Icelandair Group's entire operations are granted IATA environmental certification level 2

Icelandair is now only the fourth airline in the world to receive second-stage environmental certification from IATA and this is consistent with aims to take the lead in environmental affairs

All of Icelandair Group's companies have completed a detailed environmental certification process in accordance with the ISO 14001 standard. The standard is the most widespread standard used for the integration of environmental responsibility with corporate operations. Among Icelandair Group's objective with the certification is to reduce its carbon footprint, reduce waste through increased recycling and increase the use of environmentally sound products and services.

Icelandair has been granted second-stage certification from the International Air Transport Association (IATA); the certification is based on a detailed process that only three other airlines in the world have completed: Finnair, Latin American Airlines and South African Airways.

Icelandair Group CEO Björgólfur Jóhannsson said:

 "Icelandair Group's aim is to be a leading company in the care for the environment. International environmental certification of this kind is therefore hugely important for a company like ours.  The certification is based on a long and arduous process that our staff has been working hard on, in co-operation with leading experts in the fields of environmental and aviation affairs, since we made the formal decision to assume a leadership role in this field on the Company's 75th anniversary in 2012. We take these matters seriously, and in our view it is important to work in accordance with internationally recognised standards and objectives in order to ensure transparency for our customers."

Icelandair Group's environmental impact is not restricted to air carrier operations. Airport operations, office work, hotels and maintenance areas are also taken into account. In order to achieve our objectives, we have implemented an environmental management system in all Icelandair Group's companies. Icelandair Hotels, IGS, Air Iceland, Icelandair Cargo, Fjárvakur, Loftleiðir Icelandic, Icelandair Group, Iceland Travel and VITA have now all been certified under ISO 14001.

Icelandair received IATA's environmental certification based on ISO 14001 and completed the first stage of certification in early 2015. Since then, Icelandair has been working on implementation of the second stage of certification, which has now been completed with the issue of formal certification by IATA. All Icelandair Group's companies have therefore received international certification on the Company's 80-year anniversary.

Sigurður M. Hardarson, Icelandair Group Environmental Manager said:

"Icelandair Group's environmental assessment was conducted by external parties and experts, and we are now reaping the rewards of the extensive work carried out within the Company on environmental management and improvements of our processes. To give an example, we focus strongly on our employees' awareness of the means by which they can personally contribute to this important issue, and at Icelandair Group we ensure that employees are provided with all the training and advice that they need."

Results achieved in the environmental affairs of the Group include the following:

• In 2016 Icelandair's consumption of fuel, measured on the basis of passengers flown per 100 km, was reduced from 3.79 litres to 3.70 litres.
• In Natura, one of Icelandair Hotels' facilities, the use of electricity per night of occupancy has been reduced by 21% over five years.
• The average waste per night of occupancy at Icelandair Hotels was reduced from 1.4 kg in 2014 to 1.2 kg in 2016.
• 50% of Icelandair Cargo's freight is now carried in passenger aircraft holds, as compared to 16% in 2008. Shareability in the aircraft fleet results in extensive economy of fuel consumption per ton of freight.
• The number of substances used in the IGS equipment centre that are subject to hazard labelling obligations has been reduced by 40% since 2014.
• Air Iceland's use of electricity was 9% lower in the first quarter of 2017 than in the corresponding quarter of the preceding year.