When aircraft meets PurePower: HNA and Pratt & Whitney partner in building an environmentally responsible aviation ecosystem

BEIJING, July 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- HNA Group, a Chinese multi-national corporation headquartered in Hainan Island, starting as a local air carrier and growing up to a Global Fortune 500 company with multiple businesses operations including tourism, finance, logistics and eco-technology, is celebrating its 24th anniversary.

During the group's anniversary celebrations, HNA Group's partners have commended the group for its outstanding achievements through the years and given their support for continued growth and success in the future. Bob Leduc, president of Pratt & Whitney, an American aerospace manufacturer with global service operations, said, "Over the past 24 years, HNA Group has gone from a local air transport company based in Hainan Island to a Global Fortune 500 conglomerate. The story of the group makes for an inspiring chapter in the global aviation industry."

Committed to developing green aviation

HNA Group established the Green Aviation Initiative & Network in cooperation with key strategic partners, Pratt & Whitney and its parent company United Technologies in June 2016, as a move to boost the future development of the green aviation industry in the course of becoming an environmentally responsible aviation.

Doug Cai, president of Greater China, Pratt & Whitney, said, "The Green Aviation Initiative & Network aims to build an environmentally responsible aviation ecosystem via communication, dialog and innovative solutions."

How to use energy more efficiently, how to protect the environment and how to reduce the carbon footprint have been some of the hot topics across the world's civil aviation industry. The Green Aviation Initiative & Network serves as an international exchange platform for connecting the entire industry chain at a global level as well as encouraging cross-border interaction, industrial collaboration and joint innovation.

As of June 2017, the one-year old Green Aviation Initiative & Network has already made some notable achievements, one is which is bringing together 27 leading companies and organizations with a presence in the aviation industry to sponsor and support the platform construction of the project. In November 2016, 12 organizations, including HNA Group and United Technologies, jointly released Green Aviation Whitepaper 2016 through the network, drawing much attention and receiving positive feedback from players across the Chinese aviation industry.

Mr. Cai commented, "From a new perspective focusing on sustainable development, the Green Aviation Whitepaper reviews the development of the aviation industry, while HNA Group and United Technologies' strategic cooperation in green aviation allows them to make a contribution to the building of a sustainable and environmentally responsible aviation environment."

By researching the aviation industry's low energy consumption, low emission and low pollution practices across the entire process, from design to testing and manufacturing, the whitepaper advocates industrial competitiveness, moving the industry from a sole focus on creating market value to comprehensive economic, social and environmental value creation, as well as improving the respond capability  to climate change. Over the next two years, the Green Aviation Initiative & Network plans to expand its presence across all aviation-related industries by demonstrating the basic benefits of an environmentally responsible aviation ecosystem. 

Promoting the development of a green aviation industry with clean power

Both as joint sponsors and members of the executive committee of the Green Aviation Initiative & Network, HNA Group and United Technologies have formed a long-term and in-depth partnership based on their shared passion for environmental protection and the public interest as well as their strong sense of responsibility for the development of the industry.

In 2002, HNA Group received its first Boeing 767 wide-body aircraft powered by Pratt & Whitney's PW4056 engine.

Due to continuous technological advances in the aviation industry, energy efficiency improvement and carbon emissions reduction through the application of advanced technologies have become a standard approach in the industry. In tandem with the trend, HNA Group has equipped its fleet with Pratt & Whitney's revolutionary PurePower geared turbofan engine. The advanced PurePower engine has been proven to reduce energy consumption by 16 percent, nitrogen oxide emissions by 50 percent and engine noise footprint by 75 percent when compared to traditional engines.

Mr. Cai explained, "Selecting the new energy-saving and environment-friendly engine reflects HNA's lasting focus on environmental protection."

An innovative approach to making a contribution for the benefit of the greater good

Mr. Cai indicated that, innovation is a driving force to sustainable development for both Pratt & Whitney and HNA Group.

He added, "We look forward to working with HNA Group to open a new chapter in the aviation industry characterized by innovation driven by a changing environment."

As a case in point, HNA Group continues to innovate in its approaches to environmental protection and contribution to the public interest, as well as pioneer in incorporating public interest programs into its daily operations while enhancing its social responsibility commitment. At the end of 2016, HNA Group initiated the Green Tour program, a public benefit program in the form of carbon footprint offset. As the first innovative public interest program launched by a Chinese airline, Green Tour aims to become a benchmark brand in the green aviation sector through enhancing public awareness by inviting travelers to become the advocates of environmental protection. Passengers of HNA Group's flights are invited to offset their carbon footprint through voluntary donations or Fortune Wings Club points. The passenger can calculate the extent of their carbon footprint using the Carbon Footprint calculator which could be found on Hainan Airlines' official website, their mobile phone or at the airport self-check-in terminals. The donations will be used to support the reforestation program of the China Green Carbon Foundation.

To date, the Green Tour program has donated 500,000 yuan (approx. US$73,561) to the China Green Carbon Foundation for the conservation and recovering of the Dongzhaigang Mangrove Forest in Haikou, Hainan province, China Further donations will go to a program to plant trees and conduct conservation campaigns in cities across China struggling to control smog and desertification. The Green Tour program will provide HNA Group's Fortune Wings Club members with a carbon footprint offset map, which includes graphs showing the ways the carbon footprint is offset. The open and transparent program allows more passengers to participate in environmentally-friendly carbon offset efforts. The program is expected to go a long way in conveying the concept of green and low-carbon development and enhancing the airline's commitment to build a green aviation together with their passengers.

With the mission of becoming an advocate of an environmentally responsible lifestyle, a green industry leader, a green service supplier and a green development pioneer, HNA Group will continue promoting a green, low carbon economy and supporting to develop the ecologically sound development and environmentally responsible China in the world. HNA Group's subsidiaries and affiliates are also targeting towards key strategic green growth. In March 2015, Hainan Airlines inaugurated China's first passenger flight running on sustainable biofuel.

The fight, carrying more than 100 passengers from Shanghai to Beijing, was powered by a fuel blend, half of which was an aviation-grade biofuel while the remainder was traditional petroleum-based fuel. The biofuel was derived from discarded cooking oil. Compared to the petroleum-based fuel, the biofuel, which can be produced sustainably, is able to reduce the carbon emissions by between 50 and 80 percent and plays a key role in supporting the development of the aviation industry while ensuring the industry's commitment to environmental protection.

A focus on both growth and social responsibility 

Over the past 24 years, HNA Group has made quantum leaps in performance and has been praised by industry watchers as a miracle in the history of aviation business. From a traditional air transportation company starting on a small island South of China to a large global conglomerate with presence all over the globe, from three leased aircraft to operating and managing a comprehensive fleet exceeding 1,250 airplanes, including wide-body aircraft, regional jets and helicopters, and overseeing 1,200 routes crisscrossing the planet, HNA Group is a proud global company to ranks 353^rd on the Fortune Global 500 list. By the end of 2016, the group created more than 410,000 working opportunities and achieved annual revenue of over 600 billion yuan (approx. US$88.3 billion). Pratt Whitney is very proud of HNA Group's achievements in terms of the speed of the group's growth and the outstanding performance over the 24 years. Mr. Cai noted that Pratt & Whitney looks forward to even greater successes in its collaborations with HNA Group in the coming years. Most notably, HNA Group's ultimate goal aims at making contribution to the society and benefit for the greater good.And it has always been at the core of the group's corporate philosophy since the day one.

To date, HNA Group has donated over 10 billion yuan (approx. US$1.47 billion) to worthy charities. The group has cooperated with UNESCO, the World Food Programme and UNICEF, to deliver philanthropic activities such as Ghana School Feeding Program, Change for Good and Inspired Gifts, as well as many other programs supporting education and women rights in Asia and Africa. In addition, the group is committed to long-term public welfare programs in China, including Brightness Action, Benevolence Well and Send Love Home. Over the next decade, HNA Group also plans to donate 1 billion yuan (approx. US$150 million) to ecological protection poverty alleviation programs for those financially disadvantaged in Hainan province.

SOURCE HNA Tourism Group