European Business Aviation Association and industry young professionals join forces to develop business aviation sustainability guidance and label
23 October 2019 (Brussels). The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) has committed to working with a newly formed project team of business aviation young professionals to develop and introduce an industry-wide sustainability label. The programme seeks to help EBAA member organisations play an even greater role in addressing social and environmental issues through awareness raising, best practices sharing and tailored guidance.
The new programme, Standards & Training for Aviation Responsibility and Sustainability (STARS), is being developed by young industry professionals from across Europe who represented business aviation at the One Young World (OYW) conference in the Hague, Netherlands in 2018. One Young World is an annual conference uniting some of the world’s preeminent young leaders to encourage positive action in business and society. Inspired to make difference by the world leaders, community activists and CEOs in attendance, EBAA’s ambassadors conceptualized STARS to address pressing societal and environmental issues via partnerships and the widespread mobilization of industry-wide environmentally and socially responsible initiatives.
The business aviation industry has always been dedicated to ensuring the well-being of the communities we operate in. There are many individual environmental and social initiatives undertaken by our members across Europe. STARS aims to consolidate, grow and promote those actions. Because of that, we are excited to enhance our industry’s contribution towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals and proud to collaborate with dynamic young professionals who have a vision for making our industry better every day.
Athar Husain Khan, EBAA Secretary-General
A word from the business aviation young professionals leading the STARS project
The One Young World conference last year served as a real eye-opener. My fellow ambassadors and I are convinced that by tackling social and environmental issues that impact our businesses, we can make a positive contribution to society, while helping business aviation thrive.
Nicolas Kroll, Project Manager, Luxaviation Belgium
One Young World has taught us that organisations can -and should- be involved in addressing current environmental and societal issues to create a more responsible and sustainable world. The positive feedback we had from CEOs and leaders in our industry is evidence that business aviation is ready to commit to build a better future.
Charlotte de Beaumont, Marketing Manager, PrivateFly, UK
Inspired by all the interventions heard during the forum, we came up with the idea of setting up a label applicable to all players in business aviation in order to encourage them to act now to face these challenges.
Julie Audouit, COO Time to Fly, France
Our generation is highly educated, more connected than ever and well informed on social and environmental matters. It is our duty to use these skills not only to make a positive change within our industry to continue attracting younger and more diverse individuals, but also to secure our collective future while protecting our planet.
Maureen Gautier, Associate, The Air Law Firm, UK
It is said, if you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. I believe that meeting the challenges of the 21st century is necessary and possible only thanks to the cooperation of all industries, including business aviation.
Magdalena Korpal, founder of Lumino MK, Poland
By creating a label and encouraging all industry businesses to participate, our hope is that we create a world in which future generations don’t face the same challenges we do and where business aviation prospers.
Patrick Müry, Dispatch/Sales, CAT Aviation AG, Switzerland
Our industry has a role to play in solving social and environmental challenges. This is what we hope to introduce with the STARS programme by raising awareness, offering support and giving guidance to EBAA members.
Laura Gambell, Marketing Communications Manager, Air Service Basel, Switzerland
With STARS we want to connect our passion - business aviation, with sustainability, both the environment and the social aspects.
Mathijs Marttin, Maintenance Controller and Deputy Duty Manager, JetSupport BV
Looking ahead to 2020
Anticipated to launch in 2020, STARS will comprise a set of guidance and an accreditation that can be achieved in three tiers. The industry-driven project has received the full backing of the EBAA and the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC), and the project team is currently engaging with industry, community and policy representatives to shape the programme, which will first be rolled out in Europe before seeking to form the basis for a global industry standard.
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