Air Canada fuels flights with biofuel on Earth Day
Air Canada saved 160 metric tons of carbon on 22 domestic flights this Earth Day through an innovative biofuel demonstration project at Toronto-Pearson Airport. Under the project, coordinated by Canada's Biojet Supply Chain Initiative, Air Canada is a leading partner, introducing 230,000 liters of sustainable biofuel blended into the airport’s multi-user fuel supply system to show the feasibility of biofuel use in shared fueling systems Canadian airports.
“Air Canada is proud of its leading role in this biofuel project, the first of its kind in Canada, which will advance the use of low-carbon renewable fuels in Canada by demonstrating they can be used in shared fuel systems at airports,” said Calin Rovinescu, president and chief executive of Air Canada. “Our participation is one way Air Canada is reducing its footprint and also helping our entire industry improve its environmental performance. Since 1990, Air Canada has improved its fuel efficiency by 43 percent. We have also committed to meet ambitious targets set by the International Air Transport Association, including carbon-neutral growth from 2020 and to reduce CO2 emissions by 50 percent by 2050, relative to 2005 levels. These efforts and our other green initiatives to increase efficiency and reduce waste were recognized when Air Transport World recently named Air Canada the Eco-Airline of the Year for 2018.”
A recognition event with stakeholders of the biojet demonstration, including Air Canada, was held at Toronto Pearson April 19. In addition to its participation in the Toronto Pearson Airport biojet project, Air Canada is also marking Earth Day by sponsoring through the Air Canada Foundation Earth Day Canada’s crowdfunding Campaign Pledge4PLAY, whose goal for 2018 is to support outdoor play for 20,000 children. As well, there will be employee participation, including a tree planting event May 12 to plant 400 trees and shrubs at a conservation area near the airport, organized by Partners in Project Green.