When an upstart airline like Virgin America starts using its environmental footprint as a selling point to consumers, it’s time for the legacy carriers–and everyone else who flies aircraft for a living–to sit up and take notice. Yes, Virgin America competitors: green sells. And green saves, too. There’s no longer any doubt that green is good for the corporate bottom line. It doesn’t take a Ph.D. in global warming to know that fuel consumption is the biggest airline contributor to greenhouse gases and the biggest expense for the airlines. Reduce one and you reduce the other.
But addressing the carbon footprint is not only a competitive selling point or a way to save on costs. Most people think aviation has a disproportionate impact on global warming, that those greenhouse gases spewing into the upper atmosphere are much more dangerous than at ground level. So it’s no longer a fringe group of environmentalists applying pressure on aviation. Everyone from investors and shareholders to government regulators and passengers themselves are demanding environmental accountability from the airlines.
More In Sustainability and Environment
