Delta to Support Carbon War Room Efforts to Accelerate Renewable Jet Fuel Commercialization

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Jun 16, 2014, 11:00 ET

ATLANTA, June 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) is partnering with the Carbon War Room, a nonprofit founded by Sir Richard Branson, in an effort to accelerate low-carbon jet fuel production worldwide. This is part of the global carrier's commitment to environmental accountability, transparency and carbon emission reduction.

Delta and Carbon War Room agree that the development of a secure, sustainable, renewable fuels supply will strengthen the airline industry's access to high-quality jet fuel, reduce price volatility and the industry's overall carbon footprint and meet the needs of increasingly climate-conscious customers.

Additionally, access to a competitively-priced renewable jet fuel will be advantageous in meeting future regulatory requirements to reduce emissions from the burning of petroleum-based jet fuel.

"Delta recognizes that our commitment and responsibility extends well beyond our customers and includes being good global corporate citizens," said John Laughter, Delta's senior vice president – Corporate Safety, Security and Compliance. "Supporting the Carbon War Room is a great step forward as we strive to lead the industry in innovation and sustainability."

"I am very excited to welcome Delta Air Lines as the newest partner in this game-changing effort. By joining, Delta is further elevating its commitment to environmental sustainability and supporting real action to face the most important challenge of our time," said Jose Maria Figueres, President of the Carbon War Room.

Additionally, Delta is reducing its carbon footprint through initiatives such as improving the efficiency of our fleet, partnerships in air traffic management, airport and facility green practices and a robust recycling program in the air and on the ground. The airline also has successfully verified its complete greenhouse gas emissions inventory under The Climate Registry and has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability North American Index three years in a row.

Since 2009, Delta has supported the greenhouse gas emissions goals of IATA and Airlines for America, including improving average annual fuel efficiency by 1.5 percent through 2020, stabilizing emissions with carbon-neutral growth from 2020 and reducing net emissions 50 percent by 2050, relative to 2005.

Delta Air Lines

Delta Air Lines serves nearly 165 million customers each year. This year, Delta was named the 2014 Airline of the Year by Air Transport World magazine and was named to FORTUNE magazine's top 50 Most Admired Companies in addition to being named the most admired airline for the third time in four years. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 333 destinations in 64 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs nearly 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. The airline is a founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance and participates in the industry's leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia as well as a newly formed joint venture with Virgin Atlantic. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 15,000 daily flights, with hubs in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. Delta has invested billions of dollars in airport facilities, global products, services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Additional information is available on delta.com, Twitter @Delta, Google.com/+Delta, Facebook.com/delta and Delta's blog takingoff.delta.com.

The Carbon War Room

The Carbon War Room is a global nonprofit, founded by Sir Richard Branson and a team of like-minded entrepreneurs, that accelerates the adoption of business solutions that reduce carbon emissions at gigaton scale and advance the low-carbon economy. The organization focuses primarily on solutions that can be realized using proven technologies under current policy landscapes.

The Carbon War Room identifies and works in sectors where emissions can be reduced profitably, and where there are barriers preventing greater adoption of low-carbon solutions. Within these sectors, we launch operations and collaborate with the sectors' stakeholders. The War Room's current Operations include Maritime Shipping Efficiency, Building Efficiency, Renewable Jet Fuels, Smart Island Economies, and Trucking Efficiency.

For more information, please visit www.carbonwarroom.com.

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SOURCE Delta Air Lines