**UPDATE: 30/01/2020 @09:41GMT. Lufthansa has issued a comment on the use of renewable energy.**

With the climate crisis at the forefront of the world's attention, Lufthansa is continuing its pursuit for more eco-friendly operations. The Lufthansa Group has invested in green energy in its home markets as it makes the move towards carbon neutral ground operations for 2030. It has this week announced that energy in four countries is 100% renewable.

Purchasing green energy

Earlier this week, the Lufthansa Group announced that it had made a step closer to carbon neutrality. For the past four weeks in January, the group has been purchasing green electricity to power its home markets in Germany, Austria, Belgium, and Switzerland. As a result of purchasing renewable energy, the group has now been able to acquire green certificates. These green certificates will allow green operations to continue to grow within these four countries.

This move is particularly poignant since, in recent years, it has proved apparent that more must be done to stop the climate crisis. This latest initiative is a step in the right direction for Lufthansa.

This move complements other strategies that the airline conglomerate is currently undertaking including investing in more fuel-efficient aircraft. This continues to be its primary focus. In a statement, the group proudly commented:

"The Lufthansa Group's environmental strategy remains focused on sustainably increasing the ecological efficiency in flight operations, in particular by investing billions in modern and low-emission aircraft." 

We contacted a spokesperson for Lufthansa who told us:

"As part of a major package of measures, the Executive Board of the Lufthansa Group has decided in 2019 to switch completely to green power on the ground in the home markets as soon as possible. This has now been implemented. Our buildings, facilities and electronic vehicles on the ground are now supplied with green electricity from renewable energies - produced in the month in which it is consumed. This contributes to an uninterrupted supply throughout the year. In addition, with the green electricity certificates a 100% climate neutrality of the power plants (including construction and operation) is guaranteed."

How will the green energy be used?

With these new green certificates in place, Lufthansa can now begin working towards even bigger environmental goals. It hopes that, in the next ten years, all ground operations will be carbon neutral. That means that by 2030 all airport operations will produce net-zero emissions.

This is where the Lufthansa Group is hoping to invest the green energy. It wants to use electric vehicles in its airports, which it's steadily been rolling out. It's launched an E-PORT AN project in Frankfurt Airport to do just that and is making sure that its efforts are not solely focused on flying.

But it's going even further. It wants to provide charging points for employees who travel to work via electric vehicle. More than that, it hopes to provide a special allowance for managers who only rent electric or other eco-friendly vehicles.

What's going on within the Lufthansa Group is a mindset shift. Its determination has more to do with making a lasting difference rather than changing operations at a minimum level. It wants to make being green the easiest choice for its employees and for its entire operation.

Other green initiatives

However, like many airlines these days, Lufthansa has an entire strategy centered around the environment. Aircraft choice is only part of it as is ground vehicle operations. Whilst top of the list is cutting carbon emissions, the Lufthansa Group also makes a pledge to cut nitrogen oxide emissions from the atmosphere.

It also hopes to build more environmentally conscious infrastructure as well as develop a culture around being green. Initiatives that promote helping the environment, such as levied airport charges for airlines with more fuel-efficient aircraft, is something that the Lufthansa Group is committed to.

What is a green certificate?

Green certificates count the production of one megawatt-hour of renewable electricity produced. The concept is fairly new but essentially proves that energy was created in a sustainable way. Green certificates are tradable commodities and are used in various European countries as well as some regions in the United States.

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