EDMONTON — Air Canada is doubling down on its commitment to go green with a new partnership with Edmonton International Airport (EIA) that will reduce carbon emissions.
The EIA-AIR Canada Sustainability Partnership will aim to reduce the carbon impact of air travel, with both organizations working together to test emerging green technologies at EIA’s Airport City Sustainability Campus, an ecosystem that EIA created to foster environmental innovation.
Key initiatives that will promote a cleaner environment include:
- Electrification of aviation equipment
- Hydrogen fuel cell technologies
- Green power generation using Airport City Solar, the world’s largest airport-based solar farm
- Development and usage of sustainable aviation fuels, biofuels and hydrogen
- Replacement of single-use plastics with plant-fibre materials
- Drones for e-commerce and cargo delivery
- Other initiatives in industries such as agriculture and forestry to offset carbon emissions
“This partnership with Edmonton Airports is an important step towards our midterm 2030 objectives that roll up into our overall net zero by 2050 emissions goal,” said Samuel Elfassy, Vice President, Safety at Air Canada. “We look forward to working together in developing innovative, long-term sustainable airport and ground operations emission reductions that could potentially be scaled at other airports in Canada and internationally.”
Myron Keehn, Vice President, Air Service and Business Development, EIA, added that finding good partners who share its core values is critical.
“Air Canada is passionate about reducing its environmental impact and our partnership shows how airlines and airports can work together to promote a sustainable future,” said Keehn. “This is only the beginning as we know that there are tremendous opportunities to lead in both an environmentally and economically sustainable way.”
EIA and Air Canada previously partnered on a 2018 Edmonton to San Francisco flight that used sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), reducing the net emissions from this flight by 20%. This new partnership is anticipated to create highly skilled jobs, stimulate economic development and help attract more investment to the Edmonton Metropolitan Region as it transitions to a greener economy.
Air Canada has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions from flights by 20% by 2030 and from ground operations by 30% compared to a 2019 baseline. It ultimately aims to achieve net-zero emissions from all global operations by 2050.
EIA is the first and only airport in the world to sign The Climate Pledge, co-founded by Amazon, which commits to be carbon neutral by 2040.
