How Delta Tops U.S. Airlines for Sustainability

Delta is one of America’s 100 most sustainable companies – No. 27, to be precise – and the No. 1 U.S. airline, according to an in-depth Barron’s study  that rated 1,000 companies in five key categories: shareholders, employees, customers, environment and community.

Delta has also been named on the FTSE4Good Index for four consecutive years, included in the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index for eight consecutive years and given an honorable mention in Fast Company’s 2019 World Changing Ideas Awards. 

Here are some of the highlights of Delta’s social responsibility and sustainability efforts.

Giving back​

  • Delta gives 1 percent of its net income from the previous year to charitable organizations around the world, in 2018, this was more than $50 million.
  • For the first time in 2019, Delta is paying all 80,000+ employees to spend a day volunteering  in their communities.

Cutting emissions

  • Delta is speeding up its environmental sustainability efforts by replacing hundreds of aircraft over the next five years with more fuel efficient A321s, A220s and Boeing 737-900ERs.
  • As part of Delta’s voluntary commitment to carbon-neutral growth, the airline has purchased almost 12 million carbon offsets  since 2012.
  • Delta’s new wireless IFE will help reduce carbon emissions through being lighter. 

Eliminating waste

  • Removing single-use plastic like straws, stirrers and plastic wrappers will help eliminate an estimated 300,000lbs of plastic waste each year – equivalent to the weight of two 757s.
  • Delta’s old uniforms have been up or down-cycled, in one of the biggest landfill diversion projects in U.S. history.
  • Meanwhile, over 10 years Delta has recycled more than 3 million pounds of aluminum from onboard waste — equivalent to 22 Boeing 747s. The airline has used funds from the recycling program to build homes in partnership with Habitat for Humanity . 

Fighting human trafficking

  • Delta has extended its fight against human trafficking with enhanced employee training and community partnerships. More than 56,000 Delta employees are trained to spot trafficking indicators and the airline launched a customer awareness campaign  this year to urge customers to #GetOnBoard.

Celebrating diversity 

    • Achieving and maintaining employee gender pay equity at 100 percent.
    • Sponsoring Pride events around the world including London, Paris, New York and Atlanta. In fact, Delta has been recognized as a “Best Workplace for Diversity ” by Fortune for three years in a row.

 

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About Delta

Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) is the U.S. global airline leader in products, services, innovation, reliability and customer experience. Powered by its 80,000 people around the world, Delta continues to invest billions in its people, improving the air travel experience and generating industry-leading shareholder returns. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta offers more than 5,000 daily departures and as many as 15,000 affiliated departures including the premier SkyTeam alliance, of which Delta is a founding member. The airline serves nearly 200 million people every year, taking customers to more than 300 destinations in over 50 countries. Delta operates significant hubs and key markets at airports in the United States and worldwide in conjunction with its alliance partners. More about Delta can be found on the Delta News Hub as well as delta.com, via @DeltaNewsHub on Twitter and Facebook.com/delta.