Airbus has the ambition to reduce its Scope 1 & Scope 2 industrial emissions by up to 63% by 2030. The revised targets are in line with a 1.5°C pathway and include the target to neutralise residual emissions by 2030 following a Science-Based approach.
Objective
In line with its purpose to pioneer sustainable aerospace for a safe and united world, Airbus has been working for years to reduce its environmental footprint, including that of its products and services, and its production facilities. The objective is to:
- Anticipate increasing environmental regulation
- Foster employee engagement
- Respond to stakeholder expectations
Targets
Today, the high5+ programme identifies ambitious reduction targets covering our five most material environmental aspects:
- Energy consumption
- CO2 emissions
- Water withdrawal
- Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) emissions
- Waste production
These targets have been set in absolute value – with 2015 levels as a reference – as follows:
- Energy and CO2: reduce energy consumption by 20% and reduce direct (Scope 1) and indirect (Scope 2) net greenhouse gas emissions by 63%* and to neutralise residual greenhouse gas emissions for those scopes by 2030. This target has been set following the “Science-Based Target Initiative” (SBTi) applicable methodology in line with a 1.5°C pathway
- Waste: divert 100% of the waste from landfilling and incineration without energy recovery, and reduce the amount of waste produced by 20% by 2030
- Air emissions: maintain a 0% increase of VOC emissions by 2030
- Water: develop strong maintenance and rehabilitation programmes to reduce drinking (purchased) water by 50% with no increase in overall water withdrawal
(*) previous target was 40% by 2030
Action plan
Airbus is committed to further investing in and developing new solutions to achieve its Scope 1 and Scope 2 targets.
Specific measures include the following:
- Increasing energy efficiency and using low-carbon energy sources for stationary sources (i.e. heating, cooling, manufacturing processes, etc.)
- Switching to lower emission vehicles, where possible, and avoiding emissions through better planning of flights and logistics and using lower carbon fuels (e.g. SAF) for mobile sources
Science-Based Targets
Established in 2015, the Science-Based Targets (SBTi) initiative helps companies to set emissions-reduction targets in line with climate science and the Paris Agreement goals. More than 1,000 companies have joined the initiative since its inception.
In 2022, Airbus officially committed to define Science-Based Targets for the entire set of its emissions. The following mid-term targets have been submitted to the SBTi for assessment and validation:
- Scopes 1 & 2: -63% absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 2030** and neutralisation of residual emissions
- Scope 3: -46% greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 2035**
(**) based on 2015 as baseline year
