Air NZ on track to be 'the world's least unsustainable airline'

Air NZ is on a credible journey to try and be "the world's least unsustainable airline", said the chair of the national carrier's Sustainability Advisory Panel, Jonathon Porritt. He said airlines around the world face an "existential challenge" in responding to climate change. Porritt acknowledged his comments were "not really what you describe as Luxon language", referring to the airline's CE, Christopher Luxon. He has committed Air NZ to a challenging target of achieving carbon-neutral operations by 2020. "Christopher would much rather go to 'most sustainable airline', but we are living in a very real world when it comes to knowing what sustainability really means." Porritt praised Air NZ for standing out among global aviation operators. Given the scale of the global challenge represented by climate change "what will it require from here on in for an airline to resecure its social licence to operate year on year?" Airlines are major greenhouse gas emitters, so they would need to be "the best in procuring efficiencies for every kilometre flown" in "an industry that is not familiar with particularly sophisticated leadership". They would have to be the best at exploring new technological breakthroughs, such as in bio-fuels, and "the best in terms of partnering with civil society and with governments to make things happen much, much faster than they are at present". <br/>