Do you care about the environment? We do too!

At easyJet, we’re committed to minimising our environmental impact, both in the air and on the ground.

That’s why we:

• invest in new technology to have one of the youngest, cleanest and quietest fleets in the world
• have the highest levels of environmental efficiency – flying with a traditional airline, on the same aircraft type, emits 27% more emissions per passenger kilometre than flying with us
• have published our Environmental Code, to show we will monitor and reduce our environmental impact. It’s our commitment to you and the environment so you can hold us to account to make sure we deliver exactly what we say we will do in the air, on the ground and in the future.

The Stern Review, aviation and the environment

According to the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, aviation CO2 emissions account for 1.6% of all global greenhouse gas emissions and forecast to contribute to 2.5% in 2050. easyJet supports the findings of the Stern review, and highlights that the contribution of the aviation industry towards global warming is significantly less than other larger polluters, even with the forecast increase in emissions by 2050. We believe that simply stopping flying would have little benefit on climate change.

But what you can do when you fly is make sure you travel with a responsible airline like easyJet. We are taking the initiative by setting challenging environmental targets in our Environmental Code. The publication of our Code clearly demonstrates our strong commitment to our customers, shareholders and the general public to be a leading environmentally efficient and responsible airline. It aims to monitor progress towards this target and has three promises:

• easyJet strives to be efficient in the air
• easyJet strives to be efficient on the ground
• easyJet aims to lead the way in shaping a greener future for aviation

easyJet strives to be efficient in the air

We will do this by:

• Investing in new aircraft: We will grow our fleet using the latest technology aircraft whilst retiring older aircraft usually within seven to ten years of delivery. New technology aircraft are more fuel efficient than older models.
• Efficient use of aircraft: Our simple, automated pricing model means we attract more people to fly with us. Because we attract more passengers per aircraft, our traditional rivals flying the same route with the same type of plane use 27% more fuel than easyJet.
• Avoiding congested hub airports: easyJet does not fly to congested hub airports, such as London Heathrow or Frankfurt Main. These types of busy hubs tend to require aircraft to fly longer holding patterns and take more time to taxi to and from the runway, which naturally uses more fuel.
• Focusing on short haul travel: easyJet only flies to short haul destinations. Our average length of flight in 2006 was 954 kilometres. By flying to a range of short haul destinations across Europe, we allow passengers more choice in determining where to go on business or for holiday or leisure breaks. For example, a typical easyJet flight from London to Nice of 1050 kilometres creates emissions per passenger but these are considerably less than some long haul alternatives, such as London-Miami (10 times more emissions), London-Singapore (16 times more emissions), London-Sydney (28 times more emissions).

easyJet strives to be efficient on the ground

We will do this by:

• Using shorter turnaround times: We require fewer gates and other airport infrastructure than other airlines.
• Minimal use of ground equipment: We prefer not to use air bridges or motorised steps; Catering is loaded on to each plane no more than twice a day; Cabin crew clean the aircraft, so we do not need to transport separate cleaning crews to the plane at every turnaround.
• Using simple airport infrastructure: We have one class of service and no cargo offering so we don’t need to have segregated check-in areas, complex baggage handling systems or facilities to transfer passengers from flight to flight.
• Keeping surface journeys to a minimum: We only use local airports with good public transport links.
• Minimising waste: In our offices with paperless systems wherever possible; On board by not offering free food that people don’t want; Aircraft maintenance by using chemicals, such as de-icers, that only meet stringent environmental requirements and are readily biodegradable.

easyJet aims to lead the way in shaping a greener future for aviation

We will do this by:

• Using our role as the chair of the European Low Fares Airlines Association (ELFAA) environment working group to press for an EU Emissions Trading Scheme that will cover the largest carbon footprint, i.e. include flights both within Europe and all departing and arriving flights, as well as reward airlines that are environmentally efficient and punish those that are not.
• Actively supporting the delivery of the EU’s Single European Sky initiatives to improve the safety, reduce the cost and increase the productivity of Europe’s highly fragmented and inefficient air traffic management system.
• Continuing discussions with aircraft and engine manufacturers to ensure that technologies developed for long haul carriers will also applied to short haul aircraft in the future.

Want to know more? Then download your copy of our full Corporate and Social Responsibility Report 2006 here, detailing our Environmental Code.

Read Andy Harrison's article published in the Financial Times on 14 February 2007.

Read Andy Harrison’s article calling for old aircraft to be banned published in The Times on 26th April 2007.

Press release 14 June 2007: The “easyJet ecoJet”: to cut CO2 emissions by 50% by 2015 - find pictures of the easyJet ecoJet here

View an example of our press advertising.