Spotlight: Environmental management certification

In 2010, Thomas Cook Airlines became the first and only UK airline to date to achieve ISO 14001 certification for its environmental management system. This international standard acknowledges our commitment to sound environmental practice and is testament to our PROUD value: we are a Results Orientated business.

To achieve certification, the airline had to implement a formal environmental management system including specific policies, plans, registers, training and communication programmes, objectives and targets. The system is subject to regular internal audits, and a biannual external audit determines whether it has reached the standard required by ISO.

Frank Pullman, Managing Director of Thomas Cook Airlines, said, "To be the first airline in the UK to achieve the ISO 14001 standard is a huge achievement for Thomas Cook Airlines. Our environmental policy is a vital component of our overall strategy and we hope that other UK airlines will follow our lead in aiming for this highly regarded certification."

Within the framework of the environmental management system, the airline has been identifying ways to reduce its environmental impacts. For example, its on-board recycling programme has diverted 15 tonnes of aluminium, plastic, paper and cardboard away from landfill. By fitting winglets (vertical extensions to wing tips) on its four Boeing 757-300 and 767-300 aircraft, the airline has improved fuel efficiency, saving over 9,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year. At its head office in Manchester, initiatives such as making operational manuals available electronically have saved over 500,000 sheets of paper since 2009. And at the airline's hangar, energy-efficient heat and power systems are saving over 11 tonnes of carbon per year.

What is more, our UK airline is not the only part of the business to have implemented a formal environmental management system recently. Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia has also worked towards ISO 14001 certification, which we achieved in late 2010. The airline's targeted work to reduce its environmental impact, along with our high cabin load factor, had already earned us recognition in 2010: we won the Danish Travel Business special environmental award, issued by the travel magazine, Stand By.

^ back to top