About Delta

Our Path to Sustainability

We aim to connect people to a more sustainable future of travel. Achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 for our airline operations is our ultimate goal. But the global aviation industry is a hard-to-abate sector, meaning it is innately difficult to decarbonize. Our multi-pronged approach focuses on improving the efficiency of our fleet, innovating aircraft operations, and increasing the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to reduce our emissions.

In the short term, we are working to transition to a more fuel-efficient fleet and enhancing operational efficiency. Longer-term efforts include replacing a growing proportion of traditional jet fuel with SAF and collaborating with innovators to revolutionize aviation.

Our commitment to sustainability extends beyond our flight operations. We are working to reduce waste and offer more sustainable products to our customers, to minimize the environmental impact of our ground operations, and to engage our supply chain in these efforts.

TRANSFORMING OUR FUEL USE

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is a key lever to decarbonizing flight, reducing lifecycle emissions from jet fuel by up to 80%. We aim to procure over 400 million gallons of SAF annually by the end of 2030, supporting our goal of 10% SAF utilization. In 2023, we saved a cumulative 21 million gallons of fuel compared to 2019 through measures such as enhanced flight routing, aircraft enhancements and onboard efficiencies.

BUILDING A MORE EFFICIENT FLEET

We focus on building our fleet to improve fuel efficiency over time by upgauging our planes and replacing retiring aircraft with more fuel efficient next-gen models. In 2023, we took delivery of 43 aircraft that were, on average, 28% more fuel efficient per seat mile than aircraft retired since 2019. As we continue this journey, we are partnering with aviation innovators that will forge the path for the next century of flight.

The Future of Flight

Launched in January 2023, the Delta Sustainable Skies Lab is a first-of-its-kind airline innovation lab focusing on research, design and testing to catalyze progress toward our climate goals. The Lab features ongoing work across Delta with the aim of helping to inspire and support disruptive industry innovation and scale known technology and actions to help reach Delta’s 2050 net-zero emissions goal.

MINIMIZING SINGLE-USE PLASTICS

Reducing waste and incorporating more products that are recyclable or biodegradable onboard our aircraft can help us reduce our environmental impact, enhance the customer experience, and improve our operations. To reduce plastic waste, in 2023, we began onboard testing of new paper cups, aiming to help eliminate nearly 7 million pounds of single-use plastics onboard annually once fully scaled across our flights.

Community Engagement
We volunteer on environment-focused projects locally, support environmental education and back organizations fighting climate change. Learn how our efforts improve communities.

Commitment to Transparency
Environmental, Social and Governance Efforts

Our 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report offers the latest data and insight into our efforts to advance our purpose of connecting people with opportunity while expanding the understanding of the planet and the people within it.

View our 2023 ESG Report and 2023 ESG Report Highlights

CLIMATE ADVOCACY ACTIVITIES
Our Climate Lobbying Report for 2023 is incorporated within our ESG Reportopens in a new window, and details our global advocacy activities and policy engagements—both direct and indirect—that support and complement our Paris Agreement-aligned climate goals. Effective policy engagement will continue to shape how we advance progress towards our climate goals and a more sustainable future for flight.

News Feed

The partners are exploring airport infrastructure and operational requirements to stand up hydrogen operations at the world’s busiest airport.

Read More: Delta joins ATL, Airbus, Plug Power in hydrogen fuel study 

This Earth month, we’re sharing how Delta is leading in efforts to bring together diverse stakeholders and coalitions, while advocating with local, state, and federal policymakers for the needed incentives to increase SAF production in the U.S.

Read More: Unlocking the potential of Sustainable Aviation Fuel through meaningful advocacy 

Chief Sustainability Officer Amelia DeLuca shares some ways in which Delta is already working toward achieving an overarching environmental sustainability strategy that is designed to be durable fo...

Delta CSO: Why I’m optimistic about 2024 and our path to net-zero

From welcoming back Amelia DeLuca to Delta’s Global Sustainability leadership team as CSO to continued initiatives to reduce emissions while spurring SAF production and reducing single-use-plastics on board, Delta continues to be a leader in sustainability in the aviation sector.

Read More: 10 ways Delta made progress toward a more sustainable future of flight in 2023 

Delta will begin its final testing of new paper cups on board transcontinental flights starting in December 2023. This latest sustainability milestone underscores the airline’s commitment to innovation and progress. Pending testing, the new paper cups will be rolled out throughout Delta’s network.

Read More: Sustainable science: How Delta is eliminating 7M pounds of single-use plastic on board with new paper cups 

A transformative initiative has taken flight with the formation of Americans for Clean Aviation Fuels, of which Delta is a founding member.

Read More: Delta leads diverse coalition to harness the economic power of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)

Through the GREATER MSP Partnership, Bank of America, Delta Air Lines, Ecolab and Xcel Energy have established the first large-scale SAF Hub in the U.S. with unparalleled collaboration among key players committed to scaling SAF production to replace conventional jet fuel.

Read More: Minnesota SAF Hub launches first-of-its-kind coalition to scale sustainable aviation fuel 

Effective Aug. 1, Amelia DeLuca will return to Delta’s Global Sustainability team as Chief Sustainability Officer. Delta’s commitment to achieving net-zero by 2050 through decarbonizing our airline operations remains a business imperative.

Read More: Amelia DeLuca to lead Delta’s net-zero journey as Chief Sustainability Officer

Ground support equipment at Delta's hubs in Salt Lake City and Boston are nearly entirely powered with electricity, a huge step toward the airline's aspirational goal of a 100% net-zero ground operation around the world.

Read More: Tugs, tractors and belt loaders nearly all electric at two Delta hubs

Delta will purchase up to 10 million gallons of neat SAF from Shell Aviation over a two-year period for use at its hub at Los Angeles International Airport. This will increase the global airline’s SAF commitments to over 200 million gallons – more than halfway to its goal of SAF comprising 10% of its fuel use annually by end of 2030*, and well on its way to 35% SAF use by 2035.

Read More: Delta, Shell Aviation SAF agreement to fuel LAX hub and accelerate aviation decarbonization

Delta’s Chief Sustainability Officer Pam Fletcher outlines the company’s bold strategy for achieving net-zero-emissions and more sustainable travel by 2050, including scaling the sustainable fuel market, innovating for the fleet of the future, addressing single-use plastics and encouraging net-zero supply chains.

Read More: A ‘business imperative’: Delta outlines roadmap to more sustainable travel

 

View all of our sustainability updates.

Reports

Note: Delta has been publishing annual Corporate Responsibility Reports (CRRs) since 2009. To request prior reports, a CRR prior to 2018, please contact sustainability@delta.com

Delta’s progress toward its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050 is included in its most recent ESG Report, including information regarding its net-zero emissions goals, how emissions are calculated, how progress toward the net-zero emissions goal is measured, and third-party verification of emissions calculations.

Policies
Statements on this webpage that are not historical facts, including statements regarding our expectations and goals, should be considered “forward-looking statements” under the federal securities laws and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations and goals. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements except to the extent required by law.