07 Jul 2022
China Airlines Issuing the First-Ever Industry “Forest and Biodiversity Conservation Commitment”
China Airlines has taken the lead by becoming the first airline and transportation company in Taiwan to adopt the “Forest and Biodiversity Conservation Commitment” in response to global trends. The signing of the declaration by Chairman Su-Chien Hsieh and President Shing-Hwang Kao commits the airline to working with supply chain partners on promoting global climate stability and supporting the sustainable development of agriculture, food, public health and the economy. This aims to strengthen the global infrastructure for climate and environmental resilience.
Corporate social responsibility and sustainability are important to China Airlines. We are the only transportation company in Taiwan to have signed the Buckingham Palace Declaration banning the illegal trade of wildlife and plants. The CAL Group prohibits the use of food ingredients sourced from protected plants and animals, while also supporting eco-conservation projects. China Airlines partnered with Mandarin Airlines and Tigerair Taiwan to support Taipei Zoo’s long-running “Kinmen Blue-Tailed-Bee-Eater Egg Retrieval and Nurture Initiative” research project. Other initiatives included animal adoption as well as supporting conservation efforts for tigers, cloud leopards, and leopard cats.
China Airlines supports the Green Office initiative of the EPA, promotes green building at CAL Park, organizes community tree-planting activities, and encourages travelers to participate in the Eco Travel carbon offsetting program. The sponsoring of eco-friendly projects on forestation and conservation around the world in particular is helping to realize carbon neutral or zero carbon emission journeys. The longstanding promotion of sustainability and environmental protection initiatives at China Airlines coincide with international philosophies and trends on forest conservation and biodiversity.
By issuing the industry “Forest and Biodiversity Conservation Commitment”, China Airlines commits the CAL Group and its supply chain partners to jointly protecting global biodiversity and forest conservation based on past efforts, operation achievements, and the expectations of global stakeholders. Business activities will strive to avoid damaging protected forests and species while continuing to rigorously enforce responsible transportation under the “Declaration against Illegal Wildlife Trafficking.” China Airlines will support efforts to combat the illegal global trade of wildlife and commits to not using services, ingredients, or items made from threatened or endangered species. Furthermore, we support biodiversity and forestation conservation initiatives. China Airlines will adopt responsible procurement and supplier management practices. Supplier compliance will be enforced through the “Supplier Code of Conduct”, related training, communications, management operations, and random audits to demonstrate the commitment of China Airlines and its partners to conservation.
China Airlines has long engaged in ESG (Environment, Society, Governance) initiatives, given our sense of responsibility and mission toward corporate sustainability. Our sustainability efforts have won both domestic and international recognition from various sources. These include being recently added as a constituent stock in the “FTSE4Good TIP Taiwan ESG Index” for the fourth time since 2018, being included in the DJSI and FTSE4Good Emerging Index for six consecutive years, a “Silver Class” award in the S&P Global Sustainability Yearbook for two consecutive years, winning the Taiwan Corporate Sustainability Award (TCSA) for eight consecutive years, and winning the Global Corporate Sustainability Award (GCSA) for three consecutive years. Even as the COVID-19 pandemic raged around the world, China Airlines continued to forge ahead in very challenging conditions promoting a range of ESG initiatives. Our outstanding performance has now won international recognition.
