The Eye on Taiwan news staff
Taiwan’s major carrier China Airlines has completed its ISO 14001 (Environmental Management Systems), ISO 50001 (Energy Management System) and ISO 14064-1 (Greenhouse Gas Emissions) certifications this year for a total of three top international certifications.
As the second carrier in the world to hold both ISO 14001 and ISO 50001 system certifications simultaneously, China Airlines demonstrated its commitment to corporate social responsibility and how it is continuing to maintain the highest standards in environmental risk management, the airlines said in a press statement.
Global climate change has become an increasingly pressing issue in recent years so a comprehensive corporate environmental risk management mechanism has been put into place by China Airlines, it said.
Since 2009, China Airlines has progressively introduced the ISO 14064-1, ISO 14001, and ISO 50001, a first in Taiwan’s transportation and service industries, the airlines said.
In response to the evolution of international management standards and trends in risk management, China Airlines launched its ISO 14001:2015 revision process to apply concepts such as “Consolidated Organizational Links”, “Stakeholder Needs and Expectations” and “Life Cycle” to the optimization of the corporate environmental and energy management process, it said.
Air transport services were incorporated into the operation and scope of verification for the environmental management. China Airlines, therefore, has the most comprehensive risk management system in Taiwan’s transportation service industry.
In addition to being the first local service company to conduct voluntary inventories of operational GHG emissions, China Airlines was the first transportation company to respond to the Carbon Disclosure Project questionnaires, the airlines said.
China Airlines began promoting supplier GHG inventory and mentoring the establishment of carbon management capabilities in 2015.
It regularly conducts GHG inventory training and emissions surveys for affiliated enterprises (e.g. Mandarin Airlines, Tiger Air Taiwan, Taoyuan International Airport Service, Taiwan Airport Service, China Pacific Catering Service, Novotel Taipei Taoyuan International Airport, Taiwan Air Cargo Terminals Logistics, China Pacific Laundry Services, and Dynasty Aerotech International).
The affiliates are also included within the boundaries for external verification, according to the airlines.
The China Airlines Group’s expertise in carbon management was leveraged by the airlines into other environmental and energy areas to cultivate the seed of environmentalism in the CAL Group and to continue reinforcing the values of environmental protection and sustainability, it said.
Topics such as climate change and carbon reduction are monitored by China Airlines on a long-term basis, it noted.
Support given to a variety of environmental and energy-saving initiatives resulted in the winning of the EPIF “International Green Classics Awards”, the MOEA “Taiwan Green Classics Services Award”, Taiwan’s top “Enterprise Environmental Protection Award (Gold Medal)”, and the Taiwan Corporate Sustainability Awards (TCSA) for four consecutive years.
In 2017, China Airlines was the first airline group in the world to receive the international carbon footprint certificate and carbon label. It was also the first and only carrier in Taiwan to be repeatedly included in the “DJSI – Emerging Markets” as a component stock.
China Airlines will continue to work relentlessly for the cause of sustainable environmental development through the creation of a low-carbon operating environment and the promotion of energy-saving, low-carbon operations throughout the CAL Group, it stressed.