Our Path to Sustainability
Our focus on environmental sustainability stems from our long history of working to take care of people and communities. Our mission to connect the world includes working to imagine and help deliver a more sustainable future of travel. This is not only important to our customers — it is also essential to positioning our business to thrive into the future.
One of our most significant environmental impacts is greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the global aviation sector represents approximately 2% of total GHG emissions and is among the hardest sectors to decarbonize. Our operations also generate non-GHG emissions and waste materials.
Delta is proud of the progress we are making on our Sustainability Strategy, and know we can’t do it alone. Many of the factors affecting the ability to reach our goals are outside of our control. Addressing these factors will require government policies and incentives, research and development, and significant capital allocation across the public and private sectors. As outlined in this section, Delta is actively collaborating within and beyond our industry to advance our vision for a more sustainable future of flight.
Sustainability is good for business, our people and the planet, and as we enter our centennial year, we’re as focused as ever on driving long-term impact as we aspire to net-zero emissions by 2050.”
Delta’s Sustainability Strategy
To address our GHG and waste-related impacts, Delta is pursuing short- and long-term strategies focused on What We Fly, How We Fly and the Fuel We Use. Key levers of change include working to transition our fleet to utilize more fuel-efficient aircraft, leveraging innovation and collaboration to drive more efficient operations and continuing efforts to replace an increasing share of our traditional jet fuel with sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). We are also working to transition our ground support equipment (GSE) to electric power and cleaner fuels, and we continue to incorporate more sustainable practices and products on board our aircraft and across our operations.
An image divided into three sections outlining Delta's long-term strategy focused on "What We Fly", "How We Fly", and "The Fuel We Use".
Our Sustainability Targets
Delta is pursuing a range of near-, medium- and long-term targets to support our sustainability strategy and achieve our net-zero goals, as summarized in the infographic. For additional information about Delta’s plans and achievements in each area, click on the title in each header row.
fuel-efficiency gains;1
partnerships with revolutionary tech players
fuel-efficiency gains;1
operation of mainline revolutionary technology
fuel-efficiency gains;1
fuel burn savings from operational improvements (45M gallons)2
operational fuel savings
gallons cumulative2
operational fuel savings2
GSE electrification;
5 hubs at 100% of core fleet3
renewable energy powering operations
waste diversion from landfill4
waste diversion from landfill4
Our Climate Strategy
We believe that addressing the climate impact of aviation is essential to helping meet global emissions goals while preserving the vital role that air travel plays in global connectivity and commerce. That is why we continue to focus our strategy on decarbonizing our airline operations and value chain with the goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and supporting Delta's success for the next 100 years.
With around 90% of our GHG emissions coming from jet fuel, achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 depends on our ability to successfully decarbonize our flight operations. Our sustainability strategy supports our net-zero goal by focusing on:
- What We Fly — e.g., transitioning our fleet to more fuel-efficient aircraft
- How We Fly — e.g., adopting new technologies, procedures and other strategies to improve fuel efficiency
- The Fuel We Use — e.g., collaborating to scale supply and reduce the cost of SAF
Progress will be shaped in part by our own actions, and also by factors beyond our direct control, including customer demand, technological innovation, government policy and incentives, and the activities and investments of others in our industry and value chain. We remain committed to ongoing collaboration with our industry partners, policymakers and stakeholders and to monitoring and adapting our strategy as conditions change.
Delta’s Projected Net-Zero Roadmap1
A graph titled "Delta's Projected Net-Zero Roadmap" shows CO2 emissions from 2020 to 2050, highlighting strategies like fleet renewal, efficient operations, revolutionary fleet, cleaner fuel, and carbon removals to reduce emissions from 18 MMT to zero by 2050.