Sustainability Report 2016

Transcription

Sustainability
Report 2016
A message
from Craig
Contents
2015 was an important year for Virgin Atlantic.
Having moved back in to profitability in 2014, we
continued to post a strong performance in 2015.
Welcome to our 2016 annual Sustainability Report. We structure our report
into seven sections, starting with a section that includes the broad picture of
the civil aviation sector, our key company statistics, 2015 highlights and total
carbon footprint. We then get into the nitty gritty, with five chapters focused
on our environment programme, finishing off with our amazing community
investment programme.
You can sit back and read the whole report or flick through using the navigation
below and on the right. We’ve also made a handy summary for if you’re short on
time here. And for more updates and news throughout the year, make sure you
check out virgin-atlantic.com/changeisintheair
Introduction
Aircraft and fuel
A message from Craig
1
About us
2
Our fleet in 2015
4
Change is in the Air in a nutshell
6
Working together for the bigger picture
8
Our 2015 highlights and achievements
12
How are we doing?
Our carbon footprint
19
Noise29
Ground operations
33
Aircraft waste
45
Design and buying
49
14
Community investment
57
16
Appendix91
A key part of our profitability was the
increasing fuel efficiency of our fleet. We
had nine 787s by the end of 2015 and we’ll
have 13 by the end of 2016. As there's a direct
relationship between fuel and carbon, a more
efficient fleet plays a significant role in striving
to achieve our headline carbon target. These
aircraft join our other twin engine aircraft, the
A330 along with our A340s and 747s. We’re
really excited to be able to talk about our latest
purchase, the Airbus 350-1000. We’ll begin
bringing them online in 2019 and will be able to
boast one of the youngest and most fuel and
carbon efficient longhaul fleets in the world
once all 12 are with us.
For us, the customer has to be at the heart
of everything that we do. And no project
signifies that more than the sustainable
food programme led by our inflight services
team. Working alongside the Sustainable
Restaurant Association, we’re engaging with
all our onboard and Clubhouse caterers across
the world to ensure our food and drinks are
sourced fairly and sustainably.
And who could forget our much loved
community investment programme? Having
worked so well with our charity partner Free
The Children since 2010, we’re thrilled to have
renewed that relationship for another five
years. From the amazing work carried out in
the UK through our We Schools programme,
'Be The Change', to the life changing Adopt
a Village scheme in some of our destinations
past and present. I cannot wait to see what the
next few years bring.
We have exciting times ahead. In September
2016, governments from across the world
will come together to debate on how the
global aviation industry’s growth can be
carbon neutral from 2020. We’re hoping
that agreement can be made, as we truly see
aviation as a part of a more sustainable future.
Craig Kreeger
Chief Executive, Virgin Atlantic
Change is in the Air | 2016
1
5,939,000
passengers flown
Chicago
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Detroit
Boston
New York / Newark
Washington
Atlanta
Orlando
Miami
Cancun
Havana
Antigua
St. Lucia
Montego Bay
Barbados
Grenada
Tobago
76.8%
Glasgow /
Aberdeen2 /
Edinburgh2
1
Belfast
Manchester
London
Heathrow / Gatwick
passenger load factor
Las Vegas
Tokyo5
Shanghai
Delhi
Dubai
Mumbai 4
Hong Kong
Lagos
£22.5
million
total profit
£2.8
billion
Johannesburg
1
Cape Town
3
2015 Seasonal Summer route
2 Little Red route ceasing 26 September 2015
total turnover
About us
Now in our 32nd year, we’re focused
on our mission to ‘embrace the human
spirit and let it fly’. Which is exactly
what our entrepreneurial founder,
Sir Richard Branson, was aiming to
do when he launched Virgin Atlantic
back in 1984.
2
In 2015 we flew nearly
6m customers to over 30
destinations in the US,
Caribbean, Africa and Asia.
And as a business, 2015 was
a transformational year. We
continued to make a profit,
welcoming more super efficient
Boeing 787-9s (787s) to our
fleet. By the end of the year
we had nine in service.
In 2015 there were just over
8,200 people working for
Virgin Atlantic. 4,000 of those
were flight and cabin crew
and over 95% were based
in the UK.
2015 seasonal summer route
Little Red route ceased Sept 2015
3
Cape Town route ceased April 2015
4
Mumbai route ceased Feb 2015
5
Tokyo route ceased Feb 2015
1
2
48,385
million
available seat km
(standard aviation measure of capacity)
84.6%
On time
performance score
3
Our fleet in 2015
By the end of 2015 we had 40 aircraft in our fleet. In
September, we said goodbye to our Little Red Airbus
A320-200s, returning to being a purely longhaul airline.
Our fleet aircraft were, on average, 7.4
years old, over two years younger than
in 2014. This is thanks to our newest
additions, the Boeing 787-9s (known
as our 787s), which numbered nine by
the end of 2015. Our 787s have played
an important part in our strategy to
reduce our CO2 emissions from our
aircraft. Over the next three years, we’ll
be welcoming eight more 787s, which
will replace most of our less efficient
A340-600s.
Airbus 340-600
(28% of fleet)
4
Boeing 747-400
(25% of fleet)
Airbus 330-300
(25% of fleet)
Boeing 787-9
(22% of fleet)
Alongside our 787s, we had ten Airbus
A330-300s, 11 Airbus A340-600s
and ten Boeing 747-400s. And as of
2019, we’re pleased to say we’ll be
welcoming the first of our newest
aircraft, the Airbus A350-1000s, into
our fleet. This twin engine aircraft will
replace our Boeing 747-400s, which
cover our leisure routes, including to
the Caribbean and Orlando. With the
A350-1000s onboard, we’ll have one
of the youngest and most fuel efficient
fleets in the business. Ideal. Current
estimates show that both our 787s
and A350s will be about 30% more
fuel efficient than the aircraft they're
replacing on a per trip basis.
5
Change is
in the Air
in a
nutshell
In this section, we aim to
get you up to speed on
the who, what, why and
how of our Change is in
the Air strategy.
6
The Virgin Atlantic
Sustainability team took on
responsibility for some of
Virgin Holidays' sustainability
initiatives. We think it’s a really
exciting opportunity to align
our programmes around a
number of key issues, while also
considering the different ways
we work as an airline and a
holiday company
Where we’ve been
Where we are
Let’s whisk you back to 2007 when our
sustainability programme ‘Change is in the
Air’ was officially born. Change is in the Air is
made up of two programmes: environment
and community investment. In the environment
programme, our key target has always been the
carbon that’s associated with our aircraft fuel
use. Since then we’ve added a number of other
workstreams including design and buying, noise,
ground operations and waste.
The latest version of our sustainability policy,
signed by our CEO and Leadership Team,
documents our vision, value and targets for
improved environmental performance, as well
as our commitment to our charity partner
Free The Children.
On the community investment side of things,
since 2003 we’ve been collecting spare change
and foreign currency onboard. This ‘Change for
Children’ fundraising became such a success that
we set up the Virgin Atlantic Foundation to be
its official charity. And since 2010, we’ve been
partnering with Free The Children on amazing
projects both at home in the UK and abroad.
And we’re excited about our recent results. As
Craig mentioned on page one, this was a year
of change for Virgin Atlantic. In the sustainability
team it meant regrouping while the company
refocused on its ambition to be the airline most
loved by our customers.
The Virgin Atlantic Sustainability team took
on responsibility for some of Virgin Holidays'
sustainability initiatives. We think it’s a really
exciting opportunity to align our programmes
around a number of key issues, while also
considering the different ways we work
as an airline and a holiday company. It’s early
days in this process – we’ll report more fully
on it next year.
In the meantime, we have access to Virgin
Holidays UK ground data for the first time, so we
can now report on it. And as many of our teams
are moving into a shared office in 2016, we’ll
carry on reporting on our combined ground
operations in the coming years. (Check the
Ground operations section for more
information about our office move.)
Where we’re going
There’s no such thing as resting on your
laurels. As well as continuing to work on our
innovative sustainable fuel development with
our partner LanzaTech, we’re also planning the
deployment of our newest aircraft the A3501000. 12 A350-1000s will join the fleet from
2019, making ours one of the youngest, cleanest,
quietest twin engine only fleets in the world.
At Virgin Atlantic, we are constantly looking at
business decisions through the lens of being a
responsible business. We think this $4.4billion
investment is a clear sign that we see ourselves
with a sustainable future.
7
Working
together for
the bigger
picture
As an airline, we work in a truly international
environment. We rely on lots of organisations
working together in order to get our aircraft
from A to B, as safely and sustainably as possible.
Worldwide
T
he International Air Transport
Association (IATA) represents us at a
global level. In 2009, IATA agreed to
the world’s first set of sector-specific
climate change targets, focussing on CO2.
Improvements in aviation technology,
operations and infrastructure will go a
long way to meet these targets. But in the
meantime, we recognise that we also need
some form of global market-based measure
(MBM) to help us work towards this target.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation
(ICAO)—the UN body governing aviation—
is responsible for developing a global MBM.
The industry is supporting its efforts to
bring this into effect from 2020.
8
Airframe and engine
manufacturers
2010
2020
2050
1.5% p/a fuel
efficiency
Carbon
neutral growth
-50% CO2
Working towards
carbon neutral
growth
Implementation
of global sectoral
approach
Half the net
aviation CO2
of 2005
Through IATA, we’re part
of the Air Transport Action
Group (ATAG). It’s a global
body that brings together
the whole industry to
promote sustainable growth
in aviation. With more than
50 members, the group can
speak with one voice on
issues like climate change
and processes like the ICAO
meetings. You can find out
more about the ATAG here.
Airbus, Boeing, GE and Rolls Royce, our
airframe and engine manufacturers, are
fundamental to helping us deliver on our
objectives. Over many years, they’ve been
innovating improvements to offer the more
efficient, quieter aircraft that are part of our
fleet today and will be in the future.
In 2009, IATA agreed
to the world’s first set of
sector-specific climate
change targets
9
Airports
Air traffic management
We rely on the airports we work with to do
their bit for the sustainability of our operations.
Like us, they run a number of initiatives around
things like local aircraft movements and
providing fixed electrical ground power for our
planes, more efficient buildings, water saving
technologies, recycling and low carbon
ground transport solutions. Our home
airports, London Heathrow, London Gatwick,
Manchester, Glasgow and Belfast all have their
own visions around (and commitments to)
managing their impacts on the environment
and local communities.
Aircraft fuel use accounts for over 99%
of our direct carbon footprint. The routes
we take and the altitudes we fly at
directly affect this. That’s why air traffic
management is so important to us.
Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP)
including NATS in the UK, are working on
better use of airspace design. Helping make
sure aircraft fly the most efficient route
through takeoff, cruise and landing.
To find out what carbon reduction targets
the ANSPs have set, and for the latest
progress, go to the Civil Air Navigation
Services Organisation website.
Our home airports, London Heathrow, London
Gatwick, Manchester and Glasgow all have their
own visions around managing their impacts on
the environment and local communities.
In 2005, Virgin Atlantic was a founding
member of Sustainable Aviation. It’s a long
term programme bringing together key
players in the UK aviation industry including
airlines, airports, manufacturers and the
UK's air traffic management provider. We
work collectively to ensure a sustainable
future for our industry.
2015 was a busy year for Sustainable
Aviation. We released a 10 year progress
report, covering all the great projects that
have been delivered thanks to collaboration
throughout the industry. We also produced
a three minute video explaining all you need
to know about sustainable aviation. To find
out more about it, and these initiatives, head
to sustainableaviation.co.uk
10
11
Our 2015 highlights and achievements
less
CO2
Our chief pilot Dave Kistruck gave
us the lowdown on why our 787s
are helping us reduce our total CO2
emissions year on year in this video.
We improved our CDP score to 97 B.
We’ve improved this score year on year.
Gate Gourmet UK (our catering
partner) achieved all our standards
for sustainable food.
Virgineers' golf day
raised £73,308.14
for charity.
To strengthen our sustainable
procurement work, we joined Sedex, a
not for profit membership scheme that
helps us understand, assess, audit and
improve our supply chain.
We sent 30 lucky young people on
the Virgin Atlantic scholarship trip to our
Free The Children communities in India.
We diverted onboard fundraising to
emergency appeals in Nepal and Syria,
raising over of £50,000.
We helped 12,000 young people
celebrate their active global citizenship
at WE Day, Wembley Arena.
We launched
our ‘787 quiet
movement’ video
onboard. In the
first three months,
20,000 customers
watched it.
12
Our new charity donation
boxes, designed by our
competition winner, were
unveiled at our Heathrow
and JFK Clubhouses.
13
How are
we doing?
Here we show you
what we set out
to do, where we
are now, and what
we’re doing next.
Workstream
What we said we’d do
Reduce CO2 emissions by 30%
per Revenue Tonne Kilometre between
2007 and 2020.
Aircraft & fuel
Noise
= target achieved
What we’re doing next
Our CO2 per Revenue Tonne Kilometre is
0.791 kg. This is a 9% reduction since 2007
but a 1% increase since 2014.
We're continuing to welcome more 787s to our fleet. We're also
investing in new and more efficient future aircraft, with 12 A350s
coming into service from 2019.
Our total CO2e from aircraft operations
is 4,433,713 tonnes.
See page 19 for more information.
Our CO2 per passenger kilometre is 88.9g.
Reduce noise output per aircraft
movement by at least 6dB (75% reduction
in noise energy) on average between
2012 and 2020.
On track. So far we’ve reduced noise output
by 2.25 dB so we’re over a
third of the way.
With eight more 787s on the way, our noise will
continue to reduce.
Reduce UK ground energy use by 20%
between 2008-9 and 2020-21.
Achieved. We’ve already met our target by
reducing total ground energy usage
by 25.4% from 2008 to 2015.
We’re moving offices next year so we’re making sure it’s as
energy efficient as possible.
The average fuel efficiency of our
UK vehicles has increased 61.8%.
The average CO2 of all our vehicles
has decreased by 32.5% since 2009.
We’re focusing on making sure we have the right vehicles for
the job. We’ve already reduced the total number of vehicles in
our fleet and are now looking at electric and hybrid vehicles
as our next option.
Achieved. We’ve reduced our UK water use
by 16.1% since 2012.
We’ve just started metering our Heathrow Clubhouse and we’ve
found it’s a big water user. So we’ll be focusing on that in 2016.
= in progress
= target not achieved
How we’re doing now
Ground
operations
Increase the average fuel efficiency of
our UK vehicles by 45% between 2009
and 2014.
Reduce the average CO2 emissions of
our UK vehicles by 35% between 2009
and 2014.
Reduce our UK water use by 5% between
2012 and 2015.
Reduce the total amount of UK ground
waste we produce by 50% between
2008 and 2015.
Waste
Design & buying
Community
investment
14
Reuse or recycle (or otherwise divert
from landfill) 80% of UK ground waste
generated by Virgin Atlantic UK sites
by 2015.
Missed. We’ve reduced the total UK
ground waste by 35.5% since 2008.
Achieved. We’re recycling or otherwise
diverting 96.2% of UK ground waste
from landfill.
Though we missed our waste reduction target we’re still really
pleased with the progress. It’s a 22% improvement from last year.
We’re now looking at resetting our targets to be more realistic.
Design and source goods and services
in a way that supports human rights
in the supply chain and reduces
environmental impact.
In 2015 we strengthened our design and
buying programme by joining Sedex. We
also continued to require all new and
re-tendered suppliers to sign our sustainable
procurement policy. We've also been doing
great work with the Sustainable Restaurant
Association on our onboard food and drink.
In 2016 we are focused on using Sedex to understand the risks of
both ethical and environmental violations in our supply chain. After
an initial risk assessment, we’ll get our highest risk suppliers to sign
up to Sedex and improve their practises, or otherwise look at using
other suppliers. See page 49 for more information.
Support the welfare of children and
young people through the Virgin Atlantic
Foundation.
Virgin Atlantic distributed the equivalent
of £1,212,420 in our people's time, stuff
and money.
By extending our agreement with Free The Children for the
next five years, we’re building on our successes and will continue to
deliver sustainable change in the communities we support and
we will inspire even more young people to take action and be the
change they want to see in the world.
15
Our carbon footprint
Virgin Atlantic’s total carbon footprint in 2015
was 6.7 million tonnes of CO2e. We measured
this using the Greenhouse Gas Protocol
Corporate Standard guidelines and the UK
government’s latest annual greenhouse gas
conversion factors
2015 was also the first year that we got our
carbon footprint externally verified against
ISO 16064-1 (see the table opposite for what
was and wasn’t verified). You can see BSI's
verification statement here.
Scope 3 emissions rely on some emission
modelling techniques, as well as actual data.
Each year, we continue to improve our data
collection process, in terms of both accuracy
and coverage.
As this is the first year we've taken responsibility
for Virgin Holiday's sustainability programme,
we've also included their ground operation
emissions for the first time. We’ve only included
their Scope 1 and 2 emissions whilst we get a
hold of all the Scope 3 information. Currently
Virgin Holidays carbon footprint is 1 thousand
tonnes of CO2e.
We report emissions that we have ‘operational
control’ over. This means any sources of
emissions for which we have the power to
implement initiatives that would reduce
emissions. That includes fuel we burn, gas and
electricity consumption in properties that we
are directly billed for, vehicles we use and a
range of activities in our supply chain. We don’t
include emissions from sources that are outside
of our control. An example of this is some
airside properties where heating and cooling
is controlled by the airport. As we have no way
of implementing energy saving procedures or
any oversight as to how much energy is being
consumed, this falls outside our reporting scope.
Methodology
In line with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, we
compile our carbon footprint by ‘scope’. This
enables us to calculate and understand the
sources of our direct and indirect emissions,
and to identify our most material carbon
impacts. Our Scope 1 emissions cover those
from fuel burn, natural gas consumption,
ground vehicle use and refrigerants. Scope 2
emissions arise from electricity consumption,
while Scope 3 emissions are our indirect
emissions from sources such as business travel,
employee commuting and waste generation.
Where possible, we use actual data. The only
estimations in this year’s calculations for Scope
1 and 2 emissions are natural gas consumption
in the Clubhouses and Revivals Lounge, and an
uplift for vehicle fuel use where the mileage
was unknown.
16
For the first time ever,
we got all of our Scope 1,
2 and some of Scope 3
emissions externally verified.
We knew we had robust
data collection procedures
in place and we’re really
proud of all the teams
involved in making sure
we got assurance against
ISO 16064-1.
Virgin Atlantic carbon footprint
Type of emissions Activity
Emissions (tCO2e) % of total Verified
Direct
(Scope 1)
Aircraft fuel
4,433,713
66%
Natural gas
2,977
0%
Ground vehicles
363
0%
Refrigerant
358
0%
Subtotal
4,437,411
66%
Purchased electricity
7,341
0%
Subtotal
7,341
0%
Category 1 - Purchased
goods and services
620,444
9%
Unverified
Category 2 - Capital goods
567,584
8%
Unverified
Category 3 - Fuel and
energy-related (WTT)
916,267
14%
Category 4 - 13
189,169
3%
Subtotal
2,293,463
34%
Indirect energy
(Scope 2)
Indirect other
(Scope 3)
Total emissions (tCO2e)
Unverified
6,738,216
17
What our footprint means
Scope 1 emissions
As an airline, the largest proportion of our
emissions by far comes from fuel use (66%
of our overall footprint). Our total aircraft fuel
consumption has fallen from 4,604,122 tonnes
CO2e in 2014 to 4,433,713 tonnes CO2e in 2015
which is a 4% decrease. This is due to slightly less
flying and the introduction of our new 787s.
Scope 2 emissions
Our emissions from electricity consumption
account for less than 1% of our total footprint. It
has increased by 3% in comparison with 2014.
This was due to increased scope, as we began
metering a number of airport properties.
Scope 3 emissions
Scope 3 is the most difficult part of the footprint
to calculate, so we are continuously working on
capturing these emissions more accurately.
As you can see from the table, the largest parts
of our scope 3 emissions are categories 1-3.
This year was the first time we got our carbon
footprint verified and that included category 3
of our scope 3 emissions. The biggest change
to scope 3 emissions this year was category 2 –
capital goods. It increased from 233,437 tonnes
CO2e in 2014 to 567,584 tonnes CO2e in 2015.
This change was down to investing millions of
pounds into new and more efficient aircraft.
Overall footprint
As we have improved the way we report year on
year, we have included emissions that previously
went unreported. Therefore we have seen a
nominal increase in total emissions since 2014
of 2%. However in real operations, we have
continued to reduce our direct CO2 emissions.
Virgin Holidays' carbon footprint
Type of emissions Activity
Emissions (tCO2e) % of total Verified
Direct
(Scope 1)
Natural Gas
172
17%
Ground vehicles
74
7%
Subtotal
246
24%
Purchased electricity
589
58%
Subtotal
589
58%
Category 3 - Fuel and
energy-related (WTT)
183
18%
Subtotal
183
18%
Indirect energy
(Scope 2)
Indirect other
(Scope 3)
Total emissions (tCO2e)
18
1,018
AIRCR FT
AND FUEL
Fuel and carbon efficiency
is our number one
environmental issue.
Target
N
ot only does it account for over 99%
of our direct carbon footprint, it’s
also the single biggest cost to our
business. Continuous improvement
is the name of the game, so we’re always
looking for new fuel efficiency initiatives to
help us achieve our carbon reduction targets.
To reduce
aircraft CO2
emissions by 30%
per Revenue Tonne
Kilometre* between
2007 and 2020
-30%
Progress
Chart 1 shows that we’ve reduced our
CO2 per RTK by 9% since 2007 to 0.791 kg,
although there was a slight increase between
2014 and 2015. Having analysed the numbers
we’ve seen that though we welcomed 787s
to our fleet throughout the year, many
came later in 2015 and so we were still flying
more of our four engine A346 than we had
expected. The way we calculate CO2 per RTK
means we account for people, their luggage
and cargo. In 2015 we flew less cargo than
in previous years. The 787 also has a smaller
cargo hold than the A346 it's replacing, so
we had less space for cargo on a number of
our longer routes. This made us slightly less
efficient overall, as the highest levels of RTK
efficiency are based on the highest loads
of both passenger and cargo.
We’re still confident that we’re heading in
the right direction and as more 787s join our
fleet, we know we’ll see a reduction in our
carbon emissions.
We have forecasted a decrease year on year
up until our target year of 2020, when we
hope to have reduced CO2 per RTK by 30%
since 2007. However, we realise that with 5
years to go, it's going to be tough. We will
reassess all our targets later on in 2016 as
part of our ongoing assessment to make
sure they're the most representative
metrics for the company we are now.
Chart 1: CO2 per Revenue Tonne Kilometre
1
0.9
Baseline: 0.869
0.8
0.7
0.6
Target: 0.608
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
*See our carbon accounting methodology in the Appendix for full details of how we calculate this
20
21
(single occupancy) car – all cars sold in the
EU and US provide CO2 emissions information
in gCO2/km. In the UK, 2015’s average new car
emissions were 122.1gCO2/km*.
Chart 2 shows our CO2 per passenger
kilometre. In 2015 it was 88.9g. That’s a 12%
reduction since 2007 but very similar to last
year’s figure, 89g. It’s an interesting metric,
as it gives an idea of a comparison to a
Chart 2: CO2 per passenger kilometre
100.7
2007
101.5
2008
98.0
2009
93.2
2010
96.3
2011
94.3
2012
91.3
2013
89.0
2014
88.9
2015
85.0
90.0
95.0
100.0
CO2 (grams)
Chart 3 shows our total aircraft CO2e
emissions. In 2015 they were 4,433,713 tonnes.
That’s a reduction of 15% since 2007, and of
4% between 2014 and 2015.
Chart 3: Total CO2e emissions from aircraft operations
5,218,451
2007
5,359,255
2008
4,957,752
2009
4,666,892
2010
4,822,025
2011
4,859,149
2012
4,746,350
2013
4,604,122
2014
4,433,713
2015
1,000,000
3,000,000
CO2e (tonnes)
5,000,000
Read about our carbon accounting methodology for these metrics in the Appendix on page 92.
*Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/new-car-carbon-dioxide-emissions
22
23
Case study
Our
efficient
Captains
Claire Lambert
uel Efficiency
F
Manager
Alongside all of our other fuel saving projects
we’ve been pioneering a novel approach to
working more closely with our pilots on fuel
and carbon efficiency. In an industry first, we
partnered with academics at the University
of Chicago and London School of Economics
to investigate different strategies to improve
the way we engage with Captains on this
important topic. Fuel and carbon efficient
practices are already included in standard
operating procedures (SOPs) which are part
of our pilot manuals. We suspected that we
could get this information to our pilots in a
more timely and useful way, and we wanted
to investigate how we could give feedback to
our pilots on how well they were complying
with these practices.
On each flight, the Captain has overall responsibility for
key decisions, including those around fuel. Therefore,
Captains were randomly allocated to one of four groups:
24
Group 1 – Control
This group carried on with business-asusual, with access only to fuel efficiency
information provided through regular
SOP documentation.
Group 3 – Targets
(information + targets): This group received
the same information as above, along with
information about expected performance
targets for that month.
Group 2 – Information
This group received monthly tailored
feedback on their performance on the
SOP behaviours described below.
Group 4 – Charity
(information + targets + charitable
incentives): This group received the
above information and targets plus a
charitable donation for each target they
met each month.
Following consultations with pilot managers,
union representatives and an experienced
group of Captains, we conducted a
randomised controlled trial to evaluate
information-based approaches to encourage
greater uptake of fuel efficient SOPs among
our Captains.
Each month between February and
September 2014, Captains in Groups 2, 3,
and 4 received letters containing information
about three fuel and carbon efficient
practices: (i) pre-flight Zero Fuel Weight
adjustments (the fuel to be loaded based on
the weight of cargo and passengers carried),
(ii) a range of Efficient Flight techniques, and
(iii) post flight Reduced Engine Taxi-in to the
gate. At the end of the study, the university
team analysed data from over 40,000
flights using data provided by Virgin Atlantic.
Captains also reported anonymously on what
they thought of the project.
The results showed Captains across all
groups – including the control group –
showed significant improvements in the
targeted behaviours, which resulted in
substantial fuel and carbon savings overall.
There was also a small and statistically
significant additional study group effect, so
that the Targets and Charity groups tended
to show the largest improvements. The
university group calculated that the total
savings from the eight-month study period
were 6,828 tonnes of fuel and 21,507 tonnes
of CO2, which also resulted in a welcome
business saving of more than £3.3 million
(still more than £1 million at current fuel prices).
These results demonstrate the importance
of carefully combining behavioural science
and large data with operational procedures,
to reduce fuel costs and CO2 emissions. We
continue to explore and work with our pilots
to make the most of these savings.
25
Sustainable fuels
The new fuel will
have about 65% lower
CO2 emissions than
conventional kerosene.
After a more efficient
fleet and operational
improvements, the next
step change in aviation
carbon reductions is likely to
be around how we power
the aircraft. Namely the fuel.
We've been pursuing solutions in this area for
quite some time. In 2007, we helped found
the Sustainable Aviation Fuels Users Group
(SAFUG) to help stimulate interest and
action on developing a sustainable jet
fuel market. SAFUG’s airline membership
now covers about a third of the world’s
commercial jet fuel demand. Robust
sustainability principles have always
been central to what we do, to avoid
the unintended consequences of earlier
generations of ‘biofuels’. To become a
SAFUG member, an airline’s CEO has to
sign up to SAFUGs comprehensive
sustainability pledge. At Virgin Atlantic, we
also support the Roundtable on Sustainable
Biomaterials (RSB) as the gold standard,
independent certification method to achieve
these standards.
In 2008, we were the first airline to conduct
a biofuel test flight on a commercial
aircraft. When most people thought it was
impossible to fly a commercial aircraft with a
biofuel blend, we were able to get the right
partners together to make it happen. Since
then, different airlines around the world
have collectively undertaken thousands of
commercial flights with biofuel blends
from a variety of sources.
26
China, and the first of its kind anywhere to
receive this key certification for industrial
carbon capture and utilisation.
In October 2014, we were thrilled that HSBC
also saw the potential in the LanzaTech
technology and wanted to join forces with
us on this programme. They have kindly
provided financial support for the next
stage of development: the ethanol to jet
fuel conversion process. It’s a very positive
collaboration, where all parties understand
the fantastic potential. And also the
potential risks.
However, the holy grail is still to find a
commercially viable solution. The sustainable
jet fuel market is at a very early stage
of development and new fuels are too
expensive for routine commercial use. The
big challenge is to scale up new technologies
so we can have a range of affordable fuel
solutions and really get this market going.
We’ve been working with cleantech
company, LanzaTech, since 2011. One of
their approaches is to convert waste carbon
monoxide (CO) gas from heavy industry
facilities like steel mills into ethanol. This
recycles the carbon for a second use, instead
of flaring it to the atmosphere as greenhouse
gas CO2 (or using it much less efficiently
for heat or power, where better renewable
alternatives exist). Through a process
pioneered by LanzaTech, this ethanol will be
processed into a ‘drop in’ jet fuel that can
be used without any changes to aviation
infrastructure. Initial life cycle analysis (an
assessment of the environmental impacts
of the entire process, from fuel production
to end use) suggests that the new fuel will
have about 65% lower CO2 emissions than
conventional kerosene.
So far, LanzaTech have successfully scaled
from lab, to pilot facility, to two successfully
run demonstration scale ethanol facilities in
China. One of these demo facilities in China
was the first RSB-certified biofuel plant in
It’s fair to say there have been a few delays
in the process – common for first-of-a-kind
technologies. But we’re happy to say that
fuel production and testing is underway.
Next steps include applying for ASTM
International approval (formerly the
American Society for Testing and Materials).
ASTM International is a professional body
made up of technical experts, including those
from airframe and engine manufacturers.
They have responsibility for reviewing
and approving fuels for use in commercial
aircraft, to make sure they meet strict safety
and performance standards and perform
as well as – or better than – conventional
fossil fuel.
The next step would be to use the fuel
for a Virgin Atlantic ‘proving flight’. It’s
too early to start setting dates, but that
will be a significant milestone towards
making sustainable aviation fuels a
commercial reality.
27
The best of the rest
Here's some of the other
great stuff we're doing
to reduce our aircraft
emissions:
On the ground
We don’t always
need all our engines
running while we taxi
in from the runway.
Depending on the
aircraft, either one or
two engines can be
shut down for taxi in.
So we’ve updated the
guidance manuals for
pilots across the whole fleet.
Another procedure we’ve updated for our
pilots is to reduce the thrust at a lower
altitude on the climb after takeoff. We still
reach the specified cruising altitude but take
our foot off the gas a little and so don’t use
as much fuel.
Onboard
Every extra gram of weight onboard means
more fuel use and more emissions. So our
teams on the ground do everything they
can to lighten the load.
We regularly complete a full weight audit of
all equipment and products, from torches to
teaspoons, onboard an aircraft ready to go.
As you can imagine, every item and storage
space is fully accounted for. But we counted
and weighed it all to optimise the fuel we
need to carry it.
We’re also looking at how we use water
onboard. By analysing water and passenger
data to understand how much water
we use, we’ve been able to optimise the
amount of potable (drinkable) water we
load into our aircraft tanks.
28
Tip top maintenance
Our engineers identified a calcium build up
in the interior aircraft plumbing and trialled
a descaling technique. They flushed the
system through to break down the calcium
deposits which, as well as saving on weight,
will reduce pipe blockages and improve the
reliability of the toilets. This trial saved 720
tonnes of CO2 in 2014, so we rolled it out
across our aircraft in 2015.
Change the world at
35,000ft
Our customers can take advantage of our
carbon offsetting scheme either when they
book, or online at any time. We’ve partnered
with award winning environmental solutions
specialist The Carbon Neutral Company,
which helps businesses finance renewable
energy and resource conservation projects
all over the world. From wind power to
forest protection to energy efficiency, the
projects we support help make essential
carbon emissions reductions and help some
of the world’s most vulnerable communities.
One of the projects in the Virgin Atlantic
portfolio is the Chengshan Wind Power
project. Located in Shandong Province,
China, the wind farm has a capacity of 50
MW and generates nearly 90,000 tonnes of
annual emission reductions.
N ISE
In 2013 we were the
first airline to set ourselves
robust noise targets
through our Aircraft Noise
Management Strategy.
Since then, we’ve been
busy implementing our
five pledges.
inflight and landing) and multiplying that
by the number of rotations (flights) each
aircraft type made that year. We then take
an average of all those figures.
Target
Pledge 1:
Reduce
noise output per
aircraft movement
by at least
The good news is that we’re
taking in an additional eight
787s within the next three
years, which means our
average noise footprint
will continue to reduce.
6dB*
between
2012 and 2020
Progress
Chart 4: Our average noise per aircraft movement 2004-2020
ur average noise
output per aircraft
movement was
95.32dB in 2015.
This is a reduction of 2.25dB
since our 2012 baseline. So
we’re now 37.5% of the way
to our 2020 target.
102
Baseline
94
Alan Leeks
92
Target
90
VP, Fleet planning
88
86
84
2020
2018
2019
2017
2016
2015
2014
2012
2013
2011
2010
2008
2009
2007
2006
2005
82
*This is a 75% reduction in noise energy on average between 2012 and 2020.
30
A changing fleet
98
96
2004
Chart 4 shows our average
noise per aircraft movement
between 2004 and 2015, as
well as our forecast noise
output to 2020.
100
Decibels (dB)
O
Case study
We’re over a third of the way to our 2020
noise reduction target, but our performance
is slightly behind where we had forecast.
This is due to recent changes in our fleet.
We calculate the average noise footprint
for the fleet by taking the published noise
outputs for each aircraft’s flight (takeoff,
Between 2013 and 2015, we had four
A320s flying our domestic Little Red
service. As small twin engine aircraft, the
A320 has a smaller noise footprint than all
except our 787 aircraft. Therefore it had
been lowering the average noise output
of our fleet. We stopped our Little Red
London-Edinburgh and London-Aberdeen
services in September 2015, having already
closed the London-Manchester route earlier
in the year. This increased the average noise
output of our fleet.
The good news is that we’re taking an
additional eight 787s within the next three
years, which means our average noise
footprint will continue to reduce. Then
from 2019, our new A350s will be replacing
our 747s and some A346s, giving us
even greater noise reductions.
31
Here are our other
pledges set out in our Noise
Management Strategy:
Pledge 4
Pledge 2
Carry on implementing and, where possible,
using more aircraft noise reducing procedures.
We’ve been working with the airports and
our pilots to increase the use of Continuous
Descent Operations (CDO). CDO is an aircraft
descent technique that reduces noise, fuel
use and emissions. In July 2014, Sustainable
Aviation launched a campaign to achieve a
5% increase in CDOs across the UK. This will
deliver over 30,000 individual quieter arrivals
and save around 10,000 tonnes of CO2.
Pledge 3
Continue to work with airports, making
sure we mitigate noise for local communities
and only allow appropriate developments
to take place.
In 2015 we saw a measurable change in our
noise output at Heathrow Airport. Through
the Heathrow Fly Quiet programme, the
airport measures airlines on six metrics
of noise production. These include: noise
certification, arrival operations such as
continuous descent approach, departure
operations and nighttime operations.
In the final quarter of 2015, we jumped up nine
places in the Fly Quiet league table. This was
the single biggest jump of any airline in the
history of the league. And it was due to the
arrival of nine of our 787s. You can read more
about the Fly Quiet programme here.
32
Continue adopting appropriate noise
abatement operational procedures on our
night flight operations (in other words,
help make our night flights quieter). And,
through our company wide focus on ‘On
Time Performance,’ aim to minimise late
running departures that could disturb local
communities at night.
We achieved our targets for on time
performance (OTP) in 2015 (85.5% of flights
departed within 15 minutes of schedule).
And we’ve been making the most of flying
our quietest aircraft, the 787, on routes that
impact communities the most. For example,
we’re now flying the 787 on our Hong Kong
route, which lands early in the morning at
London Heathrow. We also put together a
video to explain how the 787 helps reduce
noise perception on the ground. So far,
20,000 customers have viewed it onboard.
Pledge 5
Engage with the local communities that our
operations impact and carry on working
collaboratively across industry groups.
During 2015, we engaged with organisations
including parliamentarians, government
departments and local groups, on how we
can deliver the commitments set out in our
sustainability strategy. Because we’ll only get
there by working together.
GROUND
OPERAT ONS
Target
-20
%
To reduce UK
ground energy
use by 20%
between 2008
and 2020
This year we decided to change the way we
report ground energy usage. Previously, we
reported our energy figures from April to
March, to be consistent with the reporting
requirements of the CRC (formerly the Carbon
Reduction Commitment) Energy Efficiency
Scheme. However, as the rest of the report
includes data for the 2015 calendar year,
we have decided to report energy use from
January to December 2015.
Chart 5 shows Virgin Atlantic's energy use
(in kilowatt hours, kWh) and CO2e emissions
trend since 2008.
This is the first year we’ve been able to
access Virgin Holidays energy data (Chart 6).
As a much smaller operation than Virgin Atlantic,
Virgin Holidays only used about 2.2m kWh in
2015, which is 13.8% less than 2008. Energy use
did go up in 2015 compared to the previous
year. This is because Virgin Holidays head office
moved to Aero House, but the Galleria was still
in use being refitted ready to be sublet.
Since our baseline year in 2008, we’ve reduced our energy
use by 25.4% and our CO2e emissions by 28.1%
Chart 5: Virgin Atlantic UK ground energy performance
14,000
40 million
12,000
35 million
30 million
10,000
20 million
6,000
Kwh
25 million
8,000
15 million
4,000
10 million
2,000
5 million
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Year
2013
2014
2015
Chart 6: Virgin Holidays UK ground energy performance
1,200
3 million
1,000
2.5 million
800
2 million
600
1.5 million
400
1 million
200
500,000
2008
Key
2009
2010
2011
2012
Year
2013
2014
Kwh
UK ground
energy
This is also the first year we’ve started
reporting on Virgin Holidays ground
operations, so do bear with us. And as for
Virgin Atlantic, we expect our methods to
improve each year as we get used to things.
For now we’re including UK energy, waste and
water data. This is based on usage at Virgin
Holidays head office as well as any shops with
meters they have around the UK. See Tables
1 and 2 in the Appendix for which properties
are included in our results.
Since our baseline year 2008, we’ve reduced
our energy use by 25.4% and our CO2e
emissions by 28.1%. That means we’ve
exceeded our target five years early. Excellent
news. We’re going to set new targets for all
our ground operations in 2016, so look out for
an update next year.
CO2 e tonnes
W
hen we talk about Virgin Atlantic
in this chapter, it includes our
head office (The Office), main
training centre (The Base),
Gatwick and Heathrow hangars, Swansea
contact centre and other airport buildings
that we have meters for. We don’t have data
for our offices overseas and as less than 3%
of our staff work abroad we focus on where
we can have the biggest impact.
Progress
CO2 e tonnes
This year we’ve decided to report on all our ground
operations in one chapter. Ground operations covers
energy use in our buildings, vehicles in our ground
fleet, water use across our UK locations and waste
production excluding aircraft waste.
2015
Electricity and gas, all sites, kWh
Electricity and gas, all sites, tonnes CO2 e
34
35
Ground transport
On the ground, we have a
fleet of 186 vehicles. This
includes pool cars, sales
cars, airport cars and light
commercial vehicles.
+45%
To increase our UK
vehicles’ average fuel
efficiency by 45%
between 2009
and 2014*
-35%
To decrease
the average CO2
emissions of our
UK vehicles by
35% between
2009 and 2014.
Progress
Chart 7 shows how our ground vehicle
fleet’s average fuel efficiency has increased
and CO2 emissions rating has decreased
(that’s an improvement).
The average CO2 emissions of all our vehicles
is 137.6 grams per kilometre. This is a reduction
of 32.5% since 2009, which means we haven’t
quite hit our 2014 target yet. This is due to the
makeup of our fleet. Our cars have met the
target to reduce CO2 by 35% (hitting 36%),
but our light commercial vehicles haven’t
(managing 30.3%). We’ll factor in this fleet
type difference in any new targets we set.
See Table 3 in the Appendix for the average
mpg and CO2 ratings of our cars and light
commercial vehicles.
*We’re aware that some of our ground operations targets have lapsed. We’re holding
off setting new targets until we have completed our review of our strategy in 2016.
36
70
250
60
200
50
150
40
MPG
On average, the fuel efficiency of all our
vehicles is 57.4 miles per gallon (mpg). This
is an increase of 61.8% since 2009, so we’ve
well exceeded our target. Brilliant.
On average, fuel efficiency
of all our vehicles is 54.7
mpg - an increase of
61.8% since 2009
Chart 7: The average fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions
ratings of our ground vehicles
CO2 (g/km)
Target
30
100
20
50
10
Key
CO2
MPG
50
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Year
37
Ground water
We use water for a huge range of things,
from servicing our aircraft in the hangars
to haircuts in our Clubhouse spas.
2012 -5 2015
%
To reduce our UK water use by
5% between 2012 and 2015*
Progress
We’ve reduced our UK water use by 16.1%
since 2012. If you’ve been following our
previous sustainability reports, you’ll have
noticed this big change in our numbers.
We had previously reported that our 2014
water usage was just over 60,000m3. We had
only reduced our water usage by about 2%
and, in all honesty, we were baffled as to why
we weren’t doing better. In 2015, our facilities
team played detective and figured out why
one of our two airport hangars was using so
much water. It turned out that we were being
charged for other people’s water use because
of incorrect metering. While this problem is
being resolved, we’ve had to estimate the
water usage from this hangar and we’ll be able
to present more precise figures next year.
*We’re aware that some of our ground operations targets have lapsed. We’re holding
off setting new targets until we have completed our review of our strategy in 2016.
38
In the meantime, we’ve also
had water meters installed in
a number of our Heathrow
properties such as the
Clubhouse and Gatehouse
(crew check in area) which
give an explanation as to why
our water consumption looks
like it has gone up this year.
We’ve reduced
our water use by
16.1% since 2012.
Chart 8 shows our
water use across all our UK
properties. See Table 4 in
the Appendix for more
detail on our water use.
Chart 8: Virgin Atlantic UK water use
70,000
60,000
Water consumption (m3)
Target
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
2012
2013
2014
2015
39
Targets
-60%
To reduce the total
amount of UK ground
waste we produce by
60% between 2008
and 2020
%
80
To reuse or recycle
(or otherwise divert
from landfill) 80%
of UK ground waste
generated by
Virgin Atlanticmanaged UK sites
between 2008-2015
Ground waste
Whether it’s food waste in our offices
or old carpets from our aircraft, we
follow the waste hierarchy: reduce,
reuse, recycle. We also include another
‘r’: recovery (for electricity or heat
production) when the first three aren’t
an option, since energy recovery is
preferable to landfill. This section will
cover all the waste that we produce in
our UK offices (The Office, The Base
and our Swansea office) as well as the
hangars at Heathrow and Gatwick.
40
By 2015, we’d reduced
the total ground waste
we produced by 35.5%
from our 2008 baseline.
That's a 22% reduction
since 2014.
Progress
By 2015, we’d reduced the total ground
waste we produced by 35.5% from our 2008
baseline. That’s a 22% reduction since 2014.
Disappointingly, it means we haven’t reached
our target of reducing our total waste by 50%
since 2008, but we have made some recent
improvements.
One of the challenges with our reductions
target is that it includes total waste across
all the UK sites we manage.
And as a company, we’ve changed quite
a bit since 2008. We’ve closed a number
of buildings to make our operations more
efficient overall, which is reflected in
reductions in our energy use. While every
effort is made to re-use old furniture, these
moves create ‘project waste’. If we were
able to look at this project waste separately,
our overall waste production would no
doubt be much lower.
41
Chart 10: Virgin Atlantic waste composition
Chart 9: Virgin Atlantic total UK ground waste
1,200
Anaerobic
digestion
(energy from waste)
1,000
3.5%
64.4%
Incinerated
(energy from
waste)
23.3%
600
Key
A year in the life
of the facilities team
Total waste,
tonnes
400
Total diverted
from landfill
(reused, recycled
or recovered)
200
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Year
We’re really pleased that we’ve managed to
smash our target to divert over 80% of our
waste from landfill. So far we’re recycling
64.4% of our waste, incinerating 23.3%
(creating energy from waste), anaerobically
digesting 6.9% and composting 2%.That
means we’re diverting 96.2% of our waste
away from landfill.
This year we’re also able to report on
Virgin Holidays UK office waste. As you can
see from Chart 11, Virgin Holidays waste has
been increasing between 2011 and 2015, to the
point that it’s crept up over the 2008 baseline
year. There were a number of reasons for
this trend including opening new buildings
such as the Hub and moving offices from the
Galleria to Aero House. We're confident that
the move to VHQ will give us the opportunity
to implement a more joined up approach
between Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays.
Sharing best practice on waste management
and other building management infinitives.
Chart 11: Virgin Holidays total UK ground waste
Lee Hill
Composted
2%
Consultant - Contracts
and Sustainability
On the plus side, diversion from landfill has
increased from 44% in 2008 to 96.9 in 2015.
Here’s a rundown of all the sustainability
initiatives on the ground this year.
Though waste has been increasing at
Virgin Holidays, what we do with that waste
is very similar to Virgin Atlantic. As you can
see in Chart 12, Virgin Holidays recycle 68.7%,
incinerate (energy from waste) 23.6% and
anaerobically digest 4.5% of that waste.
At The Base
Chart 12: Virgin Holidays waste composition
80
Anaerobic
digestion
70
(energy from waste)
4.5%
60
Tonnes
Incinerated
(energy from
waste)
50
23.6%
40
Key
30
Total waste,
tonnes
20
Total diverted
from landfill
(reused, recycled
or recovered)
10
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Year
42
Case study
Recycled
6.9%
800
Tonnes
Landfill
2013
2014
2015
Landfill
3.1%
Recycled
68.7%
We were busy at The Base in 2015. We
installed three more efficient, modular boilers.
Each boiler is now made up of three sections.
Therefore, rather than bringing an entire boiler
into operation, we can now ignite, for example,
just 1 full and 1/3 of a boiler. Which avoids
unnecessary gas usage.
We also fitted new LED lighting at The Base.
These LED fittings are much more efficient
than the previous ones and have a greater
spread of light, which has allowed us to reduce
the total number of fittings from 176 to 90.
Between this reduction in fitting numbers and
the improved efficiency, we’ll be saving an
estimated 51,491kWh per year.
43
A year in the life
of the facilities team
Work at Heathrow
Our Heathrow hangar has recently been
fitted with solar window film on all floors.
This film rejects 80% of heat gained from
outside, reducing temperature peaks during
summer months. This eases the demand on
our air-con system.
We’ve also been working with Heathrow
airport to install new water meters at three
of our locations there. This will enable us to
assess consumption and make improvements
during 2016. As the Clubhouse is the biggest
user of the three, in 2016 we’ll focus on
making water savings there.
Recycling our uniforms
To make sure we recycle as much as
possible, we never give our cabin crew
a replacement uniform item until
they’ve returned their old one. Some
of the more security-sensitive items
are shredded and turned into
cleaning cloths or felt materials
for automotive soundproofing.
Buttons are snipped off and either
used as spares or melted down and
recycled into new ones. In 2015, we
recycled 6.1 tonnes of uniforms via
Wilcox. Wilcox reclaim and remodel
clothing for use in the UK
or for export to the
Eastern Europe,
Asia and Africa.
44
Our new office
In 2016, some of the Virgin Atlantic and
Virgin Holidays teams will be moving in
together and we’re all getting excited. Just a
stone’s throw away from The Base in Manor
Royal, Crawley, our new building, 'The VHQ'
has already been rated excellent by BREEAM
(BREEAM is the world’s leading sustainability
assessment method for masterplanning
buildings). Sustainable features include a full
building management system, LED lighting
and heat-pump technology. Look out for next
year’s report where we’ll be able to share
more information on how it’s performing.
Ground transport
Last year, our main aim for our ground
vehicles was to get our fleet structured more
effectively. In 2015, we reduced the total
number of Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Holidays
cars and vans from 243 to 205. During this
process, we tried to make sure we were
using more efficient vehicles too. We’re now
focusing on the types of vehicles we need. This
could include re-leasing smaller, more efficient
vehicles and introducing electric/hybrid.
AIRCRAFT
W STE
Managing aircraft waste can be tricky, but we like
a challenge. Unlike UK ground waste, our aircraft
waste can be anywhere in the world at any time.
And we have limited space onboard to store
recycling, with different regulations on what can
be done with waste in every country.
Progress
We broadly split our aircraft waste into
three categories:
1. Food and catering waste
This waste is highly regulated as we’re flying
internationally. Governments have strict laws
about what can happen to waste that’s been
in contact with meat and dairy. We call this
waste ‘CAT 1’ and the standard rule is that CAT
1 waste must be deep landfilled or incinerated.
2. Cabin waste
This is the litter that gets left behind on flights.
It can include recyclables like newspapers,
plastic cups, cans and other bits and pieces.
Historically, this waste has been treated as
CAT 1 even if it doesn’t contain meat and dairy.
Most of this waste heads back through the
airports and there has been a lot of work
undertaken in the last few years to tackle it.
Through industry groups like Sustainable
Aviation, airports like Manchester, Heathrow
and Gatwick are all carrying out trials on how
to recycle this cabin waste, rather than letting
it be landfilled or incinerated.
3. High value recyclables
The final waste category is quite unique to
Virgin Atlantic. It’s the potentially recyclable
things that our cleaners separate out in the
cabin, including headsets, amenity kits,
blankets and batteries. See the case study
below for a full update on this category.
Old headset sponges are transformed
into equestrian training centre surfaces.
We’re all in it together
Over 15 years ago, a bright spark at
Virgin Atlantic noticed the growing amount
of waste produced by onboard products and
saw an opportunity to divert this from landfill.
So he set up MNH Sustainable Cabin Services
and we’ve been working with the company
ever since.
46
Chart 13: Cabin waste recycling composition
In 2015, MNH diverted from landfill all
the high value recyclables they received,
via stringent raw material segregation and
recycling and sourcing alternative secondary
uses for bulk materials that do not fit
traditional recycling waste streams.
MNH recycled our headsets, amenity kits,
plastic bottles, old magazines, menus and
blankets – along with some other random
stuff. 93.6% of the waste MNH received was
recycled (See Chart 13 for more information),
with the remaining 6.4% going to incineration
for energy recovery.
MNH is passionate about greener business
practices and since 2008, they’ve also helped
us reduce the total amount of cabin waste we
produce by 40%. See Table 6 in the appendix
for a full break down of the waste streams.
Together, we’ve achieved
this through:
–more innovative product design
that enables unused products
to be put back into service
–smarter loading of products,
in line with our load factors
and customer behaviour
Fabrics
0.8%
Card/paper
Waste to energy
6.4%
Electrical
52.7%
10.1%
Plastics
7.1%
Amenity kits
22.9%
47
Less catering waste
Around the world, our airline catering
suppliers manage the waste produced by
our onboard food service. As mentioned,
CAT 1 regulations mean we’re restricted with
what they can do. As well as the handling
and sorting challenges mentioned earlier, the
waste from our aircraft also mixes with that
of other airlines at the airport, which means
these airlines must be fully compliant with
any sorting procedures too.
It also means that we’re unable to retrieve
accurate data for our own waste volumes: the
data in Table 7 in the Appendix is estimated
by our catering company as a share of the
waste they handle for a number of their airline
customers. The table covers our services at
our UK airports, including Little Red (which
ended its service in September 2015).
48
As a UK based airline
where most of our flights
come into the UK, this
represents more than
50% of our operations
worldwide. For the
time being until a more
progressive solution is
found, we meet our legal
obligations by sending
all the food waste (and
disposable items that
have been in contact
with food) from London
Heathrow and London
Gatwick to an ‘energy
from waste’ facility. There,
the waste is incinerated
for electricity generation.
D SIGN
AND BUYING
For some time now, we've
been making sure any new
fleet decisions reflect our
drive to improve fuel and
carbon efficiency.
In order to serve our
nearly six million customers
a year, we have to do a lot
more than fly aircraft.
A
s well as transporting our customers
around the world, we carry cargo,
serve millions of meals and buy a
huge array of things, from aircraft
and fuel to headsets and napkins.
To do this, we work with over 4,500 suppliers
worldwide. Our goal is to collaborate with
them to improve the social and environmental
profile of the products and services we design
and buy. It’s a big task, and a continually
evolving one.
Our Sustainable
Procurement Policy
Above:
Our reusable
Virgin Atlantic
shopping bag.
50
We require all our new and renewing
suppliers to sign up to our Sustainable
Procurement Policy. This sets out a range
of conditions they must meet, including
human rights for people in our supply chains,
environmental standards and business ethics,
such as our zero tolerance attitude towards
bribery and corruption. You can read our
Sustainable Procurement Policy here.
Our Sustainable Design
and Buying Programme
Since 2012, our procurement and sustainability
teams have collaborated to develop special
training for Virgin Atlantic teams.
The training focusses on what to watch out
for when designing or buying products or
services for our company. Our teams actively
help raise company-wide understanding and
awareness of what our people can do to make
a positive difference. Not least by building
key sustainability criteria into new contracts
with suppliers.
At the end of 2015, we decided to improve our
supplier practices further by joining Sedex.
Sedex is a not for profit membership scheme
that helps companies understand, assess,
audit and improve the working conditions of
people around the world.
With the Sedex approach, suppliers
provide information on their employee
working conditions.
They can also share with potential buyers
any compliance audits that their global
buyers or other independent auditors have
already undertaken. This means suppliers are
not inundated with multiple requests for
similar details.
By being a Sedex member, we can quickly
gain more of an insight into what we know
and don’t know about our suppliers, and
what next steps we can take to champion
the good, or improve the not-so-good.
Membership also gives us a much better
understanding of the risks and opportunities
in our supply chain. We’ll use this information
to focus our efforts on key suppliers,
making sure we have good evidence of the
practices we demand in our Sustainable
Procurement Policy.
In addition, Sedex will help us with new legal
obligations under the Modern Slavery Act.
We’ll be publishing a full supply chain report
alongside our Sustainability Report next
year. As well as the above, we also focus our
efforts on key areas, like efficient aircraft (see
page 4), sustainable fuels (see page 26), and
sustainable food.
51
Virgin Atlantic
and the Sustainable
Restaurant Association
In 2013, we initiated an industry first
partnership with the Sustainable Restaurant
Association (SRA), which continues to go
from strength to strength.
This programme aims to ensure our
onboard food and drink is ethically sourced
and minimises negative effects on the
environment .
All our caterers worldwide are required
to work towards a comprehensive set of
sustainability criteria (detailed here), provide a
statement of assurance that they meet these
standards, and confirm compliance through
an annual SRA audit.
This approach aims to ensure that we,
and our customers, can be confident:
–The farmers who grow the food we
serve get fair terms of trade and good
working conditions
–The farming of the products we buy
supports biodiversity and does not
contribute towards deforestation
–The fish and seafood we serve is from
sustainable sources
–The animal products we serve, whether
meat, dairy, eggs or fish, are derived
from livestock that has been treated
more humanely
–The catering staff who cook and deliver
the food we serve enjoy internationally
recognised rights at work
–The caterers that we work with are
committed to a process of continual
sustainability improvement.
52
be farmed and sold not only to us, but also into
As of the end of January 2016, we were
delighted to confirm that our biggest supplier, the wider market.
Gate Gourmet UK – which covers 51% of our
In the last few months we’ve also moved to a
flights – met all of our sustainability standards.
new free range egg supplier in India, to MSC
They’ve also gone further, using the above
certified fish across the Caribbean and we’ve
criteria to inform the development of their own
introduced our Beijing and South African
new sustainable procurement policy that will
caterers to higher welfare pork and beef
apply to all Gate Gourmet UK suppliers. They’ve
producers.
significantly improved their own operational
business practices around sourcing, people and Soy, palm oil and beef supplies represent
the environment. And as a result, they’ve been a high deforestation risk in some parts of
awarded a 2 (out of 3) star SRA rating for the
the world. Therefore, our teams have been
routes they fly with us
working with our
from the UK (think
caterers to get more
the Michelin Star of
All our caterers worldwide
transparency in
sustainable food).
supply chains,
are required to work towards our
removing soy and
Across our worldwide a comprehensive set of
palm oil ingredients
network, the SRA
where possible. For
programme continues sustainability criteria
the ingredients we
to make gains across all
still use, we’ve also
our caterers. Our hope is that we can continue
worked with the Green Palm and Round
to build sustainability capacity in our operations
Table on Responsible Soy to calculate the
as well as the wider supply chain. For example,
total quantity of Soy and Palm in our supply
fairtrade bananas are not currently available in
chain. And we purchase equivalent credits for
India to serve our flights. So the SRA is working
responsible production across all operations.
with Fairtrade India to set up the first Indian
Fairtrade banana cooperative. This opens up the We expect that all our caterers will meet our
potential for a whole new supply and demand
robust sustainability standards by the end of
system in India, as the Fairtrade bananas would
2016 and we’ll report more next year.
53
Photo © 2012 John Dibbs
Case study
Our Ethical
Carriage
of Cargo policy
Karen Kerslake
Head of Cargo Marketing
You may remember that 2015 was a busy year
for cargo departments across the aviation
industry. The story of Cecil, the lion who was
hunted and killed in Zimbabwe, focussed the
spotlight on whether airlines do and should
carry hunting trophies as cargo.
54
At Virgin Atlantic, we’re proud to have had a
robust Ethical Carriage of Cargo Policy that
addresses what our aircraft carry as freight
since 2012. This has been continually reviewed
and updated to reflect leading practices.
For example, we don’t carry live animals or
commodities without a valid import/export or
CITES (Convention on International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora)
licence. CITES is an international agreement
between governments that aims to ensure the
international trade of wild animals and plants
does not threaten their survival.
Virgin Atlantic Cargo has chosen to refuse
a number of commodities outright, such
as shark fins, ivory, blue fin tuna, hunting
trophies, fur products and mammals destined
for laboratories or for tourism. We may also
We’re proud to have a
robust Ethical Carriage of
Cargo Policy that addresses
what our aircraft carry
as freight since 2012.
refuse to carry live animals or commodities
that can be legally traded, but which
compromise our sustainability values and
commitments.
Senior Virgin Atlantic Cargo people, and
sometimes our Leadership Team, decide
what we accept for carriage. We also make
sure everyone at Virgin Atlantic, and our third
party suppliers, know which commodities are
expressly excluded from carriage and which
need authorisation.
55
Here are some of the
other cool projects going
on in our design and
buying workstream:
One Water
In 2010, we launched our partnership
with One Water, a British company that
donates 100% of its profits to fund clean
water projects in some of the world’s
poorest communities. By stocking One’s
ethical bottled water onboard, we’ve
so far raised £229,000 to provide safe,
clean water to over 30,000 people.
We’re thrilled that our partnership
with One is having such an impact. In
2015 alone, Virgin Atlantic raised over
£80,000 for One, which will support their
new programme in Rwanda. By 2018,
every school, clinic and household in
the country’s Rulindo district will have a
clean water supply, forever. We are proud
to be part of that story, delivering lasting
change to communities in need.
Our current threads
We redesigned our
latest uniforms
in partnership with the
Vivienne Westwood
design team. As well as
capturing our signature
style, the new uniforms
also showcase
some strong
sustainability
credentials. The
suits our male
crew and pilots
wear are made
from 24%
recycled (from
plastic bottles)
polyester.
56
Chocolate that does good
In 2015 we started offering Original Beans
chocolate onboard. Original Beans are an
awesome company that have developed a
local cacao industry in the region around
the Virunga national Park in eastern Congo.
This includes strengthening women’s
groups with seedlings, training, and a local
radio program by women for women. They
just picked up the Soil Association Best of
Organic Market award and we couldn’t be
prouder to work with them.
Sustainable products for
Retail Therapy
Through our partnership with Free The
Children (you can read more about it in
the Community Investment section next),
we became aware of an amazing initiative
called ‘Me to We Artisans.’ Women in Kenya
(known locally as ‘Mamas’) make beautiful
beaded jewellery, which we sell onboard. In
2015, we sold 3,528 artisan items, equating
to £39,296. Of the profits, 50% goes to the
women producers and 50% goes back
to Me to We, a social enterprise, which
reinvests in community projects.
Vera now 75% recycled
Our onboard entertainment magazine
Vera got a sustainability makeover. It’s
now printed on 75% recycled and 25%
managed forests paper.
CO
UNITY
INVESTMENT
Community investment is a key part of our Change
is in the Air sustainability programme. Through this
programme, we’ve engaged local communities in some
of the destinations we fly to, past and present. We’ve
helped them to build a brighter, more sustainable future.
W
e’ve done this through the
Virgin Atlantic Foundation, a UK
registered charity we set up in
2003. With funds raised through
our community investment programme, the
foundation supports projects that have the
welfare of children and young people at
their centres.
(Total after deduction of administrative fees)
58
Since 2010, Free The Children has been
the charity partner we’ve worked with
almost exclusively to administer these
funds. This much-loved partnership has
inspired Virgin Atlantic people, their
partners and customers to raise millions of
pounds for projects in the UK and our
worldwide destinations.
As well as raising money for Free The
Children, we support other charities with
their own fundraising activities where we
can. In 2015, we donated 106 flight tickets
to be auctioned for valuable funds for these
charities. We also donated flights to Virgin
Unite, the entrepreneurial foundation of the
Virgin Group. And, where possible, we helped
fly children for free to other countries for lifesaving medical treatment.
59
Our generous
customers
In 2003, we launched our
‘Change for Children’ appeal
onboard, making us the
first airline to collect our
passengers’ spare foreign
currency on flights.
Since then, thanks to our wonderful
customers and cabin crew, we’ve raised over
£6.4m onboard in total. In 2015 alone, we
raised £633,404.
On a monthly basis, our Change for Children
funds are mostly used for projects with our
charity partner Free The Children. But during
an international crisis, we may redirect them
to Save the Children in response to real time
emergency relief situations. For example, we
raised £35,504 for the Nepal appeal in May,
and £16,432 for the Syria appeal in September
each over a ten day period.
Our generous customers also help support
Free The Children projects by donating their
Flying Club miles. Between 2011 and 2015, they
donated over 20m miles. This has allowed
young people from the UK to participate in
our Scholarship Trip to India. The miles also
help Free The Children people attend events
as keynote speakers, inspiring more young
people to make a positive change.
60
61
Our people
As well as working exceptionally hard at
their day jobs, our people are adventurous,
caring and passionate about raising money
for good causes.
In 2015, they raised a total of £243,077 for
Free The Children and other charities close
to their hearts. There were bake sales, raffles,
competitions and golf days. And many
also donated the pennies from their
monthly salaries.
“It all started in 2008
with a climb to Mount Fuji.
Since then, over a thousand
of our people have joined
us for different challenges.
It speaks volumes for that
Virgin spirit: have fun,
do good.”
Captain Chris Hall
Of course, they also raised sponsorship for
our legendary ‘adventures’. Thanks to Captain
Chris Hall, every year our people, their friends
and family, are given the chance to participate
in our amazing ‘adventures’ programme:
running, cycling, climbing, and even tuktukking across the world to raise valuable
funds for charity.
Overall in 2015, our people also donated
the equivalent of £117,420 in volunteer time.
This included volunteering at WE Day UK
(our annual event with Free The Children)
and within our international Free The Children
communities.
Our 2015 adventurers
313 of our people completed
a range of challenges:
72
India Rickshaw
62
35
Cycle SA
62
Cycle Paris
62
Cycle USA
15
Trek China
67
Morocco climb
63
Case study
Old phones
= new PCs
Nikki Reffell
Technology
Every year, our sustainability
team co-ordinates a staff
fundraising campaign. In
2015, we asked our people
to support ‘Learn for Life.’
T
he campaign focused on raising
funds to renovate Verdara, a
secondary school near our three
‘Adopt a Village’ communities in India:
Udawad, Kamoda and Kalthana.
We’d already helped build and furnish primary
schools in these communities. And we wanted
to give children there the opportunity to
continue their education past primary age.
Verdara was their nearest secondary school,
but because the infrastructure was in very
poor shape, Free The Children worked to
demolish the existing classrooms and build
and furnish new ones.
350 students were enrolled at the existing
school, but Free The Children foresaw
enrolment increasing to up to 500
students following the first year of this
refurbishment project.
Thanks to our generous teams and their
fundraising efforts, the school will now
provide a safe and stimulating learning
environment for students. It will help
motivate them to get a good education,
rather than finding work after they finish
primary school.
64
Nikki from our technology team introduced
mobile phone recycling across our offices and
locations in the UK.
Our target was £103,500, made up of the following project areas:
£14,000
Brain food
Connecting
the world
To build a kitchen.
Because learning
needs fuel.
To build a computer lab.
Then students can start
learning for their future.
£25,000
Tools to teach
Loos for all
£16,000
Four separate girls’
and boys’ latrines.
Pretty basic, but makes
a huge difference.
£6,000
Rooms to learn
£37,000
To build and furnish
three classrooms. Because
teachers need a place to
teach, right?
£6,000
To give our students
the supplies and materials
they need. It’s amazing
where a textbook, pen
and paper can take you.
“In 2014, the technology services team
renegotiated the company mobile contract to
a new, more cost effective provider. Following
this, we launched a project to exchange
existing mobiles over a certain age for these
new devices. This meant that more than 600
company devices were returned to us. Many
of these were working, but perhaps didn’t
feature the latest smartphone technology.
We decided to put the returned handsets to
good use by recycling them with Fonebank
(CM Recycling). Not only does this have an
obvious environmental benefit, but also
helped us raise valuable funds for Verdara’s
computer lab.
Training
We also decided to open up the campaign
to staff for their personal devices, offering
a place in a prize draw for every phone
returned. This boosted numbers to 1,012
recycled to date. The campaign has inspired
the technology team to recycle laptops and
other computers too, and contribute to Free
The Children through its Christmas Raffle.”
To offer teachers the training
they need to give students
the best education possible.
Because without that the
school won’t be a school.
“So far we’ve raised £1,668
from phone recycling, plus
£477 from our raffle.”
Overall, we’re thrilled to have beaten our target, raising £110,465
65
Our charity partner:
Free The Children
Virgin Atlantic is extremely proud to
have Free The Children as a charity
partner. Since our partnership began
in 2010, we’ve donated £4,807,760
to their projects at home and abroad,
through onboard donations and
staff fundraising.
Founded in 1995, Free The Children has grown from a
small group of Canadian students fighting for children’s
rights, to a family of organisations working in 11 countries.
Today, with its sister organisations WE Day and Me to WE,
Free The Children empowers people to change the world
at home and abroad. They engage with 2.3m young people
worldwide, freeing them from the notion that they’re
powerless to make change. And overseas, Free The Children
implements a sustainable development model called Adopt
a Village, empowering local community members to break
the cycle of poverty.
Free The Children
co-founder Craig Kielburger
visiting a firework factory in
India, and right, aged 12 with
his school friends.
66
67
The St Mary and All Saints School
‘sleep out’ raised awareness around
homelessness in the community.
Kick-started using WE Day resources, their
first social action campaign was a huge
success. From a class of just 27, the students
collected an amazing 537 food items to
donate to their local food bank.
Free The Children and WE Day's year long
programme, WE Schools
Thanks to Change for Children, our onboard charity
appeal, we fund a domestic programme for WE Schools
called ‘Be The Change.’
T
his programme is aimed at children
aged between 7 and 18, and it
enhances the curriculum by providing
teachers with free educational
resources. Through inspiring assemblies and
action planning workshops, the programme
empowers students to discover the causes
they care about and take action to make
a difference. It means young people can
prove that by taking small steps and tangible
actions, the world can become a better place.
68
Since 2010, Virgin Atlantic Foundation funds
have enabled Free The Children to visit 400
schools and speak to over 90,000 primary
and secondary students across the UK.
Table 8 of our Appendix details our UK
schools programme performance.
Each year, we also offer students the
opportunity to apply for one of 30
Virgin Atlantic international scholarship
trip places. To date, 150 young people have
been awarded a place on the 18 day ‘trip of
a lifetime’ to a community in India. There
they meet local people and gain first hand
experience of how their actions can help
create real change.
St Mary and
All Saints School
Catching the volunteer bug, the entire
school followed in the Year 5 class’s
footsteps to do a school ‘sleep out’. With 135
students sleeping rough on a cold January
night, this was a memorable way to raise
awareness around homelessness in their
community. “It really made me appreciate
having a house and somewhere to sleep at
night, and it brought us all closer together,”
said a Year 5 student.
As a new teacher at St Mary and All Saints
Primary School in Reading, Halli Florence
wanted to jump straight in with fun,
educational extracurricular activities to
engage her Year 5 class.
“It made me appreciate having
a house and somewhere to
sleep at night...”
She got in touch with WE Day to book a
Be The Change assembly and workshop.
Led by Jacob, one of WE Day's charismatic
speakers, this visit inspired Halli’s Year 5
students to raise awareness of two
causes close to their hearts: hunger
and homelessness.
St Mary and All Saints School have seen first
hand how the Be The Change programme
has increased student confidence and
created a cohesive community within the
school. Consequently, all teachers are now
using Be The Change lesson plans for their
citizenship lessons.
Case study
WE Day
2016
Organised by Free The Children, WE Day is a
celebration of young people making a difference
in their local and global communities.
A
cross 14 cities in North America
and the UK, WE Day brings
together tens of thousands of
young people to celebrate a year
of social action. Tickets to WE Day can’t
be bought. Young people earn an invite
by taking at least one local and one global
action as part of WE Schools, the year-long
educational programme that provides
them with tools to create transformational
social change.
70
Virgin Atlantic has been a co-title
supporter of WE Day UK since it began in
2014. On 9 March 2016, 12,000 students and
teachers from schools across the UK arrived
at The SSE Arena (formerly Wembley Arena)
in London for the third year, for a fantastic
celebration of positive change. There
was an incredible line up of speakers and
performers, including singer and actor Rita
Ora and Academy® Award-winning actor and
devoted social activist Marlee Matlin. And all
ages were encouraged and inspired to take
action. This year, we invited three students –
Trae, Deng, and Salina - who had taken
part in the 2015 scholarship trip to India, to
present their experiences on stage to the
young audience. They did an incredible job.
71
Case study
India scholarship trip
Some experiences you’ll
never forget. Like making
bricks with your own hands
to help build a school that
will help educate an entire
community and lift them
out of poverty.
T
hanks to our international scholarship
trip, 150 young people have been able
to experience how Free The Children’s
‘Adopt a Village’ international
development approach is changing lives now
and for the future.
“WE are the next generation,
the leaders of tomorrow”
In 2015, 30 students travelled to India as part
of the Virgin Atlantic scholarship trip. The
students worked hard to undo the damage
caused by the recent monsoon season. And
they created a functional new school for
children in the local area to get the education
they need. Throughout the trip, the students
not only worked with each other, but directly
with the community too.
72
Above and left: Some of the students who took part
in the scholarship trip, helping the local community
by building a school that will help educate the
children for years to come.
“We were immersed into the local culture,”
says Trae. “It wasn’t like we were visiting
their country – we were part of their family,
lived with them, and experienced what their
lives were like. It was a priceless experience.”
It’s important to Trae that he spreads the
inspiration he found in India, showing
everyone that they can make a difference.
As he puts it, “WE are the next generation,
the leaders of tomorrow.”
73
Free The Children’s
international development
programme: Adopt a Village
Our results with
Free The Children
2010-2015
We’re proud to have
partnered with Free The
Children since 2010. Together,
our international development
funds have helped men,
women and children from our
eight funded communities
lead better lives.
‘Adopt a Village’ is Free The Children’s
holistic, sustainable development
model that empowers communities
to lift themselves out of poverty.
Through this, we’ve provided funds to
support eight communities across Kenya,
Ghana, India and rural China. The aim is to
help them become self-sustaining and rely
less and less on foreign aid.
As one funding cycle has now ended, we
wanted to take stock and look back on all the
incredible things we’ve achieved thanks to the
generosity of our customers and people.
Poverty has many causes, so Adopt a Village
targets five key areas vital to sustainable
development: Education, Clean Water and
Sanitation, Health, Agriculture and Food
Security, and Alternative Income and
Livelihood. By addressing these with holistic,
long-term approaches, communities are
transformed, breaking the cycle of poverty.
1
74
Education
2
So we’ve rounded up everything we’ve
supported between 2010 and 2015. This
means that even if a project has run from
2010 to 2014, we’ve included the overall impact
here to show you how it’s grown over time.
Clean water
and sanitation
3
Health
4
Agriculture and
food security
1,741
38
children
in school
new
classrooms
4,700
community members
given drought-resistance
training to support
the resilience of rural
subsistence farmers
1,422
5,041
people with access to
regular healthcare
people now benefit
from community
gardens
1,553
students have received
health training
896
women have received
financial training
7
13,481
clean water systems
constructed
949
women have now
started their own
business
people have access
to clean water
5
Alternative income
and livelihood
75
Case study
Kenya
Free The Children has
worked in Kenya since
2002. It’s dedicated to
improving the lives of
indigenous communities
throughout the Maasai
Mara region in the Narok
South District.
In addition to support for essential
infrastructure, Virgin Atlantic has also helped
improve the quality of education in schools.
We’ve equipped teachers with greater skills
and provided students with education on
preventative health and sanitation practices
that keep them healthier and better able to
participate in classes.
Sikirar
Total funds: £189,000
Timing of project: 2010-2014
Population: 990
Adult Population: 545
Children under 18: 445
Sikirar is a rural community in Narok South
County, Kenya, home to both Maasai and
Kipsigi ethnic groups. Free The Children began
working in Sikirar when droughts made food
security a huge challenge for the community.
Sikirar also faced issues around gender
inequality, high rates of illiteracy and no
access to healthcare or clean water.
Today, Sikirar is flourishing. We’ve successfully
implemented all five pillars of the Adopt a
Village model.
+102%
student
enrolment
2010 = 270 pupils 2015 = 545 pupils
100%
+90%
heathcare
access for all
access to
clean water
2010 = 10% have access 2011 = 100% have access
+154%
increase in
yearly income
2010 = £172.50 2015 = £438.86
76
77
Ngosuani
Population: 1,881
Adult Population: 1,341
When Free The Children began working with
Ngosuani, a rural Kenyan village, it discovered
a range of challenges, including severe illness,
malnutrition, early marriage, alcoholism and
high unemployment rates.
Between 2011 and 2015, we worked in
partnership with the Ngosuani community
to engage leaders, teachers, parents and
students to work towards a better quality of
life. Together, we’ve achieved our goals of
improving the quality of education and access
to water, healthcare, and alternative income
streams. This has empowered the community
to lead happy and healthy lives.
Five classrooms have been built and outfitted.
The school now has 15 teachers, a third of
whom are women giving students strong,
motivating female role models. In the 2014
Kenya Certificate of Primary Examinations,
Ngosuani students achieved the highest score
of all Free The Children’s 15 Adopt a Village
schools in Kenya.
78
The community now has access to local clean
water and better healthcare and hygiene.
They’ve established three women’s groups,
one men’s group, one youth group and one
Village Savings and Loans Association. And the
average yearly family income has increased
from £47 in 2011 to £185 today.
“I feel there is a future in my community as compared to
before. Classrooms are being built and women are being
mobilised to groups for social economic purposes. This is
a true sign of real growth.”
Other Kenya projects
firewood usage by 50%, helping the
environment and saving villagers money.
Since 2012, we’ve also had 502 smokeless
chimney cookers installed in Kenyan
households. The build up of smoke from
traditional stoves causes widespread
respiratory illness and these cookers are
a simple, low cost solution. They also reduce
Naserian, school-girl, Ngosuani
In addition, we supported the creation of
Baraka Farm in 2012, a new farm and farming
school located next to the Baraka Health
Centre. The entire population of Sikirar has
access to it. And it’s supported some 30,000
men and women in learning about cattle
rearing, dairy production, drip irrigation,
crop rotation and more. This has helped
them minimise the impact of frequent
and severe droughts.
79
Case study
India
India is particularly
special to Free The Children,
because that’s where the
story started. In 1995,
12-year old Craig Kielburger
travelled to the country to
witness child labour first
hand. Three years later, with
a small group he'd founded,
he set out to build a rescue
home in India for freed
child labourers.
Today, Free The Children’s Indian Adopt a
Village projects take place in the Udaipur
and Rajasmand district in the northern
desert state of Rajasthan. Rajasthan suffers
from lots of environmental, economic and
social crises. Girls in India, specifically among
tribal populations of Rajasthan, experience
a great number of gender disparities and
have the highest female illiteracy rate in the
entire country.
In 2011, we joined forces with Free The
Children to support communities in Rajasthan
and provide access to education for the
indigenous and most marginalised people.
Udawad
Population: 817
When Free The Children began working
with the remote, rural village of Udawad, it
had a long history of social exclusion and
marginalisation. Due to poor public support
and intervention, there was a lack of quality
schools, qualified teachers and educational
resources. Basic medical services weren’t
available because access to health centres or
health care workers was scarce.
Since partnering with the community, we’ve
helped provide basic infrastructure. And we’ve
worked with the Government of Rajasthan
to build teaching capacity through teacher
training programmes. As a result, the teacher
to student ratio has decreased and parents are
more involved in their children’s education.
100%
1
+89%
healthcare
access for all
community garden created
to benefit 1,004 people
student
enrolment
2010 = 65 pupils 2015 = 123 pupils
80
81
Kamoda
Kalthana
Population: 862
Population: 1,445
Adult Population: unknown
Children under 18: unknown
When we started working in Kamoda, a very
small village within Rajasmand District, there
was only one classroom, which was in very
poor condition. We’ve since built, furnished,
and outfitted two more classrooms, resulting
in a 193% increase in student enrolment. In
2013, Free The Children hosted a community
health fair. A whopping 286 visitors came
to learn about health, clean water and
disease prevention through activities and
demonstrations. At the end of the event,
every participant received a free medical
consultation and treatment.
2
+193%
+115%
1
classrooms
constructed
student
enrolment
2010 = 40 pupils 2015 = 117 pupils
postnatal
care
2010 = 26 patients 2015 = 56 patients
solar panel implemented
in clean water system
When Free The Children first partnered with
Kalthana, community members were relying
on one well and three hand pumps for water.
However, these facilities were deteriorating,
causing the quality of and access to water to
decline over time. As a result, people in Kalthana
had to walk several kilometres to source it,
carrying it back home in heavy containers.
Thanks to Virgin Atlantic donations, a new clean
water system was installed in the summer of
2015. This manually operated system also runs
without the use of electricity or fuel, making it
easy and cost-effective to maintain.
1
200
74
1
primary school
constructed
people benefitting
from healthcare
girls attending health
workshops
clean water system
completed
Other India projects
Traditionally, the type of challah (a traditional
stove/chimney combination) used in our
communities in India vent their cooking
smoke directly into homes. We’ve introduced
smokeless chullahs, which vent it directly
outside. They’re more efficient, require less
fuel, cook food faster and, most importantly,
reduce the risk of lung-related diseases.
Another uniquely Virgin Atlantic project
in India was the donation of rickshaws
and bikes used in our ‘Rickshaw run’ staff
adventure. Virgin Atlantic people travelled
800km across India in a convoy of four
rickshaws and several bikes, which were
donated to the community on arrival. They
were quickly put to good use, with one of
the rickshaws taking a woman to hospital to
give birth to her baby. They’re now used for
transporting people, livestock and supplies.
82
83
Case study
Aluo
Population: 5,130
Rural China
We’ve supported
communities in rural
China from the very start
of our partnership with
Free The Children.
In 2010, we started
implementing the Adopt
a Village model in the
community of Aluo, a
village in the mountains
of rural China. From 2013,
we’ve helped direct an
additional £55,000
towards environment
projects there.
Other China projects
By the end of 2015, we were also thrilled that
5,000 trees had been planted in the Aluo and
Gufubao communities of rural China. The trees
are important because they help make the soil
more stable and reduce deforestation. Initially,
to encourage growth, the saplings were
planted on high quality farmland soil.
84
When we came to the community, local
children were attending a temporary school
their parents had built out of mud. It only
accommodated Grades 1 to 3 due to a lack of
space and resources. The rooms were dark and
dirty with no electricity or heating. Students in
Grades 4 to 6 were forced to attend school in a
neighbouring village. They walked there every
Sunday night—a three hour trek through the
mountains—and returned home on Friday after
the school week finished.
Since 2010, and with the help of community
volunteers, we built a new, much larger school
for Grade 1 to 6 students.
7
1
1,100
+199%
classrooms built
and outfitted
library constructed
in 2011
new books
provided by 2015
increase in
yearly income
2010 = less than £233.76 2015 = £699.92
Once sufficiently mature, they’ll be moved
to the mountain edge where they’ll help to
prevent landslides. In addition, 50 solar panels
were installed in the schools we support in
rural China. These panels will not only power
lights and heating for the school during
winter, but also reduce the community’s long
term energy costs and dependence on the
government for electricity.
85
Case study
Asemkow
Population: 900
Ghana
Free The Children is
constantly evaluating the
impact of their projects and
allocation of their resources.
Last year, after much
deliberation, they made the
difficult decision to move
out of Ghana and invest
their efforts in communities
where they’ll have the
greatest impact.
We remain proud to have achieved some
fantastic results in the communities.
In Ghana, we’ve helped forge strong
community partnerships, implementing
Education and Clean Water and Sanitation
projects and programmes in two
communities. Over the past year, the Free
The Children team has worked hard to
ensure they’ve handed these projects back
to the communities to run on their own. For
example, the communities have partnered
with the Ahanta West District office of
Government Education Services to ensure
the sustainability of new classrooms and rates
of school attendance. Once they’re securely
under the ownership and responsibility of
local governments and community members,
we’re confident that these projects will
carry on in the future.
86
Asemkow is a small fishing village on the
oceanfront in southwest Ghana, surrounded
by forest and rocky outcrops. The community
has faced a range of challenges, including poor
school infrastructure and low attendance rates,
child labour, over fishing, lack of access to clean
water and high adult illiteracy.
In the two years that we’ve been active in
Asemkow, we’ve worked hand in hand with
the local community to build six new and
repair two existing classrooms. As a result, the
primary school that once contained only two
dilapidated kindergarten classrooms can now
provide education for Grades 1-6.
In 2015, a block of four toilets was built at the
school, ensuring that students have access to
proper sanitation facilities. In 2016, we’re set to
complete a water system, installing a handpump for community members to access
water from the newly drilled well.
6
2
1
1
classrooms built
and outfitted
classrooms repaired
well constructed
latrine block built
87
Nyameyiekrom
Population: 1,500
Before Free The Children began to work
with the Nyameyiekrom community, the
Junior High School students didn’t have
a classroom suitable for learning. So they
attended classes in a nearby church.
Now, for the first time, students can finish
their education in the safety of their own
community. With Grade 7, 8 and 9 classrooms
now complete, we’re proud to be helping
students get ready for the next step in their
academic journey.
2
3
41
1
clean water systems
rehabilitated
classrooms built
and outfitted
students participating
in school health club
latrine block
under construction
88
Looking ahead
to 2016-2020
We’re really proud
of our partnership with
Free The Children and we
can’t believe six years have
flown by already. Because of
the length of the partnership,
we’ve been able to take
a long term approach
to delivering enduring
improvements, supporting
communities in their aim to
become self-sufficient.
A
s such, after working with the
Sikirar and Ngosuani (Kenya),
Udawad, Kalthana and Kamoda
(India), and Aluo (China)
communities for four years, we’re pleased
to note that all Adopt a Village pillars have
been delivered. And there’s no longer
a need for core funding from the Virgin
Atlantic Foundation there.
We’re particularly proud of how much
people’s income has risen in our Kenya
and China communities. This means
families have durable solutions to their
economic challenges.
We’re so pleased with our progress that
we’ve just signed up to work with Free The
Children for another five years. This will
allow us to take the programme further,
launching clean, renewable energy projects
in India, Kenya, and rural China. The energy
will power schools, clinics, water systems,
farms, and small businesses, breaking
down poverty barriers and reducing the
environmental impact of energy production.
At home, we’ll continue to support
their Be The Change UK schools’
programme. Which will inspire young
people to take action on the causes they’re
passionate about. We’ll keep celebrating
their achievements at WE Day every year
and we’ll award grants to the best project
ideas the students put forward. We can’t
wait to see what bright ideas they come
up with.
89
Rounding up
We hope you’ve enjoyed this year’s
Change is in the Air Sustainability Report.
We’d love to hear what you think. If you have
any feedback or suggestions please let us
know, at [email protected] or
[email protected]
And there’s lots more online. You can
delve deeper into our Change is in the Air
sustainability programme, watch our short
animation, download past and present
summaries and full sustainability reports,
and see our latest news, all at
virginatlantic.com/changeisintheair
APPEND X
90
91
Table 1: Virgin Atlantic UK ground energy performance1
Our aircraft fuel carbon
accounting methodology
Each year, the UK government updates its guidance for
measuring and reporting environmental impacts, including
methodologies and conversion factors. We use the latest
methods to keep up with best practice. If everyone does
this, it’s easier to compare our own performance to others.
When methodologies change significantly, we recalculate
previous published figures so that all years are comparable.
For our three main metrics, we used the latest guidance
and following methodology:
–CO2/RTK: CO2 is calculated at the conversion rate of
3.1497 multiplied by the amount of fuel used. RTK is
calculated from all revenue (paying) passengers and
freight flown, multiplied by the Great Circle Distances
(GCD), airport to airport distance. The GCD is increased
by 8% to allow for ‘real world’ distances flown, e.g.
sub-optimal routing and stacking at airports during
periods of heavy congestion.
–Total CO2 e emissions: are calculated at the conversion
rate of 3.1822, multiplied by the amount of fuel used
from all flights.
–CO2/PK: CO2 is calculated at the conversion rate of
3.1497 multiplied by the amount of fuel used. PK
is calculated from all passengers flown, multiplied
by the Great Circle Distance + 8%. A passenger:
freight weighting is applied, so that emissions can be
allocated between passengers (this takes into account
luggage, seats, galleys etc) and freight. We’ve used the
recommended allocation methodology for longhaul
flights of 85.9% to passengers and 14.1% to freight.
92
Base
Year:
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Electricity and gas,
The Office, kWh
11,702,721
11,282,031
12,074,091
10,960,716
10,174,581
9,317,874
9,517,581
9,165,627
-21.7%
The Base, kWh
8,546,811
7,600,695
8,304,492
7,210,258
6,738,237
6,318,495
6,020,469
6,483,777
-24.1%
all sites2, kWh
34,145,671
30,224,618
34,590,326
33,231,192
30,644,041
30,766,060
26,957,679
25,476,690
-25.4%
11,928.7
11,053.4
11,768.7
10,737.3
9,935.7
9,641.7
9,495.7
8,580
-28.1%
all sites2, tonnes CO2e
2013
2014
2015
% change
from base
year
Notes
1
Data is provided by our energy provider based on meter readings.
2
‘All sites’ includes 17 Virgin Atlantic sites in 2008, and seven in 2015, including The Office, The Base, our two hangars and contact centre
Table 2: Virgin Holidays UK ground energy performance1
Base
Year:
2008
all sites, kWh
all sites2, tonnes CO2e
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
% change
from base
year
2,562,127
2,703,224
2,812,838
2,466,866
2,667,980
2,619,476
2,050,609
2,209,299
-13.8%
1,038.5
1,132.1
1,122.3
938.6
1,022.7
927.9
827.3
761.6
-26.7%
Notes
1
‘All sites’ included six buildings in 2015 including Aero House (Virgin Holidays HQ) and a number of shops.
Table 3: Virgin Atlantic UK ground transport fleet performance
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
% change from
base year
(2010–11 for CRC 2)
Average CO2 emissions for cars
(g CO2/km)
160.1
144
126
117
106
105
102.5
-36%
Average CO2 emissions for light
commercial vehicles (g CO2/km)
247.7
229
223
182
173
172
172.7
-30.3%
Average MPG for cars
42.8
47.9
60.4
65.1
67.5
70.5
71.6
-67.2%
Average MPG for light
commercial vehicles
28.1
28
29
34.5
39.1
43.1
43.2
-53.7%
Average CO2 for all vehicles
203.9
186.5
174.5
149.5
139.5
138.5
137.6
-32.5%
Average MPG for all vehicles
35.5
38.0
44.7
49.8
53.3
56.8
57.4
+61.8%
93
Table 4: Virgin Atlantic UK water use1
Table 6: Virgin Holidays UK ground office waste1
2012 water
consumption (m3)
2013 water
consumption (m3)
2014 water
consumption (m3)
2015 water
consumption (m3)
% change
from base
year in 2014
19,091
17.656
16,649
16,370
-14.3%
The Base
7,314
6,846
6,811
6,783
-7.3%
All sites2
58,966
53,241
46,639
49,483
-16.1%
The Office
Notes
1
Data is provided by our water supplier based on meter readings.
2
‘All sites’ includes 16 Virgin Atlantic sites, including The Office, The Base, our two hangars and London Gatwick Clubhouse.
Table 5: Virgin Atlantic UK ground waste1
Base
Year:
2008
Total recycled,
tonnes
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2015
% of waste
stream
% change from
base year
(2010 for
composting
and ncineration)
392.5
283
314.9
413.9
512.2
489.2
534.9
403
64.4% 2.7%
Total composted,
tonnes
0
0
4.8
14.3
17.4
9.8
19.9
12.6
2%
Total incinerated
(energy from
waste), tonnes
0
0
13
54.9
98.5
113.5
131.8
145.6
23.3% 1022%
Total anaerobic
digestion (energy
from waste), tonnes
0
2009
29.6
19.0
20.7
21.9
45.0
47.3
52.2
50.5
68.7% 71%
Total incinerated
(energy from
waste), tonnes
0
0
0
0
2.4
14.3
14.2
17.4
23.6% 314%
Total anaerobic
digestion (energy
from waste), tonnes
0
0
0
0
0
0
5.9
3.3
4.5%
9.7%
Total sent to
landfill, tonnes
38.2
31.1
29.5
27.1
16.8
4.5
1.5
2.3
3.1%
-94%
Grand total waste,
tonnes
67.8
50.1
50.1
48.9
64.1
66.1
73.7
73.5
100%
8.5%
Total recycled,
tonnes
551
608
488
368.1
366.9
363.6
-46.8%
109
68
58
84
166
78.5
84.8
86.7
-20.5%
9.3
8.4
12.7
3.4
0
0
0
0
All diverted
from landfill
0
0
0
7.0
17.4
8.7
9.6
30.8
339.6%
792
668
609
699
671
455.3
461.2
481
-39.3%
138.3
61.9
22.0
3.5%
-96.2%
Grand total waste,
tonnes
970.4
651.8
626.2
691.1
823.5
769.5
807.6
626
100%
-35.5%
Residual waste sent to
landfill, tonnes
6.9%
129.2%
% change from
base year
(2010 for
composting
and ncineration)
600
195.5
42.9
2015
683
208.0
59.2
2015
Headsets and amenity kits
recycled, tonnes
293.5
18.7
2014
2010
368.7
0
2013
2009
577.9
0
2012
Base
Year:
2008
Total sent to
landfill, tonnes
0
2011
Table 6: Off-aircraft cabin waste (by MNH Sustainable Cabin Services)
Other items recycled (e.g.
plastics, cardboard, paper,
fabrics and textiles including
pillows and cases etc.), tonnes
0
2010
% of waste
stream
159.5%
Notes
1
Data is provided by our waste contractor based on a mixture of actual weighed bins and industry averages. Since changing contractor in
November 2012 our actual weighed bins has increased. We have also started checking the weight of different waste stream bins on our sites
twice a year to compare and adjust industry standard guidelines.
Data incorporates 8 Virgin Atlantic sites, including The Office, The Base, our two hangars and our contact centre.
94
Base
Year:
2008
Residual waste incinerated
(waste to energy), tonnes
Total MNH cabin waste
diverted from landfill, tonnes
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
% change from
base year
(2010 for
composting
and ncineration)
95
Table 8: UK schools’ programme
Table 7: UK off-aircraft catering waste1
Total re-used/recycled,
tonnes
Base
Year:
2009
2010
343
386
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2015
% of total
% change from
base year
(2010 for
composting
and ncineration)
9%
-29.5%
Year 1: March 2010 – July 2011
Year 2: Sept 2011 – July 2012
372
208
275
231.1
241.7
65 schools to sign up for
Be The Change school programme
Total incinerated
(waste to energy),tonnes
1,352
2,658
979
2,572
2,223.8
2,057.1
80%
52.2%
Total sent to landfill,
tonnes
Grand total catering
waste, tonnes
2,593
2,936
1,212
2,950
184
3,214
1,489
2,676
221
3,068
139.8
2,594.8
276
2,574.9
11%
100%
-89.4%
-12.3%
16,000 students to receive
whole school motivational speech
Notes
1
Our caterers provide this data. At sites where they service multiple airlines, they estimate our waste based on the proportion of meals
provided. This means that although the data gives us a good idea, it’s an estimate and depends on what the other airlines are doing too.
1,200 students to participate
in student leader workshops
71 schools visited
87 schools visited
76 schools visited
88 schools have been visited to date
(8 repeat visits, 80 new schools)
80 schools have been visited to date
(29 repeat visits, 51 new schools)
12,879 students received speech
1,200+ students participated
in leader workshops
2,520 students participated
in leader workshops
in leader workshops
in leader workshops
in leader workshops
50% of schools that chose to
take on a meaningful action
30 international scholarships
allocated per year
51% of schools chose to take on
meaningful action
meaningful action
77.9% of schools chose to take on
meaningful action
meaningful action
77.5% of schools chose to take on
meaningful action
28 allocated international scholarships
from 110 applications
30 allocated from 190 applications.
30 allocated from 242 applications
Year 3: Sept 2014 - July 2015
Notes
1
Based on an assumed assembly size of 250 students and the number of schools visited throughout the year.
2
Based on an assumed assembly size of 250 students and the number of schools visited throughout the year.
3
Based on an average number of 30 students participating per school visited.
Target achieved
96
Target already achieved
97
Table 9: Aluo, China performance results. Project started in 2010 and
was completed by the end of 2014. We've included data from 2015 to
show the projects' durability.
Target by
Year 1:
end of 2014 2010
Year 2:
2011
Year 3:
2012
Students regularly attending
school (from a baseline of 165
in 2010)
252 (150 boys
+ 150 girls)
165 (95
boys
+ 70 girls)
235 (126 boys
+ 109 girls)
245 (128 boys 245 (128
+117 girls)
boys +117
girls)
Classrooms built/outfitted with
equipment and textbooks etc.
7
0
7
Library and books provided
1 library;
100 books
0
1 library and
100 books
Year 4:
2013
Year 5:
2014
Year 6:
2015
307 (162
boys + 145
girls)
208 (107
boys + 101
girls)4
EDUCATION
Table 10: Sikirar, Kenya performance results. Project started in 2010 and
was completed by the end of 2014. We've included data from 2015 to
show the projects' durability.
Target by
Year 1:
end of 2014 2010
Year 2:
2011
school (from a baseline of 194
in 2009)
300 (150 boys
+ 150 girls)
250 (141
boys
+ 115 girls)
Classrooms built/outfitted
with equipment and
textbooks etc.
5
Classrooms renovated with
equipment and textbooks etc.
Year 3:
2012
Year 4:
2013
Year 5:
2014
Year 6:
2015
274 (141 boys 335 (173 boys
+ 133 girls)
+ 162 girls)
339 (176 boys
+ 163 girls)
470 (233 boys 528 (258 boys
+ 247 girls)
+ 270 girls)
-
3 achieved
4th under
construction
5
3
-
3
EDUCATION
Teacher accommodation
5
0
5
Teachers
7
7 (6 male,
1 female)
9 (6 male,
3 female)
Salaries paid for by government 9
7
9
Uniforms provided
0
245
300
+ an
additional
1000 books
provided
245
2455
307
208
Football pitch set up
1
-
1
Teacher accommodation –
construction and outfitting for
two staff (double unit)
1
-
-
Under
construction
Under
construction
Construction
completed.
Teachers7
10
9 (4 male,
2 female)
6 (5 male,
1 female)
10 (5 male,
5 female)
13 (9 male,
4 female)
13 (9 male,
4 female)
12 (9 male,
3 female)
Salaries paid for by government8
6
-
3
5
6
4 achieved
6
4
49
241 (113 girls,
128 boys)
339 (163 girls,
176 boys)
320
CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION
Hand-washing stations built
3
3
Latrine blocks built
3 (one for
teachers, boys
and girls)
-
3
Improved water systems
3
-
3
for 300 students
2
-
2
Latrine blocks built for
300 students
6
-
2 achieved
Improved water system for
250 families
1
1
Health, water and sanitation
workshops provided
3 every 6
months
3
Deworming session students
Twice a year
Students attending workshops
300
40
40
Total number of people
receiving health care – Sikirar
provides ambulatory support
to Baraka medical clinic
990 people
(250
households)
-
99018
Infants and students
benefiting from feeding
programme
All students/
infants target
300
-
345
345
339
342
Household gardens planted
with vegetables
105 (85% of all
households)
-
-
56 households
now have
gardens
56 households
now have
gardens
60
60
households
households
10
have gardens have gardens
Trees planted
1800
100
850 (total to
date 950)
350 (total to
date 1300)
350 (total to
date 1300)
2655 (3955 in
total)11
2804 (6759 in
total)
HEALTHCARE
HEALTHCARE
Health, water and sanitation
workshops provided
2
-
2
8
Community health
workers trained
2
-
1 achieved
2
Students attending workshops
All students
attending school
-
Total number of people trained
in community
500
-
ALTERNATIVE INCOME AND LIVELIHOOD
Women’s groups
1
-
-
1
1
1
1
Women participating in
Alternative Income programme
(no target set)
Goat breeding
programme
to commence
in 2012
-
-
20 producing
local
handicrafts
to sell in local
markets
23
30
30
Annual yearly income (baseline
of less than £233.60 in 2010)
£300
Less than
£233.60
Less than
£233.60
Less than
£233.60
Less than
£233.60
£269.33
£699.926
Notes
4
Context for the drop in attendance: After the flooding and landslides in 2013, the government provided families with a financial subsidy
to repair the infrastructure. However, many families decided to relocate to the nearby city to protect their families from future flooding.
5
As well as school uniforms, Free the Children distributed 80 blankets to the dorm this winter for extra warmth during the cold season.
6
The drastic increase in income is a result of the income boost from the artisan group. This number comprises the standard household
income plus the annual income from the artisans project.
Target achieved
98
Women’s groups
4
4
Women participating in AL
programme
500
740
784
57615
576
576
649
Average yearly income by Dec
2013 (baseline of £115 in 2010)
N/A
£172.50
£172.50
£438.86
£438.86
£438.86
£438.86
12
13
14
See next page for Table 10 footnotes
99
Table 11: Ngosuani, Kenya performance results.
Project started in 2011 and was completed by 2015.
Table 12: Udawad, India performance results.
Project started in 2011 and was completed by the end of 2015.
Target by
end of 2015
Year 1:
2011
Year 2:
2012
Year 3:
2013
Year 4:
2014
Year 5:
2015
school (from a baseline of 408 in
2011) (no target set)
N/A
408 (243 boys
+ 165 girls)
417 (266 boys
+ 151 girls)
392 (249 boys
+ 143 girls) 16
406 (222 boys
+ 184 girls)
402 (220
boys + 182
girls)
Classrooms built/outfitting with
equipment and textbooks
5
-
1
3
5 target
achieved
Teachers’ salaries paid by
government
N/A
10
10
13
16
15 (11 male,
4 female)
1
EDUCATION
4
-
-
117
1
Latrine blocks built (1 block
consisting of 2 latrines)
6
-
-
3
3
Clean water system
1
-
-
Currently
undergoing
planning
1 – target
achieved
Monthly mobile healthcare clinics
and workshops. 250 households
establishing clothes lines, dish
racks, rubbish pits, hand-washing
stations and boiling water skills
(‘7 healthy habits’)
Target number
if 12 x 3 years =
36 visits
-
Deworming sessions for all
students
Twice a year
18
3
HEALTHCARE
Year 2:
2012
Year 3:
2013
Year 4:
2014
Year 5:
2015
school (from a baseline of
between 40 and 50 in spring
2010)
85
65 (40 boys
+ 25 girls);
50 in spring21
65 (40 boys
+ 25 girls);
50 in spring
(31 boys +
19 girls)
50 in spring
(30 boys +
20 girls)
70 (26 girls
and 44 boys)
123 (52 girls
and 71 boys)
Classrooms built/outfitted with
equipment and textbooks etc. (2
blocks consisting of 2 classrooms
= 4 classrooms in total)
4
222
2
2
2
2
Teachers (salaries paid by
government)
4
2 (1 male,
1 female)
2 (1 male,
1 female)
2 (1 male,
1 female)
2 (1 male,
1 female)
2 (1 male,
1 female)
Latrines
completed
5
3 latrines
-
-
Latrines
planned to be
completed by
end of 2013
Latrine under
construction
2 hand washing
station
-
-
2 hand
washing
station under
construction
2 hand
washing
stations
completed
Clean water system
1
-
-
-
Two wells
have been
rehabilitated23
Health Centre constructed
1
1
Staff employed by government
-
3
3
3
3
Beneficiaries
138 households
46
138
159
Children in day care
138 households
24
23
23
19
47
Females receiving antenatal care
138 households
12
8
11
16
27
Females receiving postnatal care
138 households
10
14
14
19
31
Deworming session held
Twice a year
Mobile health camps
10
HEALTHCARE
3
3
3
3
19
1
20
Women regularly attending
each session
10-15
10
15
15
21
18
Average yearly income
N/A
£47
£70
£185
£185
£185
Table 10 notes
7
The target teacher to student ratio is 1:40. Typical ratios are heavily informed by the number of completed structures in a community.
Each school should be staffed by one nursery teacher, one teacher each for years 1 to 8 (nine in total), plus an administrator/Head Teacher.
For Sikirar this target was achieved.
8
The government will agree to provide one teacher for each free-standing classroom structure Free the Children builds in the community: five for new constructions, one for pre-existing, three classroom blocks. Additional teachers’ salaries are paid for by the community/Free the Children.
9
366 households established clothes lines, dish racks, rubbish pits, hand-washing stations and boiling water skills (‘8 healthy habits’).
10
Over 470 people are benefitting from the demonstration garden and over 422 people from the school garden. The community has chosen to invest more in the community farm than in household gardens.
11
The Ilanyuak men’s group started a tree seedling projects which has been a factor in the increase of hundreds of additional trees
in the community.
12
Two youth groups were also formed.
13
A men’s group was also recently formed in the community.
14
One Village Savings & Loans Association was formed in the community.
15
Beneficiaries decreased because some women were unable to commit the time needed.
Table 11 notes
16
The number of students attending class regularly decreased slightly, not because of drop outs or the inability to access education,
but due to a large number of Year 8 students graduating and fewer preschool students enrolling this school year.
17
In addition to this, 35 households in the community have built their own hand washing stations.
18
15 households have built their own latrine facilities.
19
With 320 beneficiaries, there are also two men’s groups and one youth group.
20
With 577 beneficiaries, there are also one men’s group, one youth group, and one Village Savings & Loans Association (VSLA).
The 2 other women’s groups have merged into the VSLA group. These are the same groups as the previous year
Target achieved
100
Year 1:
2011
EDUCATION
Women’s groups started
Target by
end of 2015
4 achieved
124
224
25
Community/kitchen gardens
1
1
People maintaining gardens
10-15
5-10
5-10
5-10
4th and
5th grade
students
4th and
5th grade
students
People benefitting from gardens
138 households
20 households
81 households
105
households26
Entire
community
Entire
community
Notes
21
Seasonal migration means fewer students attend school in the spring term than in winter. When the community is able to earn an income
from farming all year round, we're confident this will change.
22
2 blocks consisting of two classrooms = four classrooms in total.
23
The wells have been deepened by 30 feet each, and a lining and parapet wall was also completed. As a result of this rehabilitation, each
well can provide between 67,000 and 70,000 litres of water each day.
24
In March 2015, one employee retired and one employee migrated. The government is working to find replacements.
25
A community-wide health fair was also conducted.
26
Approximately, 69% of the population benefits from the community garden, either from the produce, the training provided, or both.
Target achieved
101
Table 13: Kamoda, India performance results.
Project started in 2012 and is due to be completed by the end of 2016.
Target by
Year 1:
end of 2016 2012
Year 2:
2013
Year 3:
2014
Year 4:
2015
Year 5:
2016
school (from a baseline of
40 in 2011)
153
40 (20 boys,
20 girls)
54 students
57 (35 girls,
22 boys)
117 (60 girls,
57 boys)
-
Classrooms built, furnished and
outfitted – 2 blocks
(with 2 classrooms)
2
1 achieved
1 achieved
2
2
-
Teachers – salaries paid for
by government
4
2
2
4
2
-
EDUCATION
Table 14: Kalthana, India performance results.
Project started in 2013 and is due to be completed by the end of 2017.
Target by
Year 1:
end of 2017 2013
Year 2:
2014
Year 3:
2015
Year 4:
2016
Year 5:
2017
Students regularly
attending school
N/A
N/A
80
160 (65 girls and 95
boys)
-
-
Classrooms constructed,
furnished and outfitted
1
Constructed
started on 1
brand new
classroom
-
-
Classrooms rehabilitated
and outfitted
6
Rehabilitation
of existing
classroom block
has been initiated
30
-
-
School kits distributed
75
-
-
105
-
-
EDUCATION
1
-
-
1 block with 4
latrines built
-
8
-
-
2 hand
washing
stations built
with 6 pipes
-
Clean water system installed
1
-
-
Hand pumps rehabilitated
2
-
-
Latrines, water
system, and hand
pump rehabilitation
completed at the first
primary school
-
-
Water storage tanks rehabilitated
2
-
-
Latrines, water
system, and hand
pump rehabilitation
completed at the first
primary school,
-
-
Water sanitation workshops held
for students
Ongoing
Household
workshops
on water and
sanitation were
held and received
positively
20 workshops held for
students
-
Anwangadi (health centre)
rehabilitated & outfitted
1
1
Pre- and post-natal health
sessions held
Ongoing
52 women are
received pre- and
post-natal health
care
Health training sessions for
adolescent females held
Ongoing
67 women have
received pre and
post natal health
care
Deworming sessions provided
for students
Held twice
a year
-
27
HEALTHCARE
Anganwadi (health centre)
constructed
1
Staff employed by government
3
Beneficiaries
130 households
108
28628
294
219
-
Children in daycare in the
preschool
N/A
10
20
22
54
-
Females receiving
pre/postnatal care
No target set
26
36
77
56
-
Children receiving
vaccinations/deworming
School
populations plus
children at the
anganwadi
23
182
120
vaccinated/
dewormed,
64 children
receiving
nutritional
supplements
17 vaccinations per month,
94 children
receiving
nutritional
supplements
N/A
25
75
96
52
-
Women receiving healthcare
workshop
-
Women’s groups started
130 households
No target set
2
2
1
1
-
Woman attending each session
10-15
22 in total,
2 groups
36 in total,
2 groups
36 split
in total, 2
groups29
13 in one
group
-
Notes
27
1 single tank with a 1,000-litre capacity has been installed with a solar panel system which draws water from the well to the storage tank.
28
This is the number of direct household beneficiaries, or those who attended the health fair. Indirect beneficiaries include all residents of
Kamoda, as the Anganwadi (health centre) is accessible to all community members.
29
14 of these women are were given goats by Free the Children and regularly attend the meetings.
Target achieved
HEALTHCARE
-
-
-
48 women received
pre- and post-natal
health care
-
-
74 girls attended
health training
sessions
-
-
25 vaccinations per
month, 101 children
receiving nutritional
supplements per
month
-
-
4 women's groups
started
-
-
Women’s groups established
1
Number of direct beneficiaries of
animal husbandry programme
15
5
5
20
-
-
Goat sheds constructed
1
1
5
13
-
-
Notes
30
Rehabilitation of classrooms approved by the government, construction to commence in 2016.
102
Target achieved
Change is in the Air | 2016 103
Table 15: Asemkow, Ghana performance results. Project started in
2013 and was finished in 2015. The Health and Alternative Income
pillars are not being implemented in Ghana.
Target by
end of 2017
Year 1:
2013
Year 2:
2014
Year 3
2015
school
N/A
N/A
158
162 (72 girls, 90 boys)
Classrooms constructed and
outfitted with furnishing and
education resources
5
3
3
6
Classrooms renovated
2
2
Environmental assessments
To be conducted in
2013/2014
Completed
Sensitisation and mobilisation
Ongoing over 3 years
Ongoing – working effectively
and meeting regularly meeting
with stakeholders
EDUCATION
Table 16: Nyameyiekrom, Ghana performance results. Project started
in 2013 and was finished in 2015. The Health and Alternative Income
pillars are not being implemented in Ghana.
Target by
end of 2017
Year 1:
2013
Year 2:
2014
Year 3:
2015
school
N/A
N/A
340 (Junior High
School - 44; Primary
– 296. 200 girls, 140
boys)
201 (Junior High School
– 41; Primary -160. 105
girls, 96 boys)32
Classrooms constructed and
outfitted with furnishing and
education resources
5
1 has been completed
and 1 is under
construction
2 classrooms have been 3 classrooms have been
completed
completed33
Environmental Assessments
To be conducted in
2013/2014
Completed
Ongoing over
3 years
Ongoing – meeting
regularly with
stakeholders
Construction of teacher
accommodations
1 (to be constructed in
2015/2016)
Planned
-
1 teachers’ office built34
EDUCATION
Construction of teacher
accommodations
2 (to be constructed
in 2015/2016)
-
-
-
1 teachers' office
Double latrines constructed
3
1 block with four stalls under
construction
1 block under
construction
1 block with 4 stalls
completed
Wells repaired
1
-
-
-
4-stall latrine block constructed
1
Planned
-
Shallow wells constructed
2
-
-
1 well drilled and 1
hand-pump currently
being installed
1 block with 4 stalls
under construction
Wells repaired
1
-
-
2 hand-pumps
repaired
To be conducted in
2013/2014
-
Shallow wells constructed
2
-
-
Ongoing over
3 years
1 water catchment
installed for
hand-washing
at latrines
To be conducted in
2013/2014
Ongoing over
3 years
Ongoing – working effectively
and meeting regularly meeting
with stakeholders
-
Programming has
been ongoing with
students, teachers and
community members
on the importance of
handwashing, maintaining
a clean environment and
supporting the School
Sanitation Action Plan31
Notes
31
The School Sanitation Action Plan focuses on maintaining good hygiene, handwashing practices and keeping the compound and
latrines clean.
Target achieved
Ongoing – meeting
regularly with
stakeholders
1 workshop with
teachers and head
master, 2 workshops
with Junior High School
(JHS) students (all
students)35
Notes
Context for drop in attendance: Our work has been primarily with the Junior High School (JHS), where there have been minor fluctuations
from 2014 to 2015 (44 to 41). Prior to our partnership with the community there was only a primary school in the community. The primary
school has seen more of a decrease in attendance and this is largely because in 2014, many students transferred over from a neighbouring
school because of its school fees. This caused a spike in the Nyameyiekrom Primary school attendance. Since then some students have
left Nyameyiekrom Primary and/or returned back to the neighbouring primary school. The school leadership at the JHS is putting a focus
on increasing enrolment and the community continues to mobilise to shift the attitude towards parents sending their children to school.
The Headmaster of the JHS is working with the Headmaster of the Primary, the PTAs, and the School Management Committee, to address
these issues.
33
The target was to construct and furnish five classrooms. Three classrooms have been completed and the remaining two will not be
constructed.
34
A teachers’ office has been constructed in replacement of accommodations.
35
The workshop with the teachers and Headmaster focused on developing a sustainable School Sanitation Action Plan. The 2 workshops
with the students focused on training on personal hygiene, cleaning the school compound and proper handwashing practices. The
workshops also focused on establishing a Health Club; an election was held to elect the club executives and all JHS students are
voluntarily participating in the club.
32
Target achieved
104
-
Change is in the Air | 2016 105
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Sustainability Report 2016

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