The Aviation Sustainability Forum (ASF), a not-for-profit organisation aiming to improve sustainability in aviation, has today announced the appointment of international strategy consultancy Stonehaven and its sustainability firm Robertsbridge in London and Singapore. The partnership with Stonehaven and Robertsbridge will help to bolster the ASF’s sustainability capabilities and help drive plans to reduce cabin waste, standardise materials and improve circularity.
As part of the next phase of its plans, the ASF will work with major trade associations and the Stonehaven and Robertsbridge teams to help drive the campaign to tackle the impact of International Cabin Waste (ICW) and to find solutions to limit the millions of tonnes of waste generated on international flights each year – waste that is an often-overlooked contributor to the global aviation industry’s emissions.
With aviation now in full post-pandemic recovery and levels of ICW again increasing, the work of the ASF is both timely and urgent to address the millions of tons of waste generated a year by adopting standards for the entire sector. These standards will support the industry governing bodies to present the case for regulation change which currently requires millions of tonnes of cabin waste to be incinerated or committed to landfill every year.
The ASF highlights that collaboration across the global aviation supply chain is essential to mitigate the issue of international cabin waste. In 2023, it will strive to bring new members from the inflight services industry together to develop sustainable solutions and standards whilst campaigning to overcome regulatory and policy barriers currently hindering progress.
This partnership with Stonehaven and Robertsbridge follows the publication of ASF’s preliminary report in 2021, The Case for Standardisation of Disposable Food and Beverage Service, which highlights the need for the aviation inflight product and services supply chain to come together and develop standard solutions, whether that is materials which are used in the manufacture of passenger products and services or waste management practices.
Matt Crane, Founding Partner of the ASF, said: “As aviation returns to pre-pandemic levels, the need for sustainable inflight product and service solutions is more vital than ever. The ASF is committed to working with its members and the teams at Stonehaven and Robertsbridge in London and Singapore to reduce ICW and drive long-term sustainability within the sector.
These commitments, however, are only as good as the support and backing they get from the entirety of the aviation supply chain, which is why we’re inviting aviation leaders to join the ASF and pledge their support for reducing ICW.
We want to thank the members who have already joined the ASF and pledged their support and look forward to welcoming others to join us in our mission to reduce inflight cabin waste.”
Peter Lyburn, CEO and Founder of Stonehaven, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with the Aviation Sustainability Forum in the global effort to reduce inflight cabin waste.
We are confident that the work we do together will be instrumental in helping reduce the environmental impact of ICW and make a lasting impact on the industry.”
The ASF invites the global aviation community, including airlines, airports, caterers, suppliers, and waste management companies, to join in the effort to reduce in-flight cabin waste.
