ARTICLE REVIEW

PREPARED FOR MADAM WAN HASMAT BINTI WAN HASAN

Prepared by:
Bachelor of Business Administration (HONS.) in Finance

HAZIM BIN AZMAN M NUR IMAN BIN NOR AZLI

2022905137 2022907757

M1BA2422C
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 Introduction
This infographic is a review for the article

named Stepping up and stepping out of

COVID-19: New challenges for environmental

sustainability policies in the global airline

industry written by Joseph Amankwah-Amoah

and published in the year of 2020. This article

were chose because it is related to the present

climate change crisis. This article is exclusively

being reviewed to show the importance of

environmental sustainability. Plus, this article is

also related to one of the operation

management areas. The author briefly discusses

the challenges faced by the aviation sector

because of the environmental sustainability

initiative before and during the Covid-19

outbreak.

Main Issue
Challenges of airline industry in maintaining

environment sustainability.
THE GLOBAL AIRLINE INDUSTRY, ECO-FRIENDLY POLICIES

External level of analysis

There has been external party that urges aviation firms

to pursue environmental sustainability advancement such
as offsetting emission footprint and transitioning to
renewable sources of energy. This third party are
commonly government bodies or organisations like IATA
and European Union (EU).

CORSIA

The Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International

Aviation (CORSIA) is a scheme to lower Carbon Dioxide
emissions for international flights, to curb the aviation impact
on climate change.

EUETS

The European Union Emissions Trading System (EUETS) is a

mechanism for achieving reduction of greenhouse gas
emissions in an industry with legal backing.

Organizational level of analysis

Organizational level of analysis is an approach made by

each airline companies towards environmental
sustainability.
 GREEN BUSINESS
PRACTICE CHALLENGES IN
THE ERA OF COVID-19

Cost pressures and existential

threat
Due to wake of covid-19, aviation industry suffered the most
due to governments bans on people movement and travel. It is so
critical that most aviation companies are in the brink of non-
existence. To avoid such things, many countries around the world
has opt to withdraw from for the CORSIA scheme.

Firms’ deprioritizing environmental

sustainability initiatives

Due to governments taken steps to loosen environmental

pollution enforcement airlines companies has deprioritize
environmental sustainability initiatives.

Green washing

There has been a demand for a clear separation between

firms that are pursuing green agenda with those that
pretend to apply green agenda.
 Until 2019, the aviation sector has seen a huge increase in
passenger numbers. As a result, implying environmental
sustainability in the airline business is vital.
Yet, Covid-19 harmed the aviation industry the most. As a
result, companies affected should be given serious
consideration so that they can survive the Covid-19 by
focusing their expenditure on their survival rather than the
imposed commission penalty.
Airline companies should not forsake their social responsibility
to keep the environment clean. As clients will undoubtedly
prefer companies that are genuinely eco-friendly over those
that merely claim to be so in order to attract customers.

By 2017, the total annual world-wide passenger count was

4 billion. (The World Bank, 2019).
Aviation is one of the earliest and most visible economic
losers of restrictions introduced to stop the spread of Covid-
19, with 95 per cent of passenger flights grounded. The
industry says it is facing over US$250 billion in losses this
year. (IATA, 2020a)
Companies that commit to sustainability during the crisis will
come out stronger, with more solid customer and supplier
relationships, enhanced corporate reputations, and
improved employee loyalty and productivity. (Davis-
Peccoud & van den Branden, 2020).

The aviation industry is facing a tremendous number of challenges

during the wake of Covid-19 and the struggles to maintain the
environmental sustainability policies. The ability to respond to these
problems and keep up with the current developments will be critical
to their success. While new obstacles appear to emerge on a
regular basis, one thing is certain. The world will continue to rely
on air travel, necessitating the industry's adherence to the tight
criteria put forth by countries and international communities.
There's no doubt that some issues will be tougher than others, but
it's it's safe to suggest that every solution will have a significant
influence on the sector and its customers.

Amankwah-Amoah, J. (2020). Stepping up and stepping out of COVID-19: New challenges for environmental
sustainability policies in the global airline industry. Journal of Cleaner Production, 271, 123000.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123000
Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI). (2019, October 17). Fact Sheet | The Growth in Greenhouse Gas
Emissions from Commercial Aviation (2019) | White Papers | EESI. Fact Sheet | The Growth in Greenhouse Gas
Emissions from Commercial Aviation (2019). https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-the-growth-in-greenhouse-gas-
emissions-from-commercial-aviation
Abate, M., Christidis, P., & Purwanto, A. J. (2020). Government support to airlines in the aftermath of the COVID-19
pandemic. Journal of Air Transport Management, 89, 101931. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jairtraman.2020.101931
Abdullah, M. A., Chew, B. C., & Hamid, S. R. (2016). Benchmarking Key Success Factors for the Future Green Airline
Industry. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 224, 246–253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.05.456
SUPPORTING ARTICE
 Journal of Cleaner Production 271 (2020) 123000

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Cleaner Production

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro

Stepping up and stepping out of COVID-19: New challenges for

environmental sustainability policies in the global airline industry
Joseph Amankwah-Amoah
Kent Business School, University of Kent, Kent, ME4 4TE, UK

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The allure for businesses to jettison short-term costly processes, regulatory demands and green business
Received 10 May 2020 practices (GBPs) in the turbulent times of COVID-19 remains sky high. Although GBPs and eco-friendly
Received in revised form policies deliver results in the long term in terms of market competitiveness (MC), in many industries
19 June 2020
firms have sought to jettison well-rooted practices in the face of the existential threats stemming from
Accepted 22 June 2020
COVID-19. In this paper, we examine the new contemporary challenges of adopting and implementing
Available online 25 June 2020
environmental sustainability policies in the global airline industry in the wake of COVID-19. The analysis
Handling editor: Prof. Jiri Jaromir Kleme
s sheds light on firms’ level sustainability initiatives such as upgrading to environmentally friendly aircraft
and offsetting emission footprint, and institutional initiatives such as the European Union Emissions
Keywords: Trading System and the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for Aviation. Our analysis demonstrates
Sustainability practices that some airlines and industrial bodies sought to sidestep environmentally friendly commitments and
COVID-19 practices to overcome new challenges such as cost pressures, survival threat and deprioritising envi-
Airline industry ronmental sustainability initiatives. We establish and examine the implications of the analysis.
Environmental sustainability policies
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Eco-friendly policies
Business development

1. Introduction (Agyabeng-Mensah et al., 2020; Durugbo and Amankwah-Amoah,

2019; Jabbour et al., 2019; Muduli et al., 2020; Singh et al., 2020;
With more than 8.6 million cases and over 450,000 fatalities Jabbour and Renwick, 2020), there remains a major challenge in
affecting over 200 countries or territories (Worldometers, 2020) maintaining momentum for environmentally sustainable practices
and the majority of businesses, the COVID-19 pandemic remains especially in times of crisis. In the middle of this unprecedented
one of the unparalleled global crises of our modern times (World event, multiple questions have been posed about the effects on
Health Organization, 2020). Indeed, there are over 1.4 million environmental sustainability policies adopted prior to the crisis.
cases in Europe, over 1.3 million in the US, over 60,000 in south- Although firms increasingly adopt such environmental initiatives
east Asia, over 190,000 in the eastern Mediterranean and over (see also Singh et al., 2019a,b,c), these are often jettisoned as soon
20,000 cases in Africa, making this a truly global pandemic (World as they are confronted by new and difficult to predict challenges.
Health Organization, 2020). Researchers, governments and policy The question arises as to how organisations can maintain mo-
makers have become increasingly concerned about the negative mentum when the financial resources are under severe strain.
effects of COVID-19 on business activities, industry policies and the Motivated by the scholarly gap in tandem with the devastating
global economy. Despite the plethora of new lines of research on influences of COVID-19 on how businesses function, this paper
COVID-19 and businesses becoming beleaguered by the accompa- reviews GBPs in the global airline industry and outlines the
nying uncertainties (Gostin and Wiley, 2020), there remains a contemporary challenges of implementing environmental sus-
dearth of research examining the effects on environmental sus- tainability policies in the wake of COVID-19. In order to accomplish
tainability policy implementations and new challenges. this objective, our analysis is limited to the challenges inherent in
Although green business practices (GBPs) and environmental the adoption and implementation of environmentally friendly ini-
sustainability continue to attract the attention of organisational tiatives in the global airline industry. The pivotal role of the global
leaders, governments, society and industrial organisations airline industry in the global economy is exemplified by the fact
that air transport supports 65.5 million jobs around the globe,
provides $2.7 trillion in economic activities and air travel accounts
E-mail address: J.Amankwah-Amoah@kent.ac.uk. for around 35% of world trade by value (Air Transport Action Group,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123000
0959-6526/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
2 J. Amankwah-Amoah / Journal of Cleaner Production 271 (2020) 123000

2018; IATA, 2018). Indeed, in 2019 around 4.5 billion people were By developing and nurturing “a green culture” (Agyabeng-
carried by airlines around the globe, linking cities and businesses Mensah et al., 2020), firms over time are able to minimise envi-
(Air Transport Action Group, 2020). ronmental waste and conserve resources e key for MC. Thus,
The article makes concrete contributions to the environmental reducing different types of pollution and waste enables organisa-
sustainability practice literature. First, in view of the growing global tions to reduce operating costs whilst concurrently fulfilling
calls for better understanding of the effects of COVID-19 on busi- stakeholders’ requirements of a green and clean organization. GBPs
nesses, the study contributes to the current literature by reviewing may entail the adoption of end-of-pipe technologies with the aim
GBPs in the global airline industry and examining the looming of curbing or controlling environmental pollution and preventing
challenges facing airlines’ commitment to greening policies in the pollution (see Sarkis and Cordeiro, 2001; Vachon, 2007). In contrast
wake of COVID. More so, we contribute to existing environmental to end-of-pipe technologies, cleaner production focuses on mini-
sustainability literature (Danso et al., 2019a, 2019b; Fornes et al., mising resource utilisation and different types of pollution at the
2019) by shedding light on the range of environmental sustain- source via the adoption of cleaner processes (see Frondel et al.,
ability practices adopted by global airlines using illustrative cases. 2007). Increasingly, sustainability via new technology adoption is
In addition, although green practices have been examined, this has a central pillar in delivering economic development for cities and
been undertaken without consideration of the global pandemic and communities (You et al., 2019, 2020) as well as a source of busi-
its aftermath. This study rectifies this gap by examining the chal- nesses’ MC (Durugbo and Amankwah-Amoah, 2019). However,
lenges of delivering a green agenda in this new world. sudden business shocks may force firms to abandon some eco-
The article is organised as follows. In the next section, a brief nomic, social and environmental commitments and obligations to
review of GBPs is offered. The background of the global airline in- ensure long-term survival.
dustry and insight into COVID is then presented. We then examine
the challenge of achieving environmental sustainability in the wake 3. The global airline industry, eco-friendly policies and
of COVID-19. Accompanying the analysis is research and practical COVID-19: an overview
implications of the analysis, and some suggestions for further
research. The advent of the “open skies” agreements following the
Convention on International Civil Aviation, i.e. the Chicago
2. Green business practices and sustainability: a review Convention of 1944 signed by 52 nations, helped to herald in a new
era around the global aviation industry (see Amankwah-Amoah&
Following pressures from important stakeholders such as gov- Debrah, 2010, 2011a; 2011b, 2014; Doganis, 2006; Belobaba et al.,
ernments, regulators and customers, firms around the globe have 2015). Although the US championed the free market notion with
increasingly modified their business models to embrace in both the Airline Deregulation Act 1978, this has since gained a foothold
short-term and long-term environmentally sustainable practices around the globe. “Open skies” agreements have merged in recent
(Hendiani et al., 2020; Jabbour and Renwick, 2020; Singh et al., decades not only between US and Europe but among emerging
2019a,b,c; Singh et al., 2019a,b,c). Generally, firms adopting GBPs economies of the global south, shepherding in a new phase of
place the emphasis on reducing pollution, curtailing and elimi- global air travel liberalisation with great freedom and increased
nating waste, lowering energy use, utilising renewable materials access to markets (Amankwah-Amoah et al., 2017; Doganis, 2006).
and incorporating and installing resource conservation measures to Deregulation of the industry eliminated many national and regional
ensure that the product/service can be delivered in an environ- barriers to entry, paving the way for the emergence of low-cost
mentally sustainable manner (Agyabeng-Mensah et al., 2020; airlines on every continent of the world (Amankwah-Amoah,
Eltayeb and Zailani, 2009; Hendiani et al., 2020). Fundamentally, 2015, 2018; Belobaba et al., 2015; Doganis, 2006). The intense
GBPs can be internally initiated via adopting environmentally market competition accompanying the arrival of low-cost airlines
friendly business processes, routines and operating guiding prin- and their price-sensitive offerings extended the reach of air travel
ciples, or externally imposed by regulators, governments and other to the mass population, connecting numerous secondary airports
stakeholders with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and cities to the global aviation network. A lasting legacy of the
stemming from firms’ activities (Agyabeng-Mensah et al., 2020; post-1980 reforms of the industry is the privatisation of previously
Durugbo and Amankwah-Amoah, 2019; Jabbour and Renwick, government-owned airlines which also paved the way for new
2020). Stakeholders’ inclusion or engagement across a range of market competition (see Doganis, 2006). To an extent, the decline
functional areas including product design and manufacturing has of these firms paved the way for airlines to expand as emissions
often been a key pillar in environmental sustainability practices of also increased.
businesses (Durugbo and Amankwah-Amoah, 2019). The inclusive Aviation has experienced growth in recent years with traffic
efforts also help to make organisations more attentive in deter- projected to double in the next 15 years. According to the Inter-
mining and responding to environmental demands of consumers national Air Transport Association (IATA), due to COVID-19, the
and other stakeholders (Danso et al., 2019a). industry would lose around US$252 billion in 2020 (IATA, 2020a)
The increasing adoption of green practices in the business pro- with many airlines seeking government subsidies and supports to
cesses and routines is often motivated by pressures from stake- help them stay afloat (IATA, 2020d, 2020e). Prior to the crisis, one of
holders such as investors, workers and governments. This has the pressing issues in the industry was the need for robust action to
helped to usher in a new environment where sustainability ini- achieve emission-reduction targets and a commitment to embrace
tiatives now move in tandem with market competitiveness (MC) environmental sustainability practices across the board (Kearns,
issues (Amankwah-Amoah and Syllias, 2020; Durugbo and 2020).
Amankwah-Amoah, 2019; Fornes et al., 2019). Indeed, adopting Globally, the aviation industry accounts for around 2% of all
GBPs can help firms penetrate new market segments whilst human-induced carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions 12% of CO2
enhancing their reputations (Konadu et al., 2020) and attracting top emissions from all transportation sources compared with 74% from
talent (Agyabeng-Mensah et al., 2020). By simultaneously pursuing road transport (Air Transport Action Group, 2020). According to the
internal and external organisational changes to improve product European Commission (2020a), aviation accounts for 3% of the EU’s
design and pursue green agendas, organisations are better able to greenhouse gas emissions e over 2% of global emissions. Thus, it is
accrue the full benefits of GBPs (see Agyabeng-Mensah et al., 2020). one of the fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions.
 J. Amankwah-Amoah / Journal of Cleaner Production 271 (2020) 123000 3

Indeed, by 2020, global aviation emissions were around 70% higher airlines operating between EU nations which covered about 45% of
than they were back in 2005 (European Commission, 2020a), and the Union’s greenhouse gas emissions, and by 2030 emissions from
forecast by International Civil Aviation Organization’s (2020a, sectors covered will be reduced by 43% from 2005 levels (European
2020b) ICAO Global Environmental Trends to grow by an addi- Commission, 2015, 2020b). Generally considered a vital element of
tional 300e700% by 2050 if no effective measures are taken by the EU policy, it seeks to curtail greenhouse gas emissions in a cost-
international community to minimise carbon footprints. effective manner and remains the globe’s first and major carbon
In times of economic crisis and economic recession, firms are market. Essentially, the EUETS is an effective mechanism for
often confronted with survival threats which is more evident in achieving a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in an industry
times of a global health pandemic. In the aviation industry, much of with legal backing (Efthymiou and Papatheodorou, 2019).
the discussion on environmental sustainability tends to focus on
combating climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions
with the emphasis being largely on air, noise and environmental 3.4. Organisational level of analysis
pollution Flightglobal (2012). For the industry, implementation of
green airlines’ practices (GAPs) entails stakeholders’ involvement At the organisational level, across the globe various airlines have
in managing and reducing the environmental footprint of the in- adopted policies/strategies including upgrading to environmentally
dustry via de-coupling industry growth from emissions growth, friendly aircraft and the adoption of fuel-efficiency technologies to
minimising aircraft noise and adopting technological innovation to minimise fuel consumption and the cost of running aircraft, as
improve travellers’ safety and experiences (see also Sustainable demonstrated by the illustrative case examples in Table 1. The table
Aviation, 2020). Inspired by notable global steps toward reduction summarises some of the various approaches and strategies adopted
in emissions via the adoption of the Paris Agreement which by airlines including upgrading to environmentally friendly aircraft
brought nations around the globe together on a common cause to using illustrative case examples including BA, Air FranceeKLM,
take meaningful steps to tackle climate change (UNFCCC, 2020), Turkish Airlines and Ethiopian airlines. The aviation industry
many global airlines have been forced to re-evaluate their envi- largely seeks to achieve fleet fuel efficiency via utilisation of new
ronmental footprint. The next subsections present some of the key aircraft. Since 2009, the world’s airlines have spent around $1
industrial policies towards reducing emissions, followed by an trillion to acquire over 12,000 new aircraft which has helped to
overview of firms’ level policies through the illustrative cases. reduce emissions (Air Transport Action Group, 2020). Inspired by
the global move towards environmental sustainability to reduce air
3.1. External level of analysis and noise emissions, many global airlines have adopted policies in
terms of reducing aircraft noise and noise pollution.
At the industry and institutional levels, measures advanced to- According to IATA (2020c), due to technological advancements
wards environmental sustainability include offsetting emission in the sector and stringent international certification standards,
footprint, sustainable aviation fuels and improving local air quality. “the noise footprint of new aircraft is at least 15% smaller” than the
The moves include transitioning to renewable sources of energy ones they replace. Technological advancements have paved the way
advanced by governments, and international organisations such as for new aircraft manufactured today to be around 75% quieter than
the IATA and European Union. those produced 50 years ago (IATA, 2020c). However, some airports
have noise-related charges on aircraft to curtail their use, but the
3.2. Carbon offsetting and reduction scheme for aviation success of such measures remains limited.
One area for airlines achieving sustainability is via setting and
The Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International improving fuel efficiency standards. This took hold in the industry
Aviation (CORSIA), developed by the International Civil Aviation in the 1990s when British Airways (BA) became the first global
Organization (ICAO) and eventually adopted in 2016, seeks to airline to recognise the pivotal effects of environmental perfor-
curtail emissions stemming from activities of the global airline mance by adopting fuel-efficiency standards, i.e. to achieve 30%
industry. Under the CORSIA 2020, carbon emissions for interna- progress in fuel efficiency by 2010 relative to the 1990 level (Reals,
tional flights would be capped and offsetting allowed. Under 2007). In recent years the airline has set a new improvement
CORSIA, carriers have committed to the agreement that growth in initiative in fuel efficiency of 25% by 2025 relative to 2005 levels
international flights post-2020 is carbon neutral, i.e. the “carbon (Reals, 2007). This places the emphasis on using single-engine
neutral growth from 2020” scheme (Early, 2020). Airlines have taxing. Taken together, sustainable environmentally efficient avia-
promised to do so by offsetting emissions when it comes into effect tion is anchored in three key pillars: air emissions, noise emissions
on January 2021. Offsetting simply refers to “an action by a com- and waste elimination/resource conservation, as demonstrated in
pany or individual to compensate for their emissions by financing a Fig. 1.
reduction in emissions elsewhere” (IATA, 2020b, p. nd). Although
CORSIA is a voluntary scheme confined to flights between signature
nations that have decided to participate (Early, 2020), it provides a 4. Green business practice challenges in the era of COVID-19
pathway towards tackling aviation emissions on inter-continental
and other international routes. Recently, around 33% of airlines published their data on noise,
70% of carriers report on their carbon emissions and 40% report on
3.3. The EU emissions trading scheme nitrogen oxide emissions, demonstrating a need for transparency in
firms’ activities (Flightglobal, 2012). According to the International
According to the European Commission (2020b), the EU emis- Civil Aviation Organization, the growth of air travel has also been
sions trading system is regarded as a central pillar of the EU’s accompanied by an increase in noise in areas closer to airports.
approach to combating climate change. It basically restricts Thus, there is a need to strike the right balance in terms of deliv-
greenhouse gas emissions and imposes a charge on them. The ering on environmental sustainability whilst fostering the growth
European Union Emissions Trading System (EUETS) which outlines and development of air transport (International Civil Aviation
emission reduction targets for a host industry across the European Organization, 2012). In the following sections, we outline a num-
continent has also been pivotal. Among the areas/sectors covered is ber of other challenges in the wake of COVID-19.
Table 1

4
Summary of some illustrative case airlines’ greening policies and practices.

Selected leading airlines Key features Nature of greening principle Nature of greening policies and activities Synthesised from sources:

BA, UK It was a British state-owned national BA’s plan demonstrated commitment to  In January 2020, BA decided to offset carbon emissions for BA, 2020a; BA, 2020b; Airfranceklm
airline and then privatised. Today, it is a reduce the environmental impact of its all domestic flights via investments in carbon-reduction (2020).
major international airline with over 40 business activities. projects encompassing reforestation and rainforest pro-
million customers and services to over tection schemes.
70 nations around the globe.  Investment in sustainable fuels to help usher in a new era
of “green” aviation.
 Adoption of and investment in fuel-efficient aircraft such
as the use of the Airbus A350 which is 50% quieter and
25% more fuel efficient than the similar-sized fleets.
 Through collaborative partnership, the airline is working
to design centres that transform commercial and
domestic waste into renewable jet fuel for its aircraft.
 Ongoing fuel-saving initiatives such as optimising flight
routes and minimising the weight of aircraft have led to a
reduction of carbon emissions of over 360,000 tonnes

J. Amankwah-Amoah / Journal of Cleaner Production 271 (2020) 123000

since 2014.
 Participatory member of the EUETS from the outset in
2012.
Air FranceeKLM The Air FranceeKLM Group is an Air France and KLM’s sustainability  Air FranceeKLM decreased its noise footprint by 35% KLM, 2019a, 2019b; Air FranceeKLM,
outcome of the 2004 merger between strategy for 2030 was underpinned by from 2000 to 2018 and enhanced energy efficiency for 2019.
Air France and KLM. One of the safest the United each passenger/km by 21.6% from 2011 to 2018.
global airlines. Nations Sustainable Development Goals  KLM seeks to reduce CO2 emissions by over 10% by 2030
(SDGs) relative to 2018 levels.
 It also seeks to obtain a CO2-neutral ground operation and
reduce waste by 50% relative to 2011 levels.
 KLM is part of the EU’s emissions trading system.
 Champion fleet renewal to help reduce CO2 emissions.
Indeed, some new aircraft are producing 35%e40% less
CO2 emissions as well as producing less noise. On the
noise, for instance, the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is
around 40% quieter relative to comparable aircraft.
Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines headquartered in Among its visions, it seeks to become  Broadly, the company emphasis is on “stakeholder Turkish Airlines (2019), 2020.
Istanbul is the national airline of Turkey. the airline with zero major accidents or inclusiveness”.
Founded in the 1930s, it operates to crashes.  In 2008, the airline forged collaboration with IATA Green
over 300 destinations across the globe Team toward implementation of the Fuel Efficiency
including Africa, Asia, Europe and North Program to help improve fuel efficiency and decrease
America. carbon emissions.
In 2018, it was regarded as the carrier  Involved in over 70 projects to optimise operations and
“that Connects Africa to the World” thereby helping to decrease the carbon footprint.
(Turkish Airlines, 2019, p. 13).  Fostering investment in new technologies with least
harmful effects on the natural environment.
 Since 2013, the airline has been certificated by ISO 14001.
 Integrated approach to reduce electricity, natural gas, fuel
and paper consumption.
 Seeks to reach 120 million passengers by 2023 and
currently regarded as one of the biggest and most state-
of-the-art airlines of the world with over 500 efficient and
environmentally friendly aircraft.
Ethiopian Airlines Started operations in the 1940s and Focused on cutting emissions and  In 2018, in tandem with the United Nations Environment Ethiopian Airlines, 2020; United
remains one of the most successful utilising fuel-efficient aircraft. Programme, the global authority on the environmental Nations Environment Programme,
state-owned airlines in the world. agenda launched the “Plant one tree for every passenger 2018.
flown” project which is expected to lead to around nine
million trees being planted (United Nations Environment
Programme (2018).
 J. Amankwah-Amoah / Journal of Cleaner Production 271 (2020) 123000 5

Ryanair, 2020a, 2020b.

 It also launched “Greening Ethiopian Airline business”

 Greater emphasis on technology use to minimise fuel use.

 The airline operates high seat density in aircraft,

 The use of mainly secondary and regional airports helps

 Committed to tackling adverse environmental impacts

resource conservation and a green procurement strategy.

 The airline operates “paperless cockpits” with pilots using

 Received delivery of new Boeing 737-800NG aircraft

 A “green HQ” in Dublin promoting paperless business

Fig. 1. Triad of sustainability in aviation.

via waste minimisation, pollution prevention measures,

which allowed a 2% improvement in fuel consumption.

decreasing fuel burn and emissions per passenger by
which emphasised operational improvements and

to minimise congestion and noise at major cities.

4.1. Cost pressures and existential threat

commitment to become “plastic free” by 2023.
practices, reducing waste and recycling. Firm

According to Early (2020), “aviation is one of the earliest and

most visible economic losers of restrictions introduced to stop the
spread of COVID-19, with 95% of passenger flights grounded” (p.
tablets and electronic flight bags.

nd). These include the closure of borders, social distancing mea-

sures, and government bans on people movement and travel. This
culminates in around US$250 billion in losses in revenue in 2020
for the industry. The pandemic has made environmental sustain-
ability orientation “harder” for some firms in the short-term by
reducing waste.

unleashing financial pressures and threats to firm survival that

around 14%.

limit the latitudes of managers and firms to respond to the envi-

ronmental sustainability imperative (Davis-Peccoud & van den
Branden, 2020). Despite the current and future effects on the in-
dustry, some environmentalist and campaigners have suggested
that the industry has been using the crisis to abandon or further
postpone organisational actions on the climate change agenda
Ryanair is regarded as the “greenest,
cleanest airline” in Europe (Ryanair,

(Early, 2020; Topham and Harvey, 2020). Indeed, some key orga-
nisations such as the Environmental Defence Fund, Transport &
Environment, and Greenpeace have suggested a need for financial
and non-financial supports given to airlines by government to
overcome the negative effects of COVID-19 that is buttressed by
concrete support for the sustainability agenda (Early, 2020).
As previously noted, CORSIA is a key aspect of the ICAO’s mea-
sures to help curb aviation emissions. This rapidly emerging reality
for airlines prompted the IATA’s call on the International Civil
2020).

Aviation Organization (ICAO) to modify the carbon offsetting and

reduction programme, which requires carriers to pay to counter-
balance any growth in carbon emissions) to pave the way for air-
lines to overcome some of the post-COVID effects, or risk nations/
Low-cost airline established in 1984
and headquartered (HQ) in Dublin.

airlines abandoning or withdrawing from the schemes (Topham

and Harvey, 2020). The IATA (2020b) suggested that:
“the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on airlines
has led IATA to propose that ICAO adapt the method used to
determine the baseline of the CORSIA scheme … many airlines may
not be able to afford to pay for the substantially higher carbon
offsets that would be required.” (p. nd)

Accordingly, it has been noted that the grounding of aircraft

following COVID-19 means that “the baseline will be far lower than
envisaged, and the carbon targets much more challenging, if COR-
SIA goes ahead without changes” (Topham and Harvey, 2020, p. nd;
Environmental Defense Fund, 2020a). Prior to the pandemic, it was
estimated that carriers had to spend “between £4bn and £18bn a
year globally on carbon credits by 2035” to fulfil the requirements
Ryanair

of CORSIA rules (Topham and Harvey, 2020, p. nd). Indeed, there is

an intense pressure to ease the financial difficulties faced by airlines
6 J. Amankwah-Amoah / Journal of Cleaner Production 271 (2020) 123000

(Environmental Defense Fund, 2020b). Many airlines have also challenges … After this, boards and executives will not be forgiven
lobbied governments to rewrite rules governing aviation emission for underpreparing for various climate change scenarios.”
levels or ease the burdens as a matter of necessity to ensure their
long-term survival (Topham and Harvey, 2020). As many airlines
Despite the headwind curtailing the environmental sustain-
focus on survival in the short-term, commitment to CORSIA rules
ability drive, it is still noteworthy that many consumers generally
are likely to take a back seat.
still hold a favourable view of companies and brands that embrace
sustainability (Davis-Peccoud & van den Branden, 2020).
4.2. Firms’ deprioritising environmental sustainability initiatives
5. Discussion and implications
One main challenge facing the industry and firms is that social
issues may become more prominent on the public policy agenda This paper sought to review GBPs in the global airline industry
ahead of environmental ones, thereby absorbing the intense and outline the contemporary challenges of adopting and imple-
stakeholders’ pressure behind environmental agenda and firms’ menting environmental sustainability policies in the wake of
commitment. The major risk here is that some firms may also COVID-19. This study shed light on firms’ level environmentally
deprioritise environmental sustainability initiatives (Davis- sustainable practices such as upgrading to environmentally friendly
Peccoud & van den Branden, 2020), deploy resources away from aircraft and offsetting emission footprints. At institutional level,
environmental course and focus attention towards short-term such initiatives include the European Union Emissions Trading
survival. As observed by Davis-Peccoud and van den Branden System and the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for
(2020, p. nd), across the globe and societies, “the pandemic could Aviation. Our analysis indicates that the move to an environmen-
trigger a reversal of sustainability trends” as some governments tally sustainable path encompasses three key pillars: air emissions,
have taken steps to loosen environmental pollution enforcement. noise emissions and waste elimination/resource conservation, as
For instance, the Environmental Protection Agency in the US has depicted in Fig. 1. In addition, the adoption of new technologies and
momentarily eased some regulatory enforcement with regard to new investment to replace old and obsolete aircraft with newer and
pollution to improve survival chances of some firms (Davis- more fuel- and energy-efficient fleets has been the cornerstone of
Peccoud & van den Branden, 2020). Thus, regulations around policies adopted, as demonstrated by the approaches by illustrative
eliminating waste and reducing pollution, and restrictions on the case airlines in Table 1. Indeed, modern aircraft are around 15%e
industry could be eased to help airlines improve their survival 20% more fuel efficient (Aviationbenefits, 2020). Our observation of
chances. As more airlines seek government support in the form of the industry suggests that the allure of jettisoning cutting carbon
subsidies and other financial support to maintain their existence, emissions during economic and healthcare crises remains high
environmental sustainability appears to be regarded as something among some firms. In parallel, the COVID-19 pandemic presents
for the future. opportunities for some firms to accelerate the adoption of new
One of the obstacles in pushing ahead with climate policy ini- aircraft and technologies to innovate as a means of overcoming the
tiatives is that selling prevention and mitigation measures is challenges.
generally very hard (Vetter, 2020). Generally, policy makers dislike The financial losses stemming from cancellation of flights and
preparing for events and for society to accept changes can be a airport closures are likely to force many airlines to seek to innovate
protracted process. COVID-19 has reminded us of the importance of to survival and thrive. Indeed, the COVID related policies of
providing a proactive response to a looming crisis and the need to implementing social distancing measures is likely to impact on
take action to avoid firefighting (Vetter, 2020). To differentiate pricing strategies. Many prominent airlines have already intro-
themselves from rivals in the post-pandemic environment, airlines duced some forms of inflight social distancing. For instance, major
would need to demonstrate more than just commitment to envi- airlines such as American Airlines and United Airlines have already
ronmental causes, but also processes and concrete changes. attempted some elements of social distancing by not seating pas-
sengers in middle seats and allowing them to switch seat to help
address their health concerns (Johnson, 2020). In addition, other
4.3. Green washing airlines such as Delta Air Lines, have reduced in-flight refreshments
in an attempt to decrease contact between inflight crew and cus-
In the wake of improvements in aircraft technologies and the tomers (Johnson, 2020). Taken together, these are likely to make
introduction of fuel-efficient aircraft, many airlines have strived to low-prices difficult to achieve especially for low-cost airlines that
combine quality and affordable tickets with sustainable business compete on prices buttressed by high-density seating (Doganis,
practices, and have done so successfully. However, many environ- 2006). It is also worth noting that the traditional airlines (legacy
mentally sustainable initiatives often lack external verification. For airlines) such as BA and KLM have traditionally competed on
instance, in the global retail sector, “organic” product labels de- quality inflight services, and network connectivity (Amankwah-
mand third-party verification; nonetheless, words connected to Amoah et al., 2017; Doganis, 2006). Thus, inflight social
sustainability in multiple industries including “green”, “green distancing might enhance the customer experiences but also makes
business” and “natural” are often guided by less stringent regula- affordable prices difficult to achieve.
tory guidelines, if any (Bowman, 2019). Accordingly, it becomes
difficult to distinguish firms that are genuinely “green” in their
5.1. Theoretical, practical and policy implications
orientation from those with minimal green-related activities. The
post-COVID-19 crisis environment demands a clear demarcation
Regarding the implications for scholars, the study contributes to
between firms pursuing a green agenda from those purporting to
the ongoing discourse on the effects of COVID-19 on industrial and
be “green”, as noted by Davis-Peccoud and van den Branden (2020,
governments policies (see Fornaro and Wolf, 2020) and business
p. nd):
activities (de Sousa Jabbour et al., 2020). Specifically, the paper
“the COVID-19 crisis has become a dry run for the sustainability examines the challenges and opportunities of implementing envi-
agenda and an opportunity for companies to see how they can ronmental sustainability agenda in a hostile business environment
tackle an expanding range of environmental, social and governance precipitated by COVID-19, rather than the benign environment in
 J. Amankwah-Amoah / Journal of Cleaner Production 271 (2020) 123000 7

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