Environmental Compliance and Stewardship
Environmental compliance and stewardship are the foundation of our sustainability initiatives and Delta approaches them in a comprehensive and holistic manner. We focus on key environmental programs such as air and water quality, responsible waste management, incident response, remediation and industrial hygiene.
Our Environmental team has overall responsibility for developing best-practice management systems and continues to implement policies and programs that help ensure compliance with a wide array of regulations to mitigate risks and reduce Delta’s environmental footprint.
Performance Measurement
We measure environmental compliance and stewardship performance through a variety of metrics, including air emissions, hazardous waste generation and penalties associated with recorded violations.
For detailed figures, see our environmental data tables in the Appendix:
Introduced an all-in-one digital risk-management platform to standardize and streamline environmental compliance.
Key System Tools for Environmental Compliance and Stewardship
Environmental Programs Manual
Delta’s Environmental Programs Manual codifies Delta’s policies, expectations, training requirements and management protocols for compliance with federal, state and local regulations as well as Delta’s environmental policies that go beyond compliance.
Environmental Management System (EMS)
Modeled after the ISO 14001 framework, Delta’s EMS outlines our enterprise-wide environmental management processes and initiatives. In 2024, we completed the transition of our EMS to a single digital platform with internal control procedures that systematically organizes all related compliance documents and risk-based tools into a comprehensive management suite. In addition to establishing defined roles and responsibilities to enact compliance procedures, the EMS enables Delta to identify and evaluate environmental risks and mitigate them through compliance tasks, inspections and assurance visits.
Environmental Management Information System
Delta’s Environmental Management Information System is a web-based, system-level tool that supports the EMS by tracking required tasks and inspections and providing proactive, site-specific data analytics and task management notifications to help our Environmental team stay ahead of, and validate, compliance. In 2024, Delta updated its risk assessment data collection process to include a digital tool consolidating real-time performance data analytics, which enables Delta to proactively identify, track and respond to potential environmental risks.
Addressing Illegal Wildlife Trade
The illegal trafficking of wildlife is a danger to biodiversity, ecosystems and global security. Traffickers frequently exploit commercial transport infrastructures, including cargo and passenger airlines, to move illegal wildlife products between source and destination countries.
To help address this harmful practice, Delta cooperates with U.S. federal authorities — including the Department of Agriculture, Customs and Border Protection, and the Fish and Wildlife Service — to adhere to applicable regulations. We also continue to maintain policies prohibiting the shipment of hunting trophies that are key endangered species.
Delta also participates in United for Wildlife (UfW), an initiative of the Prince of Wales and The Royal Foundation that aims to foster international, cross-sector collaboration to make it impossible for traffickers to transport, finance or profit from illegal wildlife products. Delta is a signatory to UfW’s Buckingham Palace Declaration, which outlines 11 commitments — including adopting zero-tolerance policies, increasing awareness, sharing data and information, and coordinating with law enforcement, trade and other authorities — to help disrupt the illegal wildlife trade.