By Juan Pedro Sanchez Zamudio
LATAM Airlines Group Stands for Its Sustainability
The S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) is an annual evaluation of companies’ sustainability practices, covering over 10,000 companies from around the world. The CSA focuses on sustainability criteria that are both industry-specific and financially material and has been doing so since 1999.
LATAM Airlines Group obtained fourth place worldwide in Standard & Poor’s Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) and has positioned itself as the airline with the best sustainability performance in the American continent, according to the most recent results published last Nov. 12.
In this ranking, the leading carriers above LATAM Airlines Group are ANA, Air France – KLM, and China Airlines.
In a press release, the Chilean group informed that during this year, the group launched its sustainability strategy based on three pillars: Climate Change, Circular Economy and Shared Value, which highlights its commitment to the protection of strategic ecosystems in South America, migration to a zero-waste model to landfills, and making its connectivity capacity available for the benefit of the communities of the region.
The strategy was designed collaboratively with experts and environmental organizations throughout the region and seeks to make the group carbon neutral by 2050.
The group will seek to reduce its emissions by incorporating sustainable fuels and new aviation technologies that will be available from 2035.
In addition, it will promote a program that will allow passengers, corporate and cargo customers the option of offsetting emissions from CO2 associated with their travels by supporting iconic projects in the region and as part of its value proposition, LATAM will match the number of tons of CO2 offset.
In line with its objective of contributing to the protection and recovery of ecosystems, LATAM Airlines Group recently announced the first conservation project to advance carbon neutrality: CO2BIO.
An initiative that will conserve 200 thousand hectares of flooded savanna, habitat of more than 2,200 species and that has the potential to capture up to 2.8 million tons of CO2 by the year 2025.
LATAM Airlines Group is also committed to promoting a culture of elimination, reduction, reuse, and recycling throughout its operation to reach 2027 as a group that generates zero waste to landfills.
Single-use plastics will be eliminated before 2023 and, currently, recycling actions are being implemented such as the “Recycle your Trip” program (segregation of waste generated onboard such as aluminum, glass, and plastic), in addition to the recycling program of uniforms to use them as raw material in new products.
Finally, the group will expand its capacity to transport cargo and people for health programs, natural disasters, and care for the environment.
Along this line is the “Avión Solidario” program, which collaborates with the communities, through agreements, offering free expertise, infrastructure, connectivity, and speed of transport through passages and cargo transfers.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, to date, the program has allowed transporting more than 165 million vaccines, more than 1 million tons of cargo of medical supplies, 3,233 health professionals and more than 1,800 organs and skins for free.
The three things Juan Pedro loves most about aviation are aircraft, airports, and traveling thousands of miles in just a few hours. What he enjoys the most about aviation is that it is easier and cheaper to travel around the world and this gives you the opportunity to visit places you thought were too far away. He has traveled to different destinations in North, Central, South America and Asia. Born, raised and still living in Perú, Juan is a lawyer, soccer lover, foodie, passionate traveler, dog lover, millennial and curious by nature.
