United Airlines Wins Sustainability Outstanding Achievement Award

CHICAGO, May 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines this week was honored with a Sustainability Outstanding Achievement Award as a travel supplier by the GBTA Foundation and Project ICARUS. The Foundation recognized United for outstanding leadership, innovation and commitment to delivering industry-leading sustainability programs, products and services.  

"This is a great honor for United and reflects the growing importance of sustainability to our corporate customers," said Angela Foster-Rice, United's managing director of environmental affairs and sustainability. "As part of our Eco-Skies commitment, we continue to take actions to reduce our impact on the environment by promoting the use of biofuels, rolling out more sustainable products and working with our customers and business partners to promote sustainability."

The GBTA Foundation is the education and research foundation of the Global Business Travel Association, the world's premier business travel and corporate meetings organization. Project ICARUS is a GBTA Foundation initiative and is the most widely recognized and respected Corporate Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility program within the global business travel and meeting industry.

United Airlines has demonstrated leadership in environmental initiatives by establishing ambitious, leading-edge programs. United's recent achievements include:

• United in 2013 was recognized as the Eco-Aviation Gold Airline of the Year by Air Transport World for its leadership in environmental efforts.
• United's new eco-friendly InCycle^® coffee cup, made from up to 50 percent recycled materials, is now available in United Clubs and on flights.
• The company in early 2014 became the first airline in the world to fly with the split scimitar winglet technology that cuts fuel consumption by up to an additional 2 percent over the airline's existing fuel-saving winglet technology.
• Since 1994, United has improved its fuel efficiency by 33 percent.
• The company in 2013 reduced CO2 emissions by more than 925,000 metric tons and reduced fuel consumption by more than 95 million gallons through fuel efficiency initiatives, exceeding its goal of reducing fuel consumption by 85 million gallons.
• The airline increased orders for new Boeing and Airbus aircraft that are 15 to 20 percent more fuel efficient than those they'll replace and now has more than 230 of these new, fuel-efficient aircraft on order.
• United is a leader in the advancement and use of alternative fuels, making history in commercial aviation with its partnership with AltAir Fuels to bring commercial-scale, cost-competitive renewable jet fuel to its Los Angeles hub later this year.
• Since 2006, the company has recycled more than 23.5 million pounds of aluminum cans, paper and plastic.
• United recently announced an enhancement to its carbon-offset program that allows MileagePlus members to redeem their miles for offsets to cover the carbon emissions associated with their air travel.
• Through its Eco-Skies Community Grants program, United has awarded nearly $100,000 to environmental organizations where the company's employees volunteer in their communities.

For more information on United's commitment to the environment, visit www.united.com/ecoskies.

About United

United Airlines and United Express operate an average of more than 5,200 flights a day to 369 airports across six continents. In 2013, United and United Express carried more passenger traffic than any other airline in the world and operated nearly two million flights carrying 139 million customers. United operates nearly 700 mainline aircraft and, in 2014, will take delivery of 35 new Boeing aircraft, including the B787-9 as the North American launch customer, and will welcome 27 new E175 aircraft to United Express. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 195 countries via 26 member airlines. More than 85,000 United employees reside in every U.S. state and in countries around the world. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter or connect on Facebook. The common stock of United's parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol UAL.

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SOURCE United Airlines