In our recent white paper we gave the example of a study where people who were told they were listening on sustainable headphones enjoyed music more than people who thought they had standard headphones on.

This is part of a growing body of research that shows that people think more positively about brands if there’s an overt sustainability factor involved.

This extends to airlines. Pre Covid, easyJet reported an 11% increase in customers saying they will choose the airline again, once they were aware of easyJet’s carbon offsetting policy.

As a result, sustainability helps build brands, and that in turn impacts the button line.

Technology company NTT came to the same conclusion in its recently published report “Innovating for a Sustainable Future”.

500 companies worldwide took part in a study. 44% experienced improved profitability due to sustainability programs.

NTT says that this discovery shows that sustainability programmes and business imperative can go hand in hand to deliver better financial results.

At SimpliFlying we think of five net zero pillars in any airline sustainability programme: Fleet renewal, SAF, innovation (e.g. electric / hydrogen aircraft), carbon offsetting and operational efficiencies.

The reality is that fleet renewal and making operational changes saves money in the long run, and here NTT found that 33% of organisations reported decreased costs due to increased efficiencies.

As we detailed in our white paper, the push factors (consumer and increasingly, Governmental and investor pressure) matter, but the sustainability pull factors (improved brand perception, more sales, cost reduction) should be a more compelling reason for airlines to speed up their sustainability programmes.

SimpliFlying CEO Shashank Nigam writes:

In the last eight weeks, I’ve “podcasted” 3 airline CEOs, 4 tech CEOs and 1 aviation VC – only about sustainable aviation. Come, join the conversation.

This week it was World Environment Day.

As a result, do your bit about the future of our beloved industry – listen to the solutions and the visions of those who’re leading the sustainable aviation charge. And then figure out your role in it too.

We launched this podcast on Earth Day, on April 22. How far we’ve come!

Positive story of the day

Airbus Outlines Five Ways U.S. Airlines Can Meet 2050 Net-Zero Commitment (Forbes)

Sustainability news

Airline Fleets Are Back in Growth Mode with a Focus on Sustainability (Marsh McLennan)

Air New Zealand appoints sustainability officer, her biggest challenges (Simple Flying)

ANA earmarks two 787s for sustainability initiatives (Flight Global)

Emirates highlights progress of sustainabile inflight initiatives (Breaking Travel News)

Iberia makes first long-haul flight using SAF in partnership with Repsol (Biofuels International)

India may be missing the sustainable travel bus (The Hindu)