Hawaiian Airlines Earns Aviation Carbon Credits

Hawaii's skies just got a little greener: Hawaiian Airlines has earned the first-ever aviation based carbon credits, having reduced its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by nearly 22,000 metric tons over the past six years using an eco-friendly engine washing technology developed by Pratt & Whitney.

A carbon credit is a verified means of measuring the reduction of industrial CO2 emissions from the environment, with one credit equal to the removal of one ton of CO2. Hawaiian’s earning of carbon credits has been quantified and certified under the Verified Carbon Standard, the world’s leading independent standard for the measurement and verification of greenhouse gas emissions and the creation of carbon credits.

Hawaiian’s reduction of CO2 emissions using Pratt & Whitney’s EcoPower engine washing system has had the equivalent effect of taking 700 cars off the road annually.

In addition, since launching the program in 2005, the engine-washing system has saved Hawaiian Airlines more than 2.5 million gallons of fuel, along with an estimated 26,000 gallons of water that would have been used with traditional washing methods.

The EcoPower system reduces fuel burn and eliminates three pounds of CO2 for every pound of fuel saved, while also reducing engine temperatures and normal wear. It uses pure, atomized water to wash aircraft engines in a closed-loop system that filters contaminants and reuses water, eliminating potential contaminant runoff. The system is more effective and faster than traditional engine washing processes.

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Pictured: Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian’s president and CEO, holds the plaque presented to the airline for earning the aviation industry’s first-ever verified carbon credits. Participating in the ceremony was Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie (right), and Hawaii State Senator J. Kalani English (left). (Photo Credit: Rae Huo)