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Jun 10 2010

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The Emirates Group Celebrates World Environment Day

From the 6th to the10th of June, exhibitions have been set up in the Emirates Group 's headquarters and the Emirates Holidays buildings in Dubai, with environmental documentaries being screened throughout the week. The headquarters display includes the Seeds of Change Exhibition, presented by leading non-government organisation Soka Gakkai International (SGI), in collaboration with The Earth Charter. Other exhibits include a live biodiversity display with fish, insects and amphibians from the main ecosystems in the UAE, and large installations of recyclable materials collected across the Group.

Emirates and Dnata employees currently recycle a wide variety of materials in the workplace, including:

- newspapers and magazines from aircraft cabin cleaning (170 tonnes per month);

- paper, cardboard, plastic sheeting and wooden pallets from air-freight warehouses (over 20 tonnes per month);

- plastic bags, coat hangers and cardboard from dry-cleaning (5 tonnes per month);

- aviation grade aluminium, scrap metal, seat covers, carpets and plastic fittings from aircraft engineering workshops (15 tonnes per month); and

- old uniforms, shoes and used clothing (3 tonnes per month).

World Environment Day is celebrated every year ever since the first United Nations Conference on the Human Environment began on the same day in Stockholm in 1972. "It is an opportunity to learn more about our impact on the environment and to make a personal pledge to improve your environmental footprint at work and home," comments Paul Zissermann, Manager Environment Affairs for Emirates Group . "Biodiversity is a big theme for this year, as the UN has designated 2010 as The International Year of Biodiversity. Many people who live here don't know that our wadis, deserts and coasts are extremely fragile ecosystems, with 63 endangered animal species in the UAE alone. Our internal environmental programme, 'Emvironment', is communicated by the slogan - we are all passengers on this planet, and this is reflected in our group-wide environmental initiatives."

"Emirates is working hard to be one of the leading airlines in terms of environmental performance and eco-efficiency", adds Zissermann.. "With a fleet age of just over five years, Emirates aircraft have a fuel efficiency that is 26% lower than the global fleet average. The company is the largest operator of the Airbus A380 super-jumbo, which is also one of the most environmentally-advanced aircraft in the air today - with low noise engines and CO2 emissions as low as 75g per passenger kilometre - this is better than most modern small cars." By investing billions of dollars in fuel-efficient aircraft, Emirates hopes to minimise its environmental impact, while continuing to grow its business.

In addition to investing in modern aircraft, the company leads the way in developing luxury-based conservation tourism, such as the Al Maha Desert Resort and Spa, located on the 225km2 Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve, and the newly-opened Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa in the Blue Mountains of Australia. The next of these projects is slated for Cap Ternay in the Seychelles, where Emirates plans to continue this legacy of responsible luxury tourism in ecologically-significant areas - by conserving more than 95% of the site, removing invasive species, implementing ecological restoration works, and employing local people.

For more information visit http://www.emirates.com/english/about/emvironment/emvironment.aspx

-Ends-

Media contact:
Claire Mangers Page,
PR Manager,
Emirates
Direct line: +9714 708 4195,
Mobile: +971 50 950 9469,
e-mail: claire.page@emirates.com

© Press Release 2010