Corporate Social and Environment Responsibility of Emirates Airline

By

[Authors Name]
[Name of University]
[Date]

Emirates Airline

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Table of Contents
LITERATURE REVIEW.................................................................................................................3
Introduction of the Chapter..........................................................................................................3
Corporate Social Responsibility..................................................................................................3
Background of Corporate Social Responsibility.....................................................................3
Corporate Social Responsibility Definition.............................................................................5
A Synopsis of the Airline Industry at Present..............................................................................7
Background of the Airline Industry.........................................................................................7
Current Trends and Situation in the Airline Industry...............................................................9
CSR used in the aviation industry..............................................................................................11
RESULTS......................................................................................................................................13
Introduction of the Chapter........................................................................................................13
Survey Results...........................................................................................................................13
Interview Results.......................................................................................................................27
Engine Efficiency and Alternative Fuels...............................................................................27
Operations and Infrastructure................................................................................................30
Evaluating Environmental Initiatives....................................................................................32
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................33
References......................................................................................................................................34

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Emirates Airline

LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction of the Chapter
This chapter presents review of literature hat focus on social responsibility of airlines.
The review is cantered on theory of social responsibility in alignment with business. Thus
corporate social responsibility theory is reviewed in this chapter considering the case of airlines
and airports. Airports are an integral part of the communities in which they operate and their
success is based on continued good relations with their stakeholders, who include a wide range
of individuals, groups, and institutions. It has also become increasingly apparent that
stakeholders (shareholders, investors, communities, regulator, employees, customers, and nongovernmental organizations) are taking a broader perspective of social responsibility (Werther
and Chandler, 2006) as they consider their relationships with the airport. This perspective
incorporates not only economic performance, but also social and environmental performance
factors. Stakeholders often evaluate social responsibility to determine whether an organization is
conducting its business in an ethically and socially responsible manner. Social responsibility is a
strategic approach for an organization to use in order to anticipate and address issues associated
with their interactions with others. Through addressing those interactions, they are better able to
achieve their business plans.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Background of Corporate Social Responsibility
CSR has a complicated, expansive, and wide-ranging history including definition and
classification. Therefore, the following paragraph limits to CSRs milestone rather than entire
broad history. Renowned economist, Adam Smith took the earliest initiative directing CSR

Emirates Airline

towards todays understanding of the concept in the eighteenth century. According to him, CSR
refers to the societys needs and desires possibly best met through discretional interaction of
corporations and individuals in the market. This definition later refined with the technological
innovations in the industrial revolution period in later years.
Technological innovations implied efficient production of products and services in the
industries (Rasche and Schere, 2013). Consequently, the following years witnessed emergence of
single powerful organizations and upgrades in labour remunerations, which varied the earlier
CSR concept. It is in this period that the Social Darwinism philosophy emerged describing
natural selection and survival for the fittest ideology in business culture (Secchi, 2007). The
downside though is that labour concerns, societal and community concerns received little
acknowledgement from the companies in spite of the meteoric success in companies strategies.
According to Branet (2007), the monopolized businesses became excessively powerful and
indifferent to the social, environmental, labour and community concerns.
In consequence, the twentieth century saw the culmination of laws rules, regulations, and
laws established to protect employees, consumers and the society. This marked the onset of a
socially responsible business cognizant of the plight of the poor as well as the welfare of the
working class. The Sherman Antitrust Act, for instance, was established and enacted in this
period abolishing anticompetitive business practices (IATA, 2013).
The first sixty years of the 19th century saw improved and changing business practices as
corporations and other commercial enterprises slowly accommodated marginal responsibilities
other than obeying the law and making profit (Cheng and Lin, 2009). For instance, the change in
ownership of previously stated owned corporations privatized developed renewed interest and
concentration on connecting shareholders and managers incentives. Profitable relationships

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were established between shareholders and managers through identification of markets,

governance structures and institutions (Jamali and Mirshak, 2006). As a result, the overall
business operations culminated in major successes. Nonetheless, this was not the overall solution
to remedy functionality of corporations.
In the following decade, consumerism, environmentalism and civil rights movements
emerged influencing huge on CSR. Mass protests, boycotts and demonstrations across the globe
during this period evoked immense power directed towards corporations. Consequently,
corporations yielded to the demands incorporating CSR characterized by societal concentration,
friendliness and primarily cantered on the society. In addition, corporations gave in to legal
obligations on product safety, employee equality, environmental preservation and conservation
and work safety. Indeed, corporations were burdened with greater expectations from the society
and this impacted mammoth on CSR.
Conclusively, modern CSR programs, practices, and actions are founded on the classical
and Adam Smiths business models. However, commercial enterprises today are expected to
surpass the economic and legal obligations and undertake voluntary actions to the benefit of its
employees, consumers, the society and the environment.

Corporate Social Responsibility Definition

Simply put, this is an ideological theory in which enterprises are regarded as social
entities. Therefore, they are obliged to the society at large as much as they are obliged to
individuals and the government (Yu-lei and You-gen, 2013). The most common definition of
CSR infers an economic, ethical, legal and discretionary expectation of the society to an
organization(s) at some point in time (Carroll and Bocholt 2003, p.36). Therefore, CSR concept

Emirates Airline

shows that businesses are ethically, morally and philanthropically obligated to the society while
pursuing their usual roles of obeying the law and making profits.
In spite of this, several studies and economists protest this acclamation stating that
corporation heads and executives are obliged to the shareholders and their interests (Lantos,
2001). For instance, Milton Friedman (1970) through his fevered articles in New York Times was
categorical that corporate executives in a liberalized market system feature as company
employees. As a result, Milton argued that they are bound to the wishes of their employers
(shareholders). According to Friedman, these executives chief duty is to exercise business subject
to the desires of their employers. This major duty is money accumulation to the shareholders in
line with basic social rules, ethics and the law (Friedman, 1970). Therefore, Friedman pioneered
the ultimate goal of a corporation as maximizing profits for increased investor returns while in
aggregate benefitting the company.
On the other hand, Herbert Simon (1997) voiced a different opinion to Milton Friedmans
ideology of maximizing profit. He was of the opinion that companies are best suited to attain
Miltons satisfactory corporate goal rather than the ultimate. According to Herbert, business
executives are obliged to other business objectives, constrain, and factors. Therefore, they must
strive to achieve the ultimate goal with bounded rationality. This meant that the C.E.Os of
corporations should make varied decisions within a restrictive resource environment, restrictive
in time and resource availability. Consequently, Herbert voiced out that achieving the ultimate
goal is not possible objectively and adequately. Therefore, sole concentration on profit
maximization would result to neglect of other business goals (Simon 1997, pp. 279-284).
Overall, a majority of proponents of CSR and economic theorists concede that businesses are
obliged to making returns to the owners then other interests.

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While addressing the definition, it was observed that corporate social responsibility
(CSR) shares a close correlation with corporate responsibility and sustainability (CRS). These
terms will be used interchangeably in the later discussions, evaluations and discussions. This will
also include social, economic and environmental concerns. Nevertheless, major points of focus
are environmental and social responsibilities.

A Synopsis of the Emirates Airline Industry at Present

History of the Emirates Airline Industry
At present, tourism and travel industry is amongst the worlds fastest and biggest growing
industry in todays competitive business world. Today, people travel for recreation, leisure,
business purpose whereas some people travel for the reason of their employment. The industry of
tourism and travel has turned into a popular worldwide leisure activity. According to the research
of UNWTO i.e. United Nations World Tourism Organisation, there have been the arrival of
almost 922 million of worldwide tourists in the year 2008. It is representing the growth of almost
1.9 percent when compared to the year 2007. Thus, today tourism and travel industry has turned
to be one of the dynamically developing and largest sectors of economic industry. Countries are
earning a huge quantity of foreign currency through tourism and travel industry. The growth rates
and development of tourism and travel industry, infrastructure development, introduction of new
management and considerable amount of foreign currency are affecting the several economic
sectors. This industry is completely contributing to the economic and social development and
growth of a country. Tourism and travel business is capable of making a significant connection
with the entire world, which helps in providing services to such people who are from another
country or region. The industry of airline is playing an inevitable and significant role in growing

Emirates Airline
tourism and travel industry. Airline industry is one of the most vital and significant part in
hospitality and tourism sector and Emirates Airline is playing a significant and effective role in
hospitality sector.
The journey of Emirates started in March 1985 when the Dubai government provided it
with two aircrafts and a capital of 10 million $. It started due to cut backs in destinations from
Gulf Air and has evolved as one of the best service providers worldwide. Their very first air
route was from Dubai to Karachi followed by Delhi and Bombay. Within its first year of
operations emirates flew 26000 passengers and carried 10000 tons of freight. Since then
Emirates has seen only profits except for the second year of operations when it made a loss. The
most important factor contributing to its success was the Gulf war which kept all the other
aircrafts outside the gulf area. Every year its revenues increased by 360 million Dirhams
reaching about 42477 million dirhams in the 2008-2009. Emirates now flies to over 100
destinations in 60 countries and operates 700 flights a week.
The Marketing Environment
Businesses
Emirates is mainly involved in the aviation industry, however it also has many other
subsidiary businesses. The emirates group owns two main corporations, namely Emirates and
Dnata. Dnata is one of the leading travel organizations in the Middle East and is responsible for
handling cargo ramp and technical services at the Dubai international airport.
Emirates and Dnata incorporate the following divisions in terms of destinations and
leisure management. Emirates has Emirates holidays , Arabian adventures , Congress Solutions

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International , Emirates Tours , Wolgan Valley Resort and spa , Timeless spa and Dubai desert
conservation reserve. It has also diversified into Emirates Sky Cargo which is currently the most
profitable, Skywards, Emirates official stores and Em quest, Emirates Aviation College and
Emirates Engineering. Dnata on the other hand handles Dnata Ground Handling,Marhaba, Dnata
Cargo(the most profitable), Dnata Travel Services, Mercator, Transguard and Dnata World.

Pest Analysis
Political analysis
Emirates is successful mainly because it operates through protectionism. Since its
establishment it has been protected by the governments regulations and policies. The Dubai
government being the sole owner of the industry makes it feasible for the company to adhere to
the policies given by each government thus ensuring the successful and effective running of the
companys business. Furthermore the company also has formulated its own strategies against any
government restriction and limitations.

Economic Analysis
Emirates being one of the worlds largest and competitive company, is economically
stable. Regardless of all the dangers that the company encounters in different parts of the world,
the management of Emirates sees to it that they are able to overcome all hurdle thus achieving a
better economic condition.

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Social Analysis
Emirates is affected by the situation prevailing in the society in which they operate. The
increase in the number of expatriates in Dubai leads to an increase in the profit margin as they
use the airline to travel back home. Emirates also tries to ensure that the society is given equal
chances of taking advantage of the services provided by them

Technological Analysis
IT developments have affected Emirates in a major way. The company uses different
IT/IS system and makes use of the internet to communicate with their customers and staff.
Besides this, Emirates also uses facilities like self and online check in for passengers to improve
their services and operations.

General Environment
Air pollution is a definite environmental hazard that any airline needs to consider.
Emirates has taken various steps to reduce their contribution, the most important being their
advanced and fuel efficient aircraft fleet. They burn less than 4 litres for every 100 passenger
kilometers. Because of their efficient hub based operation lesser number of flight are needed to
transport passengers and cargo.

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Current Trends and Situation in the Airline Industry

Over the last few years, aliening development with other different airline operators
became apparent around governmental restrictions. These alliances brought several advantages
such as offering airline tickets, passengers service coordination, cheaper fuel, code sharing and
supply purchases. Their overall actions are combined with an aim of providing efficient services
in the best way possible. The industry has a greater possibility of increasing in the future. Recent
research shows that the airline industry has been undergoing great changes (Madeline Ravich,
2010). The aviation has been pushed into sustainability by high fuel and energy prices and
restrictions based on greenhouse emissions. This push has been made in order to enhance
efficient operations within the industry. Nowadays, 2-3% of global greenhouse is coming from
airlines, which are major environmental threats and the planet in general. As a result of the
current societal changes, CSR needs to be taken in a serious manner.
According to global business, services report (IBM 2007, p.3); airline industry is faced
with challenges relating to competition and operational costs. The report indicated that prices of
the jet fuel increased by double between 2001 and 2005. Another challenge is on the global
expenditure incurred on both the private and public sector concerning anti-terror actions and the
increasing number of airlines of low costs. According to Vincent (2010, p.3), an improved
business through a hybrid model and a significant focus on higher profitability and customer
image improvement is inevitable. Airport council international (AIC) predicts that number of
global passengers will increase especially in Asian pacific and African region. This will result to
an overall increase in the total passenger traffic in the world which can be presented inform a
chart.

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The vision of the ACI is to increase the number of passengers from 5 billion in 2010 to 9
billion in 2025. The aim is to make Asia the largest world aviation market in the world. The
predicted rise in international traffic will outpace the domestic traffic by 0.8% every year (ACI
2007, p.2). The senior aviation executives conducted a survey about their concerns in todays
business that took an approach of the traffic matters. Through this survey, IBM came up with five
suggested services eventually for creating value addition and increased profitability. Their first
suggestion was based on self-service solutions intended to enable customers to choose their ways
of operation. The overall aim of their close collaboration between a shared infrastructure whilst
and travel providers was to reduce the cost. IBM also pointed out the shared services with an aim
of using commodity applications that will lead to infrastructure costs reduction (IBM 2007, p.3).
In order for the industry to increase its overall processes in its effort to deliver better
services, it has to incorporate airport operating systems that are modular and flexible. This can be
achieved through implementing flexible and a modular architecture capable of receiving and
routing data within a network. This may comprise of the ground crew system, information
display flight services, as well as catering systems. As a result, o increased security costs of
terrorist threats, new technologies are needed in order to minimize such expenditure. Some of the
technologies include automated system of document identification, fingerprint recognition, irisscanning systems, and systems of data analysis for passengers pre-screening as well as facial
recognition technologies. According to Vincent et al (2010), such implementations are highly
recommended though future business requires more for effective competition.

CSR used in the aviation industry

The organizations viewpoint relating to sustainable business actions has changed in the

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past years. This has been influenced by the existing laws and regulations, environmental interests
as well as the interest of the stakeholders. All businesses need to act in a responsible manner in
order to enhance better service delivery. Many businesses have ignored their secondary
responsibilities for the past years, as they are only concerned with achieving employees and
owners economic benefits. The awareness of CSR and the environmental impact of aviation
have contributed to the recent new ways of business emergence. According to Phillips (2006),
CSR is both a practice and a philosophy in consideration of both the primary and secondary
responsibilities of a business. It applies mainly to businesses whose main aim is assisting
positively the society beyond achieving its profit objectives.
Both sustainability and aviation seem to contradict one another. Sustainability predicted
that in the next 15 years, an overall flight traffic would increase. This is expected to cause
increased carbon emissions, overall pollution and consumption of raw materials. Some actions
have to be taken to support and fulfil the desires of stakeholders. Unfortunately, increasing
aviation predicted rather shocking estimated global damage to the environment and society.
Nitrogen oxides emissions will increase from 2.5 million to 6.1 million tons, and CO2 emissions
doubling to 1229 Mt (Environment Aviation Federation, 2008). To solve such problems, airline
operators will be required to invest a huge amount of capital. This will lead to shareholders
dissatisfaction and harm to the overall profitability. Carbon offsetting is one of the ways that
airline operators need to take into consideration in order to improve environmental impacts. The
main problem related to carbon offsetting is that CO2 emissions with direct environmental
impact are excluded in the offsetting calculations. For instance, in the Australian market such an
offsetting is used as a protection against new restrictions of the government. Thus, the original
aim of the environmental responsibility has no longer been evident. Despite the fact that CSR is

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not implemented by all airliners, the role played by the airline operators concerning the future
actions of the business will depend on their present actions. This will facilitate the protection
offered to society, environment and economy in general.

Current Situation of Emirates Airline

Evaluation of the companys current position
Emirates produced a net profit of $964 million in the first 6 months of 2010. The
company has seen a marked increase in passenger traffic, carrying 15.5 million passengers the
highest ever for a first six month reporting period.

Evidence of Companys Success

Emirates has made an incredible profit of 3538 million dirhams and its sales increased by
3.6% from the previous year.

Prospects of Future Growth

Emirates aims at operating 120 airbus a380s which implies that it would have to place an
additional order of 30 aircrafts worth $10 billion. With an increase in the fleet size emirates
would be able to increase their number of destinations leading to an overall increase in revenues.
Emirates growth during the past 25 years has been phenomenal and it aims at maintaining the

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current growth rate of 20% per annum. Emirates has an extremely strong brand name which
attracts customer loyalty. It has achieved this by implementing the latest technology and has
positioned itself as a forerunner in the aviation industry.

Climate Change and Airline

The environmental impact of aviation has also been a subject of much research, some of
which is presented in this section. Marais, et. al., use the impulse response functions derived
from the carbon cycle and atmospheric models to present a method of assessing impact of
aviation on global climate change, in form of globally-averaged change in surface temperature.
Additionally, they present an economic perspective of climate change by measuring its impact on
global gross domestic product (GDP) and the net present value (NPV) of climate change.
Without accounting for airline operations, but while still using flight mission profiles to measure
emissions, the System for assessing Aviations Global Emissions (SAGE) project, estimates the
global fuel burn and emissions using publicly-available databases and methodologies.
Many studies of the environmental and climate impact of aviation are conducted with the
aim to influence policymakers to adopt their recommendations. Waitz, et. al. present one such
report based on a study of ways to reduce aircraft noise and emissions and to increase aircraft
fuel efficiency.
While the aforementioned studies focused either on either airline operations or
environmental impacts, studies by Reynolds, et. al. and Vera-Morales and Hall provide the ability
to jointly analyze aviation, its environmental impact and economic effects at both the local and
global levels. They can model multiple policies and study their effect on aviation. They, however,
use publicly available data to model aircraft trajectories and estimate emissions, unlike this thesis

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which solves an aircraft allocation problem and also simulates the airlines operations. Similarly,
Winchester, et. al. study the effect of the cap-and-trade policy on US aviation especially, the
emissions generated by the industry, and the change in demand for air travel over time.
RESULTS
Introduction of the Chapter
This chapter presents results of the study that are obtained using both the quantitative and
the qualitative design. The quantitative design included a survey from tourists at Dubai Airport
and the qualitative design included interview with authorities of Emirates airline. Thus, primary
method was involved in this research. Purpose of the survey was to acquire knowledge about
tourists perception of social responsibility of airlines while purpose of the interview was to
gather information regarding social responsibility measures taken by the Emirates airline.

Survey Results
Through convince sampling, 100 tourists were surveyed. Tourists at Dubai airport were
reached until 50 tourists flying through Emirates responded. The sample also included 50 tourists
flying through other airlines. However, 48 questionnaires returned complete form each group.
Their responses on airlines social responsibility were observed on a 5-point Likert scale and they
were given an additional option for each question if they do not want to answer that specific
question.
Once the data was collected, it was transferred into Microsoft Excel 2007 spreadsheet.
The data was coded and transferred to IBM SPSS 20.0 for further analysis. As the responses
were measured in Likert scale, all the observations were ordinal, thus, a non-parametric test Chisquare was performed to analyze whether tourists visiting UAE are aware of the airlines social

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responsibility through which they are flying. Following are the SPSS generated outputs, which
include cross-tabulation, test statistic, and clustered bar chart.

Crosstab
Count
Airline
Total
Emirates Other
No answer
0
4
4
Strongly Disagree
4
12
16
The airline provides a safe and reliable
Disagree
8
13
21
Agree
13
11
24
transportation service.
Strongly Agree
19
6
25
Neither Agree nor Disagree
4
2
6
Total
48
48
96
When asked if the airline through which the participants travelled, provides safe and
reliable transportation service, all of Emirates passengers answered while four of those who flew
in other airline did not answer. Most of the passengers of Emirates airline (66.67%) agreed that
the airline provided safe transportation services while only 35.42% of the passengers flying
through other airlines affirmed safe transportation service. Value of Chi-square in the below table
is 16.784 with significance level 0.005. As this significance level is acceptable in 95%
confidence interval, it shows that passengers of Emirates perceive more safety provision than
passengers of other airlines.
Chi-Square Tests
Value
df

Pearson Chi-Square
Likelihood Ratio

16.784
18.883

Asymp. Sig.

5
5

(2-sided)
.005
.002

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Linear-by-Linear
15.287
1
.000
Association
N of Valid Cases
96
a. 4 cells (33.3%) have expected count less than 5. The
minimum expected count is 2.00.

Crosstab
Count
Airline
Emirates Other
0
3
2
6
7
16
24
14
10
6

Total

No answer
3
Strongly Disagree
8
Disagree
23
consumers privacy and
Agree
38
16
protects their personal Strongly Agree
Neither Agree nor
5
3
8
information.
Disagree
Total
48
48
96
Participants were also asked if the airline through which the participants travelled,
The airline respects

respects consumers' privacy and protect their personal information. All of Emirates passengers
answered while three of those who flew in other airline did not answer. Most of the passengers of

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Emirates airline (70.83%) agreed that the airline respects consumers' privacy and protect their
personal information while only 41.67% of the passengers flying through other airlines affirmed
consumers' privacy. Value of Chi-square in the below table is 12.653 with significance level
0.027. As this significance level is acceptable in 95% confidence interval, it shows that
passengers of Emirates perceive more respect of their privacy than passengers of other airlines.

Chi-Square Tests
Value
df

Pearson Chi-Square
Likelihood Ratio
Linear-by-Linear

12.653
14.048

Asymp. Sig.

5
5

(2-sided)
.027
.015

8.984
1
.003
Association
N of Valid Cases
96
a. 6 cells (50.0%) have expected count less than 5. The
minimum expected count is 1.50.

Crosstab
Count
Airline

Total

Emirates Airline

The airline provides a

safe working and
business environment
to ensure the safety of
its employees and

Emirates
1
5
13
18
8

No answer
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree

21

Other
2
11
17
7
10

3
16
30
25
18

Neither Agree nor

3
Disagree

customers.
Total
48
48
96
When asked if the airline through which the participants travelled, provides a safe
working and business environment to ensure the safety of its employees and customers, one
Emirates passenger did not answer while two of those who flew in other airline did not answer.
Most of the passengers of Emirates airline (54.16%) agreed that the airline provided safe
working and business environment while only 35.42% of the passengers flying through other
airlines affirmed safe working and business environment. Value of Chi-square in the below table
is 9.179 with significance level 0.127. As this significance level is not acceptable in 95%
confidence interval, it shows there is no significant difference between perception of tourists
regarding safety of workers in Emirates and in other airlines.
Chi-Square Tests
Value
df

Pearson Chi-Square
Likelihood Ratio
Linear-by-Linear

9.179
9.460

Asymp. Sig.

5
5

(2-sided)
.102
.092

3.259
1
.071
Association
N of Valid Cases
96
a. 4 cells (33.3%) have expected count less than 5. The
minimum expected count is 1.50.

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Crosstab
Count

The airline company's

commercials or
promotion do not
deceive or mislead

No answer
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
Neither Agree nor

Airline
Emirates Other
0
1
3
16
12
15
17
10
12
6
4

Total
1
19
27
27
18
4

Disagree

consumers.
Total
48
48
96
When asked if the airline through which the participants travelled, do not deceive or
mislead consumers through commercials or promotion, all of Emirates passengers answered
while one passenger of other airline did not answer. Most of the passengers of Emirates airline
(60.42%) agreed that the airline do not deceive or mislead consumers through commercials or
promotion while only 33.33% of the passengers flying through other airlines affirmed trust in
promotions and commercials. Value of Chi-square in the below table is 18.043 with significance

Emirates Airline

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level 0.003. As this significance level is acceptable in 95% confidence interval, it shows that
passengers of Emirates perceive more trust towards commercial than passengers of other airlines.
Chi-Square Tests
Value
df

Pearson Chi-Square
Likelihood Ratio
Linear-by-Linear

Asymp. Sig.

18.043
20.905

5
5

(2-sided)
.003
.001

16.407

.000

Association
N of Valid Cases
96
a. 4 cells (33.3%) have expected count less than 5. The
minimum expected count is .50.

Crosstab
Count

The airline provides a

clear and effective
complaint program for

No answer
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree

Airline
Emirates Other
0
2
1
14
10
11
22
12
13
8

Total
2
15
21
34
21

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24

Neither Agree nor

consumers to solve

Disagree

their
Total problems fairly
48
48
96
Participants were also asked if the airline through which the participants travelled,
provides a clear and effective complaint program for consumers to solve their problems fairly
and immediately. All of Emirates passengers answered while two of those who flew in other
airline did not answer. Most of the passengers of Emirates airline (72.91%) agreed that the airline
provides a clear and effective complaint program for consumers to solve their problems fairly
and immediately while only 41.67% of the passengers flying through other airlines affirmed
effective problem solution. Value of Chi-square in the below table is 17.779 with significance
level 0.003. As this significance level is acceptable in 95% confidence interval, it shows that
passengers of Emirates perceive more effective problem solution than passengers of other
airlines.
Chi-Square Tests
Value
df

Pearson Chi-Square
Likelihood Ratio
Linear-by-Linear

Asymp. Sig.

17.779
20.794

5
5

(2-sided)
.003
.001

12.912

.000

Association
N of Valid Cases
96
a. 4 cells (33.3%) have expected count less than 5. The
minimum expected count is 1.00.

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Crosstab
Count

The airline volunteers

No answer
Strongly Disagree
the services of rescuing, Disagree
Agree
transportation, and
Strongly Agree
Neither Agree nor
supply in times of

Airline
Emirates Other
2
4
5
8
11
17
14
13
12
5
4

Total
6
13
28
27
17
5

Disagree

disaster.
Total
48
48
96
When asked if the airline through which the participants travelled, volunteers the services
of rescuing, transportation, and supply in times of disaster, two Emirates passengers and four
passengers of other airlines did not answer. Most of the passengers of Emirates airline (54.17%)
agreed that the airline volunteers social service while only 33.33% of the passengers flying
through other airlines affirmed social service of their airline. Value of Chi-square in the below
table is 7.364 with significance level 0.195. As this significance level is not acceptable in 95%

Emirates Airline

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confidence interval, it shows that passengers of Emirates and other airline equally perceive social
service of these airlines.
Chi-Square Tests
Value
df

Pearson Chi-Square
Likelihood Ratio
Linear-by-Linear

Asymp. Sig.

7.364
7.608

5
5

(2-sided)
.195
.179

6.344

.012

Association
N of Valid Cases
96
a. 4 cells (33.3%) have expected count less than 5. The
minimum expected count is 2.50.

Crosstab
Count

The airline lowers the

pollution caused by its
business activities.

No answer
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree

Airline
Emirates Other
0
1
4
8
11
20
18
14
12
4

Total
1
12
31
32
16

Emirates Airline

27

Neither Agree nor

3

Disagree
Total
48
48
96
Participants were also asked if the airline through which the participants travelled, lowers
the pollution caused by its business activities. All of Emirates passengers answered while one
passenger who flew in other airline did not answer. Most of the passengers of Emirates airline
(62.5%) agreed that the airline lowers the pollution caused by its business activities while only
37.5% of the passengers flying through other airlines affirmed activities to reduce pollution.
Value of Chi-square in the below table is 10.446 with significance level 0.064. As this
significance level is not acceptable in 95% confidence interval, it shows that passengers of
Emirates and other airlines equally perceive activities of their airlines to reduce air pollution.
Chi-Square Tests
Value
df

Pearson Chi-Square
Likelihood Ratio
Linear-by-Linear

Asymp. Sig.

10.446
11.130

5
5

(2-sided)
.064
.049

9.386

.002

Association
N of Valid Cases
96
a. 4 cells (33.3%) have expected count less than 5. The
minimum expected count is .50.

Emirates Airline

28

Crosstab
Count

The airline carries out

No answer
Strongly Disagree
its business activities in Disagree
Agree
accordance with the
Strongly Agree

Airline
Emirates Other
1
3
6
5
11
16
13
16
15
6

Total
4
11
27
29
21

environmental
regulations and policies
stipulated by

Neither Agree nor

2

Disagree

governments and
international covenants.
Total
48
48
96
When asked if the airline through which the participants travelled, carries out its business
activities in accordance with the environmental regulations and policies stipulated by
governments and international covenants, one Emirates passenger and three passengers of other

Emirates Airline

29

airlines did not answer. Most of the passengers of Emirates airline (58.33%) agreed that the
airline carries business activities in accordance with regulations while only 45.83% of the
passengers flying through other airlines affirmed business regulations obligations. Value of Chisquare in the below table is 6.184 with significance level 0.289. As this significance level is not
acceptable in 95% confidence interval, it shows that passengers of Emirates and other airline
equally regulations obligations by the airlines.
Chi-Square Tests
Value
df

Pearson Chi-Square
Likelihood Ratio
Linear-by-Linear

6.184
6.365

Asymp. Sig.

5
5

(2-sided)
.289
.272

2.405
1
.121
Association
N of Valid Cases
96
a. 4 cells (33.3%) have expected count less than 5. The
minimum expected count is 2.00.

Crosstab

Emirates Airline

30

Count

The airline company

uses renewable energy
and reduce on-ground

Airline
Emirates Other
2
2
5
11
14
17
14
10
9
7

No answer
Strongly Disagree
Disagree
Agree
Strongly Agree
Neither Agree nor

energy consumption.

Total

4
16
31
24
16
5

Disagree
Total
48
48
96
Participants were also asked if the airline through which the participants travelled, uses
renewable energy and reduce on-ground energy consumption. Two Emirates passenger and two
passengers of other airlines did not answer. Most of the passengers of Emirates airline (47.92%)
agreed that the airline uses renewable energy while only 35.42% of the passengers flying through
other airlines affirmed use of renewable energy. Value of Chi-square in the below table is 5.257
with significance level 0.385. As this significance level is not acceptable in 95% confidence
interval, it shows that passengers of Emirates and other airlines equally perceive use of
renewable energy by the airlines.
Chi-Square Tests
Value
df

Pearson Chi-Square
Likelihood Ratio
Linear-by-Linear

5.257
5.445

Asymp. Sig.

5
5

(2-sided)
.385
.364

3.687
1
.055
Association
N of Valid Cases
96
a. 4 cells (33.3%) have expected count less than 5. The
minimum expected count is 2.00.

Emirates Airline

31

Interview Results
Nowadays, airline corporations are inseparable from the global environmental issues.
Airlines by nature are a part of this global problem based on the nature of their business. The two
main bi-products of the airline industry as a whole are carbon emissions and noise. The industry
is estimated to contribute 2% of the worlds annual CO2 emissions and that is projected to
increase to 3% in 2050 (Global Reporting Initiative, 2012). The airline industry has always been
competitive. Environmental CSR programs are now paramount to the survival in the
marketplace. Some of the top competitors in the market have now implemented official annual
CSR reports (Chen & Lin, 2009). As one of the authorities at Emirates airline said, There has
been an overarching pressure from society in the form of non-governmental organizations to
adopt these environmental CSR programs on Emirates as well.

Engine Efficiency and Alternative Fuels

The authorities at Emirates were asked about use of alternate flues and engine efficiency

Emirates Airline

32

for sustainable environment. One of the authorities regarded fuel efficiency and a sustainable
alternative fuels as a looming topic in the airline industry. Emissions have a negative impact on
environment and are regulated in terms of tons of CO2 emissions and in terms of noise levels
(dB). One respondent mentioned, Emirates Airlines operates internationally and therefore is
primarily pressured by the United Nations.
In order to bring regulations worldwide, the United Nations created the International
Civil Aviation Organization. This agency places regulations for noise and is working towards a
plan to measure and determine minimums for emissions efficiency. The ICAO mandates that
manufacturers abide by current noise (dB) standards (Annex 16, volume 1) (IATA, 2004). In
order to abide by these standards, member countries of this United Nations program must stock
their fleet with certified jet engines. There also exist non-governmental organizations that
pressure airlines to make a commitment to improving technology for current fuel efficiency and
to investing in a more sustainable fuel source for the future. The International Air Transport
Association (IATA) promotes and endorses airlines that align their activities with the virtues of
the IATA. These virtues include investment in new technology for reducing greenhouse gas
(GHG) emissions.
An interview responded, Modernization of jet engines is not only mandated by the
ICAO, but is also a product of the competitive airline market. Almost all of the worlds leading
have taken step to modernize their fleet of jets. An independent study showed that 38% of the top
100 airlines currently have a corporate sustainability report. The respondent further said, In
order to differentiate from the competition Emirates recognized the need to not only maintain the
status quo of current technology, but also pioneer into the realm of alternative jet fuels.
Regarding pressure from non-governmental organization, an Engineer at Emirates

Emirates Airline

33

Airlines said, The summation of pressures stemming from the distinct entities within society
have successfully pressured Emirates airlines to adopt new platforms to increase jet fuel
efficiency and research funds for alternative jet fuels. Emirates airlines have shown compliancy
with the ICAO and IATA by having one of the most modern fleet of jets in the industry. The two
most recent additions to the fleet are the Boeing 787 and the A350. The Boeing 787s jet engine
consumes 20% less fuel than similarly sized models used by other airlines. Emirates Airlines
recognizes that present technology does reduce the impact on the environment in the form of
carbon emissions, but jet fuel is a finite supply on earth. Emirates airline is one of the pioneers
for advocating and supporting organizations. The problem of carbon emissions still exists from
bio fuels, but bio fuels are a more sustainable source that emits less GHGs than the jet fuels that
exist presently.
The analysis of Emirates airlines environmental impact and strategy comes from their
environmental engineering staff. Another engineer among interviewees said, There are many
ways for airlines to become more environmentally sustainable, but environmental engineers and
process engineers internal to Emirates airlines determine what activities will add the most value
to their corporations. These functional groups implement these initiatives based on the net effect
of carbon emission reduction and capital expenditure. Another potential benefit Emirates Airlines
may receive in the future is the propriety rights or advantage in future market for alternative jet
fuels. The end goal of these environmental activities is to generate cost savings from a reduction
of fuel consumption and increased revenue through a market of virtues demand.
Many of the initiatives put forward by Emirates Airlines require coordination with a
number of aviation stakeholders. The end goal for the aviation as a whole is to achieve better
sustainability for industry as a whole. A financial expert from Emirates Airline said, When

Emirates Airline

34

Emirates airlines invests in companies that have green initiatives themselves they are in affect
promoting the growth of sustainability in the industry. The jet plane manufacturers who are
adhering to international standards are being rewarded for their fuel efficiency. The biggest
stakeholder in this initiative is society as a whole. They are benefiting from the Emirates airlines
reducing their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and at the same time changing the status quo for
other airlines in the industry. Although there is some debate with the effects of GHGs on the
climate, there has been a consensus that there is an effect, but the magnitude is still unknown.

Operations and Infrastructure

As part of the overarching goal to reduce their CO2 emissions, many airlines in the
industry have implemented operational practices to reduce fuel burn, conserve energy, and
decrease resource usage. An interview belonging to operations and infrastructure of Emirates
airline said, Emirates airline utilizes real-time wind data to generate flexible flight paths and
enable dynamic flight planning with the goal of shortening and optimizing routes to reduce fuel
burn and CO2 emissions. It has also set up an Environmental Affairs Department to ensure
implementation of its environmental programs. A crewmember among the interviewees also
mentioned, Emirates Airlines flight crew take simple measures, such as using fewer engines
when taxiing to arrival gates and making aircrafts lighter by uploading less water onto them and
using lighter cargo containers, to help achieve this goal.
Programs, such as the multinational, government-based Asia and Pacific Initiative to
reduce Emissions (ASPIRE), also informally encourage airlines to be more sustainable. Actions
of its competitors and other external pressures have thus motivated Emirates Airlines to also
implement similar strategic initiatives, directly related to their business, to improve its operations

Emirates Airline

35

and infrastructure. For instance, pre-departure, jet engines and other components undergo
washes, fuel is loaded just in time, and the aircrafts weight is decreased by minimizing water
uploads, using lighter weight cargo containers, etc. said a worker from hanger.
One crewmember revealed, During the flights, crew use dynamic routing techniques,
such as examining wind patterns, to fly the shortest and most efficient paths possible. Continuous
descent approaches and single-engine taxiing are used to minimize fuel use when landing. Air
traffic controllers coordinate departures and arrivals with efficiency in mind by, for instance,
choosing optimal departure and arrival times based on current conditions and assigning planes
the shortest possible routes from runways to parking bays on arrival. It is estimated that these
green flight use around 6% less fuel than others and reduce carbon emissions by 2 metric tons
per flight. SIA works with others, internationally, to develop more efficient, permanent flight
paths which all flights could use.
Since November of 2009, Emirates airline has implemented improved operating
procedures for its Airbus A380 planes, which are considered green aircraft, at Londons
Heathrow Airport; these procedures, such as using less power during take-off, save fuel and
reduce carbon emissions by 1 ton per flight from London to Emirates. Additionally, during night
stops and long transits, SIA utilizes Ground Power Units to minimize the use of Auxiliary Power
Units on the aircrafts themselves.
Other practices on the ground help to conserve resources. As one of the interviewees said,
Emirates airline utilizes an electronic ticketing system across its network to reduce paper use.
Upgrades to more energy efficient, LED lighting in all buildings and installation of more
efficient air handling units help to save energy, and heat recovery systems help to conserve
resources. Electricity consumption at their facilities could still be improved, however, as the

Emirates Airline

36

majority of it is used in maintenance activities in the hangars rather than administrative

buildings, and little has yet been done to improve energy conservation in the hangars. As water is
scarce in UAE, Emirates airline takes various measures to optimize water use in its buildings,
such as recycling water, using flow restrictors in faucets, and using non-chemical water
treatments for cooling towers. Recycling practices and office practices, such as electronic
document storing, are also used to conserve resources.
Emirates Airlines has established an Environmental Management System, certified to
ISO 14001-2004 standards, in its Engineering and Flight Operations Divisions responsible for
implementing and measuring the effectiveness of the airlines environmental commitments. An
interviewee in the panel informed, At airports, mechanics hired by Emirates airline are
responsible for engine washing, fuel loading, and other pre-flight operations, while air traffic
controllers ensure efficient departure and arrival; in the air, pilots and other crew are responsible
for efficient flight routing. Maintenance workers at Emirates buildings install the energyefficient equipment, and all employees contribute to resource saving through best office
practices. Emirates airlines sustainability-related operations directly benefit passengers, who
experience shorter flight times, as well as those who spend much time around airports, as they
help improve air quality around airports.

Evaluating Environmental Initiatives

Emirate airlines operating and infrastructure-relating activities are both legal and ethical.
They have a direct impact on reducing operating costs, thus allowing the company to retain more
revenues as profits. They are more enduring commitments, as they are strategic and integrated in
to their business activities rather than being a moral after-thought. The CO2 reductions they

Emirates Airline

37

produce do play some part in reducing societys CO2 use to levels which can be handled by the
Earths biological systems in to the future and thus moving society from the current, status-quo
levels closer to the desired state of carbon neutrality.
Emirates Airlines have taken many steps to become one of the leaders in environmental
reporting. Although they provide a comprehensive report, all of their analysis is done internally.
Most of the aviation corporations all over the world have Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
verified reports. The GRI is the leader in corporate social responsibility reporting. The actual
numbers provided by SIA are not even compliant with the AA1000 standard (AccountAbility,
2012). The AA1000 standard The AA1000 standards are designed for the integrated thinking
required by the low carbon and green economy, and support integrated reporting and assurance.
If Emirates Airlines is investing money into their environmental sustainability, but they need reevaluate their reporting so external stakeholders can accurately gauge their progress towards a
reduction of GHGs.

Conclusion
Overall, Emirates Airlines does a respectable job by often looking to leverage its
expertise in the air transportation services to support institutions engaging in significant causes in
the markets they operate. Most of the activities that they are involved in are ethical, legal, and
profitable, thus creating a market for virtue; besides the price fixing practice for which they have
been fined a couple of times. This highlights the importance of investing in CSR activities and
serving the bigger picture, which is beneficial for the long-term sustainability of a firm.

Emirates Airline

38

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Appendix
Interview Questions
1. Does the Emirates airline respect consumers privacy and protect their personal
information?
2. Does the Emirates airline provide a safe and reliable transportation service to their
passengers?
3. What do you think, the Emirates airline provide a safe working and business environment
to ensure the safety of its employees and customers?
4. Does the airline company's commercials or promotions deceive or mislead consumers?
5. In your opinion, Does the airline provides a clear and effective complaint program for
consumers to solve their problems fairly and immediately?
6. Does the Emirates airline volunteers the services of rescuing, transportation, and supply
in times of disaster?
7. Does the Emirates airline lower the pollution caused by its business activities?
8. Does the Emirates airline carry out its business activities in accordance with the
environmental regulations and policies stipulated by governments and international
covenants?
9. Does Emirates airline company use renewable energy and reduce on-ground energy
consumption?