The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has announced the launch of the Integrated Sustainability Program (ISP), a new sustainability management and assessment framework aimed at enabling airlines to assess their sustainability efforts.
Launched at the IATA World Sustainability Symposium in Hong Kong, the ISP builds on the existing Environmental Assessment (IEnvA) programme, and incorporates training, consulting, assessments, guidance, and tools across four different modules.
These include environmental management, sustainable procurement, social responsibility and sustainability performance.
‘Comprehensive programme’
“The comprehensive ISP certification programme validates that an airline is managing its sustainability efforts at the highest level and in the broadest context,” commented Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA’s senior vice president for sustainability and chief economist.
“It does this by integrating the monitoring of environmental, social, and governance measures and providing all stakeholders, regulators, and customers with a transparent view of the progress. This comes with the added value of being designed for airlines’ specific needs, making ISP a practical framework to inform decision-making while ensuring that airlines’ efforts are aligned with global best practices.”
Airlines can pursue ISP certifications and modules individually or as a fully-integrated sustainability programme. Each certification will follow a two-year cycle of independent assessments.
Early adopters
At the IATA event in Hong Kong, Air New Zealand and EVA Air were named the first carriers to earn ISP Sustainable Procurement certification, having participated in the programme during its pilot phase.
” By backing IATA’s new ISP, we want to play our part to help lift standards across aviation, and demonstrate that doing what’s right is about doing good business,” said Kiri Hannifin, Air New Zealand chief sustainability and corporate affairs officer.
Jason Liu, chief sustainability officer at EVA Air, added that the certification marks a “key milestone in EVA Air’s sustainability journey, reflecting our commitment to integrating sustainability into procurement and collaborating with partners to build a more resilient supply chain.”
IATA said that the ISP will evolve over time, incorporating input from airlines and industry stakeholders. Plans are also underway to expand its remit to include ground and cargo handlers, airports, maintenance organisations, and caterers. Read more here.
