Carbon Reducing Initiatives as a Strategy to Achieve Sustainable Competitive Advantage : case study of the airline industry

Abstract

Airlines as a part high intensity energy industry are searching for best cost-effective approaches of decarbonization. Compounded with political and economic factors as well as regulative and financial challenges, many airlines have devised sustainability and environmental strategies to tackle upcoming environmental threats. This research uses multiple case study method to evaluate environmental strategies of three airlines and argue the potential benefits of sustainable aviation fuel, operational efficiency, and carbon offsetting schemes. The significance of a research lies in difficulty of evaluating which airlines are greener than the others. The research is contributing to this topic by discussing strategic stance of airlines in terms of sustainable competitive advantage, and whether an airline can differentiate itself with well-developed sustainability policy. As a result, this study has confirmed the hypothesis that despite many challenges carbon offsetting schemes are the most effective measure for airlines to tackle climate change in the short-term.