Finalist: Lufthansa Technik
Location Hamburg, Germany
Achievement Winning certification under Europe's new ecology audit. By the end of 1996, Lufthansa Technik had won official recognition for its long-running work on environmental improvements by becoming the first operation of its kind to be certified under the European Union's ecology-audit regulations.
The audit required the company to demonstrate in detail that it has a system in place to monitor and manage the environmental impact of its aircraft and engine-overhaul operations.
The main Hamburg base could show a series of measurable improvements over the past decade. Its output of waste products has fallen by more than 40%and the quantity of hazardous waste by twice that much. The plant now also recycles 55% of waste products.
The base at Frankfurt Airport has shown progress in cutting waste by 20% over the past three years and has programmes in hand to reduce its use of drinking water, including plans to use rainwater for washing aircraft.
The lead taken by Lufthansa Technik in winning the audit and the scale of its environmental initiatives are praised by the Awards judges as a "very impressive" advance. The work still goes on, with the next audit scheduled for 1999.
Source: Flight International
