Meeting and events leaders must influence the conversation
around sustainable aviation as companies implement carbon budgets that threaten
to hit delegate numbers.
That was the plea from Mariela Bazan, from the Events Industry Council, who was chairing a session on the environmental impact of conference
flights at the 62nd ICCA Congress, in Bangkok, Thailand.
She said: “One of the things that I often hear in our
sector is, ‘we can do things around venues, food choices, waste management, but
we can’t do much about aviation. And I really want us to change our narrative
on that. We are the business events industry, we create $1.6tn in GDP. We have to stop thinking about ourselves as not having influence on this conversation, because we absolutely do have influence!"
The all-aviation panel comprised Carlos Mauricio Garcia Arauz, from Qatar Airways Group, Gea Van Beek,
from Skyteam, and Bradley Sutherland, from Air Canada.
All three outlined the ways in which their organisations
were trying to reach net zero by 2050, including the move to Sustainable
Aviation Fuel (SAF) and the electrification of airline fleets.
Sutherland said Air Canada’s customers and shareholders were
demanding a shift to more sustainable aviation, but he was frank about the
scale of the challenge ahead.
Airlines had begun to invest in electric aviation, he said, but the
challenge was huge and only major manufacturers, Boeing and Airbus included, were
seriously exploring its potential.
Even if it were possible to fly a battery-powered commercial
airliner, you would need the energy infrastructure to be renewable, otherwise
it would negate the emissions savings.
“The amount of energy you need to power up an electric
aircraft is huge, so if you’re not doing that in the right jurisdiction, from a
renewable source, what does it really matter?”
The shift to sustainable aviation fuel was no less daunting.
Arauz said: “We need at least 65 per cent of the total
aviation fuel to be covered by sustainable fuel if we are to reach net zero
emissions and currently we are at around one per cent.
“But we would need two thousand new SAF facilities. The
problem is there is no supply and then when you get supply it is not constant.
You can get a drop today and then a drop next year.
“And then when you overcome the supply issue, you have the
certification issue. How do we know the stuff being produced is sustainable or
not? Because there is good SAF and bad SAF.”
The panellists said they welcomed support from the business
events sector and said organisers should encourage delegates to choose the most
carbon efficient flights, direct if possible, from the most sustainable
airlines, travel light to reduce fuel consumption, and offset flights.
Written By
James Lancaster
AMI editor James
Lancaster is a familiar face in the meetings industry and international
association community. Since joining AMI in 2010, he has gained a reputation
for asking difficult questions and getting lost in convention centres. Proofer, podcaster, and panellist - in his spare time, James likes to walk,
read, listen to music, and drink beer.
