Environmental Policy Statement
Adopted by the Board of Directors on May 3, 2023
American’s purpose is to care for people on life’s journey. Our team operates thousands of flights a day, transporting customers throughout the United States and to destinations around the globe. We rely on the use of natural resources in our operations and acknowledge the resulting environmental impact, including the contribution to climate change.
We recognize our responsibility to assess our impact on the environment and to mitigate the impacts we identify by minimizing our impact, and when necessary, restoring and offsetting any harm. Our risk assessment is designed to address emissions (including greenhouse gases), waste, pollution, noise, biodiversity and deforestation. In response, we develop and implement sustainable business practices aimed at limiting the impact of climate change, conserving biodiversity and eliminating deforestation.
We know that leadership and effective oversight of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues are critical to our long-term success and the vitality of our planet. We are committed to environmental stewardship and to integrating these practices into our culture, operations, and supply chain. By doing so, we can meet or exceed the expectations of the communities we serve, lower operating costs and minimize risk and legal liability, all while helping protect the planet for people to enjoy as they continue their journey.
American is committed to:
1. Implementing a robust environmental management system (EMS) that defines roles and responsibilities.
- We apply our EMS to all of our operations, including flight and ground operations, maintenance and corporate facilities.
- We strive to apply the best practices in the aviation sector, follow the principles of continuous improvement and exceed strict compliance.
- We model our EMS on ISO 14001 and the International Air Transport Association’s Environmental Assessment program.
2. Monitoring, reviewing and auditing the company’s environmental performance.
- We recognize our responsibility to assess our impact on the environment and to implement sustainable business practices to minimize, mitigate and, when necessary, restore or offset any identified adverse environmental impacts.
- We continue to develop, and monitor progress against, what we believe to be ambitious performance targets focused on reducing the company’s significant environmental impacts.
- We actively manage and evaluate our environmental regulatory compliance in all jurisdictions where we operate. We regularly conduct internal assessments of our environmental performance and act to remedy issues we find.
3. Complying with applicable environmental laws and regulations.
- We meet, and endeavor to exceed where possible, environmental regulatory requirements.
- We design our maintenance procedures and systems to enable our equipment to function at optimal levels, while meeting or exceeding environmental requirements.
- Our practices and policies governing fuel and chemical spills require us to promptly contain, document and report, and we work to reduce spills and mitigate their effect on the environment.
- We maintain relevant environmental permits and communicate regularly with environmental and emergency authorities as legally required.
4. Adopting sustainable business practices.
- We seek to use natural resources efficiently and consider emissions, fuel and energy use, materials management, building efficiency, noise pollution, local air quality, water consumption, waste disposal and the protection of natural resources and wildlife in our business decisions.
- We work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the disposal of waste and releases of harmful substances to the environment.
- We minimize energy use and actively work to substitute petroleum-based fuels with low-carbon and renewable energy, including sustainable aviation fuel.
- We aim to embed sustainability in our operations.
5. Creating awareness of this Policy and our environmental efforts among our key stakeholders.
- We aspire to engage in transparent and honest dialogue with team members, customers, contractors, suppliers, peers and industry associations, the communities we serve and regulatory authorities to enhance our environmental performance.
- We regularly train relevant team members on this Policy and environmental practices tailored to their specific locations or jobs to create a culture of environmental stewardship at all levels of the workforce.
- We encourage team members to engage in environmental preservation activities at work and in the communities where they live.
6. Engaging our stakeholders to promote sustainable business practices.
- We regularly engage with key stakeholders on their environmental viewpoints.
- We are working to adopt purchasing and procurement practices intended to limit any adverse environmental impacts from our supply chain and are encouraging the use of more sustainable products where possible.
- We engage with our business partners, suppliers, contractors, service providers and vendors to assist them in improving their environmental performance.
- We collaborate with others in the private sector, policymakers and other stakeholders to accelerate technological, operational and policy solutions that advance sustainability.
7. Reporting publicly on an annual basis.
- We strive to provide clear, transparent information and metrics related to how we manage and address the range of key environmental, social and governance issues we encounter in our business.
- We publish our annual ESG reports and relevant environmental documents on the ESG page of our corporate website at www.aa.com/esg.
ESG reports Opens another site in a new window that may not meet accessibility guidelines
This Policy applies at all levels and to all American Airlines Group companies.
We intend to continuously encourage our business partners, suppliers, contractors, service providers and vendors to support this Policy and to adopt similar policies. We welcome customer, supplier and shareholder involvement in the development, implementation and evaluation of effective outcomes of the Policy's implementation.
The Board of Directors of American Airlines Group and our senior executives have approved this Policy and are committed to executing and providing resources to implement it.