Make a difference with Delta: how you can help fuel a sustainable future

Delta’s commitment to the communities we serve and the world we live in goes back to our founder, C. E. Woolman. One of the great figures of aviation history, Mr. Woolman built a values-based culture at Delta that endures to this day, nearly 100 years later.

It’s a culture that demands that we strive to be a force of positive change in our world. That’s why Delta’s sustainability efforts are more than just words – we are committed to producing significant, measurable results in our mission to make the world a better place for generations to come.

We are working toward our goal of achieving a 50 percent reduction in emissions by 2050, using a variety of new technology, operational and maintenance improvements and the use of biofuels, which we are actively exploring with our partners.

Jet fuel accounts for 98 percent of our emissions, so we are rapidly retiring our most fuel-intensive aircraft, replacing 25 percent of our mainline fleet over the next three years with newer, fuel-efficient jets. We’re also reducing our fuel burn by decreasing the weight that planes must carry. Newly installed carbon brakes on some airplanes, for instance, reduce weight by 700 pounds.

Other creative solutions include a renewed focus in using a single engine for taxiing and asking customers to close shades in the cabin during summer months, which keeps the cabin up to 10 degrees cooler. And a new proprietary flight weather app allows our pilots to better avoid rough air, which ensures a smoother ride and burns less fuel.

Beyond reducing jet fuel burn, Delta has been eliminating single-use plastics, including stir sticks, wrappers, utensils and straws from our aircraft and Delta Sky Clubs. We also are investing in electric vehicles and ground equipment that perform a variety of functions at our airports.

Delta was the first U.S. airline to offer carbon offsets to customers, who can estimate the emissions associated with trips and invest in projects of their choice. Many don’t realize how affordable it is, costing only about $5 to offset a round-trip flight from Atlanta to New York. One of the carbon offset projects that Delta supports is the Conservation Coast project in Guatemala that protects forests, which are a critical migratory corridor for biodiversity, including hundreds of bird species, connecting North and South America.

While these examples just scratch the surface of our efforts, you can review our extensive Corporate Responsibility Report that outlines our progress and includes information about how our customers can join us in efforts to make the world a better place.