One of the, perhaps not unexpected, results of the current world economic crisis is the explosive growth of corporate social responsibility. Part of this is in response to the growing demand of the general population to move from unchecked consumerism and predatory capitalism to a more sustainable and socially more equitable form of market economy. Protecting the environment while working on this change is a natural.
Corporations are responding because they have discovered that a more socially responsible attitude brings not only new sources of investment but also increased customer loyalty. Of course this is nothing new. Benjamin Franklin was on the same track when he was popularizing the idea of doing well by doing good… and that was quite some years before Lehman Brothers et al.
For some reason, air transportation has been a popular target of environmentalists and politicians alike who tend to attack the industry for being environmental morons who are also socially irresponsible. Since it is not really realistic (even for environmentalists and politicians) to suggest that airlines offer bicycles to their customers instead of aircraft seats, the elegant and simple solution of capping air traffic growth is being put forward instead by some.
It is a mystery why aviation’s efforts to be environmentally friendly and socially responsible are so little appreciated and acknowledged.
First and foremost, aviation is the largest generator of wealth on the planet. And this wealth is not concentrated in the hands of a few rich folks. Far from it, this wealth is shared by the millions who work in the industry and its supply networks.
The strides being made in making aircraft less noisy and with lower emissions are truly impressive and alternative fuels will mean another huge step forward.
Airlines will take their share in the carbon trading schemes and you can buy carbon credits along with your ticket to help offset the environmental load of your flight (I wonder how many fervent environmentalists bother to do that?).
NASA, Boeing and Airbus are laboring to develop new aircraft types that will represent a true quantum leap in environmental friendliness.
SESAR and NextGen will finally eliminate the air traffic management induced inefficiencies that will benefit the environment also.
Clearly, aviation is in the forward ranks of those industries that have accepted their social responsibility and are acting accordingly in daily practice.
How could we improve the visibility of those efforts? Perhaps a big, green BIO sticker alongside the IATA logo on the fuselage would do the trick…