Sustainability Takes Flight across Aviation Industry
Source: https://news.sap.com/2022/10/sustainability-aviation-industry/
Author: Susan Galer
As airline travel returns to pre-pandemic levels, airplane manufacturers are rethinking sustainability metrics, going deep and wide across the life cycle of millions of parts that comprise the airplanes that people fly in every day. So far, getting to carbon neutral has translated into the pursuit of fuel efficiencies from lighter-weight machine and engine designs, and rightly so – airplanes produce the highest percentage of their CO2 footprint while in flight. Even as these efforts continue, manufacturers see the next horizon in sustainability that touches the entire aviation supply and production chain, from airplane design and production to business operations and beyond. “Companies need to understand the entire CO2 footprint of every part that’s used in the airplane, along with every step of work associated with it, including sourcing and production, quality checks, production stoppages and rework, shipping, and recycling,” said Welte. “A CO2-friendlier part might have an initially higher cost, but offer recyclability options that reduce carbon emissions,” said Welte. “Additionally, as airplane manufacturers explore sustainable fuel alternatives and materials, designers will need to collaborate much more closely with suppliers, sharing data to source the highest quality products that will decrease rework and resultant CO2 emissions. For example, technology like SAP Ariba solutions and SAP Enterprise Product Development helps designers efficiently work together with suppliers to set and meet shared sustainable business benchmarks.”