Finnair's VP Sustainable Development appointed to IATA's Environment Committee

IATA has appointed Finnair's Vice President, Sustainable Development Kati Ihamäki a member of its Environment Committee. The committee currently has 15 members from major airlines around the world.

“This was the first time that Finnair's representative had applied to become a member of the Environment Committee, and we hadn't previously been chosen as an external observer member either. The appointment is partly recognition of our successful environmental work,” said Ihamäki.

IATA selects members of its Environment Committee experts who have achieved a prominent position in environmental work in their own field.

The Environment Committee acts as an advisor to IATA's management bodies, and implements IATA strategies relating to environmental issues.

At the moment the committee has an important role monitoring the position of the sector in relation to climate change and emissions trading.

Finnair has been engaged in environmental work for two decades. Finnair's environmental organisation was founded in the early 1990s and the company published an environmental report for the first time in 1997. Since then the report has been published regularly each year. This year, however, Finnair published a GRI report covering corporate social responsibility as a whole - one of the first airlines to do so. Finnair's first Vice President Sustainable Development, Kati Ihamäki, was appointed to the post at the beginning of 2008.

In addition to Finnair, IATA's Environmental Committee has representatives from Air France, All Nippon Airways, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Continental, Delta Air Lines, Etihad, Federal Express, Lufthansa, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, TAP Air Portugal and Virgin Atlantic.

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