Happy birthday, BA Better World

The launch of BA Better World began by building on a long track record of attention to aviation sustainability. It marked the beginning of a long-term vision to transform our airline. We said BA Better World was our most important journey yet and that remains true today.

We’re proud of what we’ve achieved so far and wanted to share with you some of our key achievements to date. But we know we have much more work to do to tackle the causes of our environmental and social impact.

Reduced our carbon intensity by ten per cent

We’re working to drive carbon efficiency across the business through multiple initiatives, including introducing new, more fuel-efficient aircraft and using more sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), the industry recognised term, and sustainability learning for our pilots. In 2023, this helped us reduce our carbon intensity to 86.2g CO₂/EPK – ten per cent lower than pre-pandemic levels in 2019, and a three per cent intensity improvement from 2022.

Launched the BA Better World Community Fund

Through our Community Fund, together we’ve raised more than £5m and supported 246 organisations’ community and environmental projects in the UK that align with all the elements of BA Better World – from the British Red Cross to the Alzheimer’s Society to the Prince’s Trust.

Removed more than 200 tonnes of single-use plastic from our aircraft

We know we have a lot to do to remove single-use plastic (SUP) items, and we’re working closely with suppliers to identify more sustainable alternatives, such as bamboo and paper where possible. 

Reached the £29m milestone for Flying Start

Our colleagues and customers have raised more than £29m for Flying Start, our charity partnership with Comic Relief. The collaboration began in 2010 and we have helped to support more than one million people.

Made more customer accessibility improvements

We continue to work hard to improve our accessibility offering for our customers who require additional assistance by introducing new initiatives and partnerships to help us on our journey. This includes launching the BA Accessibility Advisory Panel, an independent panel of individuals with both visible and non-visible disabilities, to improve customer inclusion. The panel brings to life the mantra ‘Nothing about us, without us’, which champions the belief that we need to involve those with a disability or access needs when creating products and services for them to have an experience equal to those enjoyed by non-disabled people.

A big thank you to everyone that has contributed so far. It’s just the beginning but we’re on our way to BA Better World.