In future, more and more shippers will be calling for complete transparency on the environmental pollution caused by the transportation of their products. The upcoming World Climate Conference in Copenhagen from December 7 to 18, 2009, gives Lufthansa Cargo an opportunity to underline the goal of taking on an exemplary role in the airfreight industry.
Lufthansa Cargo aims to grow, and it is keeping a wary eye on its environmental balance in the process. The protection of the environment has a corporate tradition. Between 1996 and 2008 alone, the kerosene consumption fell from 248 to 170 grams per freight ton kilometer transported. This lowered the fleet’s carbon dioxide emission by the same ratio from 781 to 536 grams per ton kilometer. The burden on the environment caused by other pollutants also declined: by minus 2.6 grams per ton kilometer in the case of nitrogen oxides and by minus 0.2 grams in the case of carbon monoxide – and the aircraft emit almost no more unburned hydrocarbons at all.
The state-of-the-art aircraft operated by the Lufthansa Cargo Group are characterized by light materials, continuously improved aerodynamics and economical engines. The average age of Lufthansa Cargo’s MD-11 fleet is only eleven years. The Boeing 747-400ERFs of the subsidiary Jade Cargo International are even younger. And with the Boeing 777-200LRF, AeroLogic has put into service the freighter with what is currently the best environmental balance.
No-one at the Lufthansa Group, however, contents himself or herself with just this. Lufthansa Cargo always plans air transportation in such a way that fuel is already saved on the ground. A freighter only takes the fuel along with it that it really requires. What is more, the anticipatory planning of flight paths helps to avoid detours and thus higher kerosene consumption. The aircraft also operate at variable speeds in order to better utilize the winds. Even the approach flight procedure is being constantly optimized.
For greater environmental orientation, Lufthansa Cargo also optimizes all processes on the ground – and the loading devices. In order to save kerosene, Lufthansa Cargo has been testing since fall 2008, in collaboration with loading device logistics partner Jettainer, whether so-called lightweight containers could replace the standard containers currently in common use in the cargo flight business. If the entire fleet of standard containers of Lufthansa Cargo and of Lufthansa Passage is replaced by the new flyweights, an estimated 27,500 tons of kerosene or so could be saved over the next ten years.
A great success was the ISO-14001 certification of the environment management system for Lufthansa Cargo at the Frankfurt location in 2008, which was confirmed in December 2009. In addition, the environment management of the Leipzig location also met the requirements of the ISO-14001 standard in November 2009. Even more locations are to be certified in future. The Cargo Climate Care Award, which Lufthansa Cargo presents to people inside and outside of the company for their engagement on behalf of the environment, also points the way. Finally, reference was also made to Lufthansa Cargo’s environmental commitment in the Sustainability Report of the logistics newspaper Deutsche Verkehrs-Zeitung (DVZ) in the framework of the awarding of the German Sustainability Prize.
Harald Zielinski, Vice President Security, Risk Prevention & Environment at Lufthansa Cargo: “We are determined to become the most environment-friendly carrier in the industry!”
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