commitments of the government of the United Arab Emirates and ICAO (International Civil Aviation Authority) to the Paris Agreement
  • Ensure economic viability in sustainability roadmaps toward 2050 target
  • Create initiatives which positively contribute to guest experience and engagement
  • Involve supply chain partners in roadmap through innovation and collaboration
  • Support UAE and Abu Dhabi wildlife and biodiversity

Our Pillars

Broadly, Etihad's 'Sustainability' initiatives fall under four pillars: Decarbonisation, Waste Management, Biodiversity and Wildlife, and Advocacy and Innovation. Paired with our Principles, Objectives and Initiative Criteria, our airline's strategy is designed to deliver on aviation's basket of measures for climate mitigation pathways.

Sustainable Development for the Aviation Industry

With the commitments of the government of the United Arab Emirates and ICAO (International Civil Aviation Authority) Aviation to Net Zero by 2050, Etihad has set the same goal. The airline has designed a sustainability strategy focused on seeking a realistic pathway to achieve this target and, like many other airlines, has aligned to multiple industry frameworks designed to address CO2 emissions from international aviation.

The Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty on climate change, was launched in 2015 at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21). 196 Parties, including the UAE, signed the agreement which holds each signatory nation accountable to support the overarching goal of “limiting the global temperature increase to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels”.

ICAO run CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation) is one of the key frameworks for climate action in aviation. Adopted by ICAO in 2016, the framework was the first time that a single industry sector agreed to a global market-based measure in the climate change field. International standards for implementation for CORSIA have been adopted as an Annex into the Chicago Convention, to which all 193 member states of ICAO must apply from 2019. 

With ICAO commitments backed by the United Nations, those 196 nations signatory to the Paris Agreement are therefore aligned under the Chicago Convention. This alignment endorses the commitments of the aviation industry. ICAO’s Strategic Objectives are strongly linked to 15 of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

The premise of the industry’s ICAO LTAG (Long Term Aspirational Goal) governments and the industry set the overall objective to continue to develop in a sustainable manner in recognition of the vital role which the aviation sector plays in global economic and social development.

To learn more

To learn more about these principles, objectives and criteria, click here to read our Annual Sustainability Report.

For additional information about aviation roadmaps, sustainable development and industry guidance, here are some available resources. 

https://uaeun.org/uae-announces-net-zero-by-2050-strategic-initiative/

https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/paris-agreement

https://ghgprotocol.org/standards

https://www.iea.org/reports/energy-technology-perspectives-2020

https://www.iata.org/en/iata-repository/pressroom/fact-sheets/fact-sheet---corsia/

https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-the-growth-in-greenhouse-gas-emissions-from-commercial-aviation

Learn about Etihad's Environmental Performance

Learn about Aviation's Environmental Impact

Learn about Etihad's Sustainability Efforts

Disclaimer

When traveling with Etihad and engaging in 'environmental activities', such as supporting tree planting in the Etihad Mangrove Forest or an offset with CarbonClick will not make Etihad's operations more sustainable. Etihad provides these options to travellers who wish to customise their experience with ecologically focused ancillaries, but customers should be aware that this does not make traveling on Etihad Airways a more sustainable option over our competitors. The initiatives we undertake as an airline in our Sustainability strategy are shared mitigation options available to all airlines, and where Etihad is supporting the development of specific solutions, we are commited to making our research and findings available for the entire industry. 

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