Pope Francis flies to Lisbon with ITA Airways
The Holy Father, for his next Apostolic Journey on 2 August to Lisbon will fly with ITA Airways with zero CO2 environmental impact.
Sustainability, in fact, in addition to being one of the fundamental pillars within the magisterium of Pope Francis, is one of the main goals, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, of the Company Industrial Plan.
And it is for these reasons that – for the Holy Father's flight – ITA Airways has prepared a journey with zero CO2 emissions through three specific actions that will contribute to achieve the goals:
- Efficiency of operating and eco-piloting procedures already in place ranging from route planning, airport handling, ascent and descent maneuvers, route optimization to aircraft interventions in order to reduce fuel consumption as much as possible.
- Attribution of the environmental benefits deriving from the SAF for a quantity equal to 0.5% of the necessary supply. The SAF, produced with co-processing technology, mixes traditional fuel with a percentage of organic part, used and regenerated cooking oil (not in competition with any food chain or to the detriment of biodiversity) which contributes to a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions.
- In addition to the actions described above and to completely reduce CO2 emissions related to fuel consumption that cannot be eliminated, ITA Airways will purchase "carbon credits" thanks to participation in projects aimed at reducing CO2 and selected on the basis of two criteria: the destination to local communities and the location in the countries where ITA Airways flies.
In particular, for Pope Francis' flight to Bahrain, the volunteer program "The Breathing Space Improved Cooking Stoves Programme" was chosen, located in India and intended for families with the aim of reducing the environmental impact of traditional domestic kitchen stoves and replacing them with energy-efficient devices. With this operation, greenhouse gas emissions, smoke, soot and particulate matter will therefore be reduced, with benefits finally on air pollution levels and in the field of safety and health protection.