by 2030
-50%
net CO2 emissions
Air transport connects people, countries and cultures around the world. Its economic importance is enormous, it drives employment and it ensures the fast and reliable flow of goods. At the same time, it has undesirable effects on climate and the environment. The Lufthansa Group takes its responsibility for effective climate protection seriously - with a clearly defined path toward CO2 neutrality.
We are convinced that travel makes the world a better place. That is why we are using all our expertise, energy and networks to make CO2-neutral flying a reality.
Christina Foerster
Member of the Lufthansa Group's Executive Board,
responsible for Brand and Sustainability
The Lufthansa Group has set itself ambitious climate protection goals and aims to achieve a neutral CO₂ balance by 2050. Already by 2030, the aviation group wants to halve its net CO₂ emissions compared to 2019. To this end, the Lufthansa Group is pursuing a clearly defined reduction path. This has been successfully validated by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) in August 2022 and makes the Lufthansa Group the first aviation group in Europe with a scientifically based CO₂ reduction target in line with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015. In reducing CO₂, the Lufthansa Group is focusing in particular on accelerated fleet modernization, continuous optimization of flight operations, the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuels, and innovative offers for customers to make air travel and freight transport CO₂-neutral.
Christina Foerster, Member of the Lufthansa Group's Executive Board, responsible for Brand and Sustainability:
„We are convinced that travel makes the world a better place. That is why we are using all our expertise, energy and networks to make CO2-neutral flying a reality. Already by 2030, we want to reduce our net CO2 emissions by 50% compared to 2019, and by 2050 we want to reach CO2 neutrality. Although not all of the solutions currently exist, scientific and technological foundations are already in place and now, it is a matter of taking joint action. As a company, we have technical and operational expertise deeply rooted in our DNA. We set high standards for our industry and we have a great passion for flying. I am convinced that these qualities will allow us to break new ground together with our customers, partners and policymakers, while continuing to connect people, cultures and economies in the future- in a sustainable way.”
The Lufthansa Group continuously invests in a modern and particularly fuel-efficient fleet. By the end of this decade, around 200 fuel-efficient aircraft are to be delivered to the airlines of the Lufthansa Group. Latest-generation aircraft require up to 30 percent less fuel than their respective predecessors and emit correspondingly less CO2.
At the same time, efficient concepts for take-off and landing are being implemented and the digitization of approach technologies advances.
Through targeted cooperations, the Lufthansa Group is vigorously advancing key technologies for the production of Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF). The focus is on SAF based on biogenic waste materials, renewable electrical energy (Power-to-Liquid – PtL) and sunlight (Sun-to-Liquid, StL).
The Lufthansa Group secured SAF for a quarter of a billion US-Dollars in order to be able to meet the foreseeable increase in demand in the coming years.
The Lufthansa Group is further expanding its portfolio of sustainable travel offers and will be the world's first airline group to offer a new product for more climate-friendly flying from February 15, 2023: The Green Fares.
The Green Fares will make it possible to fly more sustainably with just one click, as the new fares already include offsetting of flight-related CO₂ emissions. This is achieved by using 20 percent Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) and 80 percent by contributing to high-quality climate protection projects. The Green Fares also offer additional status miles and a free rebooking option.
Lufthansa Cargo customers can opt for a more sustainable transport of their freight. In addition to the use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel, the company also offers certified offsetting projects. The add-on service "Sustainable Choice" is available on all routes with a freighter segment, for all product groups and all customers worldwide.
The Lufthansa Group itself has been offsetting the CO2 emissions of employees’ business flights since 2019.
Like no other airline group worldwide, the Lufthansa Group focuses on linking the modes of transport. The Lufthansa Group airlines are continuously expanding their cooperations with local rail providers. For example, Lufthansa offers an alternative by rail for every German feeder flight to Frankfurt and currently brings guests from five European countries to one of its hubs by train.
Economic measures to protect the environment are vitally important as long as sustainable propulsion technologies are not in place and Sustainable Aviation Fuel is not available in sufficient quantities.
The Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), which was concluded with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in October 2016, has offset growth-related CO₂ emissions in international air traffic by the purchase of certificates since 2021. CORSIA is designed to offset all residual emissions from the aviation sector that exceed the carbon emissions of the base year 2019, as defined by the ICAO.
The EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) for air traffic has managed and limited CO₂ emissions by way of certificate trading since 2012. All flights carried out by the Lufthansa Group within the European Economic Area (EEA) are subject to this system. The emissions trading schemes of Switzerland (CH ETS, since January 2020) and the United Kingdom (UK ETS, since January 2021) for flights between the EEA and Switzerland and the United Kingdom impose additional obligations to surrender emission allowances.
In 2021, 22 fuel-saving projects were under way across the Lufthansa Group. These projects comprise activities relating to performance and procedures, weight reduction, flight route optimization and technical developments. This enabled another 30.4 thousand tonnes of CO₂ emissions to be permanently eliminated in the reporting year. The quantity of kerosene saved amounted to around 9.6 thousand tonnes – this is equivalent to approximately 113 return flights between Munich and New York with an Airbus A350-900 aircraft.
Since 2020, the Lufthansa Group has exclusively been purchasing green electricity in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Belgium. To this end, Lufthansa has acquired green power certificates, which guarantee the production of green electricity from new power plants, thus contributing to the expansion of renewable energy. As a further measure, the Lufthansa Group aims to reach CO2-neutral mobility on the ground in its home markets by 2030.
The Lufthansa Group is a global aviation group with a total of more than 300 subsidiaries and equity investments.
Corporate responsibility, that is to say sustainable and responsible entrepreneurial practice, is an integral part of our corporate strategy. It means that we are committed to creating added value for our customers, employees and investors and to meeting our responsibilities toward the environment and society.
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