What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2018 Corporate Sustainability Report CAL identified a range of material issues, such as financial performance, governance and integrity management, climate change mitigation and adaptation, passenger service management. Among these, promoting flight safety through professional training stands out as a key material issue for CAL.

Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards              

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:

“The reporting organization shall identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations and interests.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.

Key stakeholder groups CAL engages with:

Stakeholder Group	Method of engagement
Employee	·      Labour-management meetings ·      Labour unions ·      Employee suggestion box ·      Employee feedback website ·      China Airlines newsletter ·      China Airlines Retirees
Customer	·      Customer satisfaction survey ·      Global business meetings ·      Taiwan business meetings ·      Discussions with travel agencies ·      CAL’s website, CSR website, Facebook, e-mail, and SMS ·      Customer service hotline ·      Corporate customer visits
Investor	·      Shareholders’ meetings ·      Shareholders’ hotline / mailbox ·      Road shows ·      Interviews
Government	·      Missive ·      Visit ·      Participation in projects ·      Participation in public hearings, seminars, conferences, and negotiation forums ·      Participation in initiatives ·      Audit
Partner (Suppliers and Contractors)	·      Telephone ·      E-mail ·      Coordination meetings ·      Business visits ·      On-site audits
Society	·      Charitable events ·      Community activities ·      News release ·      Online mailbox
Media	·      News release ·      Press conferences ·      Interviews ·      Active communication of industry information
Association (including Aviation Organisations)	·      Participation in project meetings ·      Participation in seminars on work ·      Organisation or participation in summits, executive summits, committees, and coordination meetings ·      Participation in meetings convened by governments ·      Telephone, e-mail, and platforms

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

To identify and prioritise material topics, CAL engaged with its stakeholders through 307 questionnaires.

What actions were taken by CAL to promote flight safety through professional training?

In its 2018 Corporate Sustainability Report CAL reports that it took the following actions for promoting flight safety through professional training:

• Promoting strict training
• In order to implement its commitment of flight safety, CAL strictly requests its cadet pilots to complete at least 10 months of a training programme at well-known flight training schools in the United States or Australia. To ensure the flight training is solid, they have not only to pass the evaluate performance at the training school but are also required to meet the test of CAL aircraft type evaluation. CAL has introduced evidence-based Training (EBT), to replace traditional recurrent training and tests. The EBT is guided by risk and crisis management, utilising big data collection and analysis to enhance the ability of handling abnormal situations by individual behaviour, fleet performance, operation sites, historical recorders etc. In 2018, CAL achieved 100% EBT for a total of 2,388 flight crew. The biggest difference between EBT and traditional training is that subjects are designed to meet the actual flight conditions. The test results not only reflect the functions that the flight crew members lack, but also allow the professionally trained examiners to give the most correct advice. Accordingly, weaknesses can be further addressed in subsequent training. EBT ensures that the flight crew is competent and up to standards, and also helps set up the database of flight operations. This benefits the future design of training and test models that are more in line with CAL’s flight operations and the needs of the flight crew.

• Using flight simulators
• As the first airline to introduce civil flight simulators in Taiwan, CAL has been equipped with various types of simulators for flight training for over 37 years. In addition to simulating various adverse weather conditions, simulators can incorporate a variety of emergency situations for constant simulation training regardless of weather, air traffic, or airport environment. They can also display tolerance limits of aircraft designs and carry out training for any possible extreme and dangerous situations without incurring any risk in the exercise. The training process can also be recorded as a basis for review and improvement for flight technology and expertise. CAL’s flight simulators and ground / water escape training facilities have been certified by international aviation administrations. The flight simulators are available for both domestic and international training.

• Implementing a comprehensive training system
• CAL’s Integrated Pilot Training System (IPTS) was launched in 2014. In 2018, 478 CAL flight crew participated in a variety of short-term and long-term training courses, 465 of whom completed the training. In addition, in response to the introduction of an automatic scheduling system (AIMS) in 2019, CAL has undertaken IPTS integration, to ensure the effective use of training resources.

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standard addressed in this case is: Disclosure 404-2 Programs for upgrading employee skills and transition assistance programs

Disclosure 404-2 Programs for upgrading employee skills and transition assistance programs corresponds to:

• Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
• Business theme: Employee training and education

 

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References:

1) This case study is based on published information by CAL, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:

http://database.globalreporting.org/

2) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/

Note to CAL: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2015 Sustainability Report Korean Air identified a range of material issues, such as governance, the increased importance of the need for talent and the changing demands of customers. Among these, with 23,270,000 passengers and 1.53 million tons of cargo carried per year, flight safety is Korean Air’s top material issue.

Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:

“The organization should identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.

Key stakeholder groups Korean Air engages with:

Stakeholder Group

Employees

Central and local governments

Customers

Affiliated companies & subsidiaries

Community

Suppliers

Colleges & research institutes

Non-permanent workers & interns

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

Korean Air conducted a materiality assessment to understand the varying expectations and interests of its internal and external stake­holders and to identify material sustainability management issues. Issues were prioritized largely based on the materiality assessment standards of the GRI G4 Guidelines and the methodology recom­mended in the ISO 26000 Guidelines.

Relevance was determined based on a survey on employees, an anal­ysis of issues covered in the sustainability reports of other domestic and overseas companies in the industry and media reports over the past 5 years, and in-depth interviews with stakeholders.

Stakeholders were surveyed online in order to prioritize 50 issues identified as relevant to Korean Air. A total of 174 stakeholders responded to the online survey and 25 of the issues were finally selected as material issues. Stakeholders inside and outside Korean Air were most keenly interested in the growing demand for the safety of products and services, increased importance of need for talent, governance and market presence.

What actions were taken by Korean Air to promote flight safety?

In its 2015 Sustainability Report Korean Air set the following targets for promoting flight safety, based on the company’s approach to materiality – on taking action on what matters, where it matters:

• Implementing an advanced safe flight system

Korean Air became the first airline in Korea to acquire a government certification on the regulations and operation of the Safety Manage­ment System (SMS) in 2008. The regulations concerning Korean Air’s SMS include the organization necessary for safety management, re­sponsibility for safety, safety policy and procedures, and compliance with domestic and international requirements and standards.

Safety Management Organization: The safety and security office is under the direct control of the president in charge of the matter and is responsible for creating a company-wide security management system and managing safety systematically. The director in charge of safety and security reports directly to the president so as to ensure that the reporting chan­nel remains independent and free from external interference and that the top management remains fully informed about all safety matters.

Safety Management System: Korean Air takes a three-tiered approach to safety management: ex-post response, ex-ante prevention and prediction. ‘Ex-post respons­es’ involves an investigation of events that have already occurred and an analysis of the causes; ‘ex-ante prevention’ focuses on minimizing the impact of risks by identifying safety threats through safety reports and safety examinations; and ‘prediction’ is based on an analysis of flight data and regular flight monitoring data to keep a close watch on safety. This multi-layered safety management system is a critical component of Korean Air’s safety management efforts.

Safety Promotion Programs: Korean Air operates the Safety Confidential Reporting System (SCRS) and other safety promotion programs in order to minimize the loss of human life and property that could be caused by safety threats and to create a better safety culture.

• Embracing internal and external safety assessments

Korean Air implements different quality assurance programs cus­tomized to its individual business divisions, as part of the broader quality assurance program that governs the entire organization and the company as a whole, with each business division devising and implementing an audit plan each year.

IOSA-Certified Airline: Korean Air became Korea’s first airline to be registered as an IATA IOSA-certified airline in January 2005 by meeting safety standards consisting of over 900 items according to the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA), an international safety audit program developed by the IATA. Korean Air has been re-audited every two years to remain on the IOSA registry.

ISAGO Program: Korean Air joined the IATA-developed ground safety program, Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO), in April 2009 and is monitor­ing the manufacturers of aircraft and parts supplied to Korean Air under the program. In addition, as a member of the ISAGO Pool Ad­visory Group, Korean Air shares information and works closely with other organizations to standardize international safety practices and to promote the safety of ground handlers around the world and the quality of their operations.

The U.S. Department of Defense Safety Certification: Korean Air has remained certified by the U.S. Department of Defense as a safe airline to use since 2001 by meeting its safety standards under the Airlift Transportation Program. The program assesses the safety of private airlines to determine whether they are safe enough for employees to fly on business trips. The program determines whether or not airlines can provide safe, high-quality and reliable services by conducting a paper review every six months and an on-site inspection every two years.

• Taking preventive actions to better protect Korean Air’s passengers and aircraft

As flight safety and security has emerged as a major concern in the wake of a series of accidents in recent years, Korean Air is taking the follow­ing preventive actions to better protect its passengers and aircraft:

• Collection of security information on all domestic and international destinations and issuance of flight security grades for individual airports on a monthly basis.
• Operation of a close cooperation network by sharing information with branches, relevant departments and national security agencies.
• Analysis of global security trends and data gathered from international security conferences that Korean Air attends and implementation of the latest security measures.
• Provision of regular security training and education for employees and regular monitoring to ensure that security systems are properly working in each area.
• Publication of the emergency response manual; regular checks to ensure that proper safety equipment is available for immediate use when necessary.
• Emergency response training on how to avoid or deal with aircraft hijacking and how to respond upon receiving information about possible security threats.

Which GRI indicators/Standards have been addressed?

The GRI indicator addressed in this case is: G4-PR1: Percentage of significant product and service categories for which health and safety impacts are assessed for improvement and the updated GRI Standard is: Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories

 

References:

1) This case study is based on published information by Korean Air, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:

http://database.globalreporting.org/

2) http://www.fbrh.co.uk/en/global-reporting-initiative-gri-g4-guidelines-download-page

3) https://g4.globalreporting.org/Pages/default.aspx

4) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/

Note to Korean Air: With each case study we send out an email to your listed address in request for a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2014 Corporate Social Responsibility Report Air France-KLM identified a range of material issues, such as biofuel, noise and air quality, fleet development, health and safety at work, customer relations. Among these, with 87.4 million passengers carried in 2014, flight safety stands out as Air France-KLM’s top material issue.

Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:

“The organization should identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.

Key stakeholder groups Air France-KLM engages with:

Stakeholder Group	Method of engagement
Shareholders Investors Financial partners Non-financial rating agencies	·         Quarterly presentations to analysts ·         Dedicated financial website ·         Annual publications ·         Shareholder Club ·         Advisory Committee for individual shareholders ·         Yearly General Shareholders’ Meeting ·         VBDO – Dutch Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO) ·         UN Global Compact (France & NL) COP Peer Review Sessions
Passengers and distributors (Maintenance customers) Cargo customers Business partners	·         E-Score Survey and Quality Observer program ·         Customer assistance desks, web care ·         KLM Health Services and KLM Travel Clinics websites (e.g.www.klmhealthservices.nl/nl/fit-to-travel.html) ·         Health and onboard comfort pages on Air France website and international vaccination center ·         CO2calculation and compensation offers on Air France and KLM websites ·         Lab’line for the future program ·         KLM Corporate BioFuel Program ·         KLM participation in Dutch Sustainable Growth Coalition (DSGC)
Employees Trade unions Professional associations and bodies	·         Staff surveys ·         CSR trainings ·         Intranet and internal newsletters ·         Staff Innovation program ·         Air France Boussole mobility plan ·         Air France and KLM CSR Week ·         Negotiation and collective labour agreement ·         Work Council committees focused on working conditions, CSR and HR policies ·         Inter-company working groups (Global Compact, ORSE, Comité 21, AFEP…) ·         Partnerships with universities
International, European and national authorities National Policy makers	·         Dialogue and joint actions with national air transport authorities, airports and air traffic services ·         Working group on new European regulations ·         Air France and KLM public affairs representatives working with national and European institutions ·         Parliamentary hearings of the Group’s representatives ·         Proposal for amendments ·         Attendance at seminars, conferences and thematic working groups
Certification and verification authorities	·         External follow-up and renewal audits ·         Verification of CSR published information
Suppliers	·         Sustainable Development Charter and sustainability clauses in contracts ·         Assessment of suppliers CSR performance ·         CSR in Supplier relationship Management ·         Air France committee to identify and follow contacts with sheltered sector suppliers
Airports Air transport and industry bodies Air Traffic Control	·         Member of international (IATA), European (AEA) and national bodies (European Regions Airline Association, FNAM, GIFAS, BAR) ·         SkyTeam CSR working group ·         Involvement in SESAR JU, ACARE, CORAC and SAFUG ·         Member of Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials ·         Member of the Biofuel Flightpath’s Core Team of the European Commission ·         Air France partner of Ini-FCA
Local authorities Resident associations Local economic players	·         KLM involvement in Alders Table and CROS ·         Air France member of the CCE and CCAR of the 10 biggest French airports ·         Air France member of associations for the local development and the international promotion of Paris-CDG area ·         2 Air France staff dedicated to Pays de Roissy-CDG association ·         Working visits and tours at Air France and KLM facilities ·         Cooperation KLM, Amsterdam, Schiphol (ASK)
Scientific community Universities Research experts	·         IAGOS Program (Air France) ·         Research Technical University Delft (KLM) ·         Membership in IDUT and supporting the chair Sustainable Tourism of Wageningen University ·         Participation in independent Sustainability Board SkyNRG
Environmental NGOs	·         KLM partnership with WWF-NL ·         Air France reforestation project in partnership with ADF and FFEM in Madagascar ·         KLM partner of Landscape North Holland to support conservation work in the Schiphol region ·         Engagement with various NGOs on animal welfare, sustainable resources and climate policies
Humanitarian and development NGOs	·         Air France Foundation, Acting for Life, KLM Takes Care partners ·         Employee engagement: Friends of the Air France Foundation, Wings of Support, Aviation without borders (France and NL) ·         Flying Blue Miles donation tool ·         Strategic partnership KLM – UNICEF the Netherlands, principally on Children’s Rights and Business Principles (CRBP)

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

Stakeholder engagement plays a major part in Air France and KLM’s CSR strategy. Stakeholders are identified as actors that are significantly involved in the two airlines’ activities and who can affect Air France-KLM’s ability to successfully implement its strategy. In 2014, Air France and KLM carried out an integrated materiality process in order to map the material CSR topics related to their business and operations. In this process, amongst others, an external study was conducted seeking the views of various stakeholder groups.

To prioritize and rank the topics, internal and external stakeholder inputs were used. Surveys were conducted amongst employees, customers, corporates and NGOs mainly in France and The Netherlands. These included Air France-KLM Group senior decision makers as well. From the results, a materiality matrix was developed showing the most material aspects for the Group. 28 material aspects were identified including safety, risk management, CO₂ reduction, biofuels, sustainable procurement, ethics, human rights. To make the matrix easier to read, these aspects were clustered into the categories: Governance, Environment, Customer Experience, Responsible Human Resources and Local Development.

What actions were taken by Air France-KLM to promote flight safety?

In its 2014 Corporate Social Responsibility Report Air France-KLM set the following targets for promoting flight safety, based on the company’s approach to materiality – on taking action on what matters, where it matters:

• Adhering to international aviation safety standards

All of the Group’s businesses are subject to extensive controls and certification. They meet extremely strict standards and the highest level of regulations in the industry, at European level with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and globally with the International Air Transport Association (IATA), whose IOSA operational safety audit is a standard for the industry. Following the IOSA safety audit in September 2014 and January 2015, Air France and KLM were IOSA re-certified for a further two years.

• Upgrading and updating Air France and KLM’s Safety Management Systems (SMS)

To achieve the highest attainable standard of flight safety, both airlines have been in the process of upgrading and updating their respective Safety Management Systems (SMS). The SMS deals specifically with risk management in aviation. It is comprehensively integrated into the organization, processes and culture of the company and is validated at the highest level of management within the Group and by training and awareness building initiatives among staff members. Air France’s Integrated Management System (IMS) covers the following domains: flight safety, health and occupational safety, quality of service, operational performance, environment, food safety and security. It analyzes and manages risks in an orchestrated approach. The IMS ensures safe performance, transverse consistency, continuous improvement, global management, for all processes within these domains. KLM’s Integrated Safety Management System (ISMS) covers the domains of operational safety, occupational safety, operational security and environmental safety. ISMS provides a framework for continuously reducing safety risks in all these domains to an acceptable level of safety. In 2014 KLM was successfully audited on the ISMS by the Dutch Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

• Promoting a culture of safety

The safety of operations rests upon a shared commitment to rigor, vigilance, individual responsibility and mutual trust. Employees play a key role in the system, which involves a continuous cycle of improvement. Air France and KLM promote a safety culture, encouraging employees to report possible unsafe situations, incidents or accidents, making sure no action is taken against employees who report or are involved in a safety occurrence or hazard. To maintain the highest level of staff skills, the Group constantly improves its training programs and implements crisis prevention plans. Communication and promotion are key in building a safety culture. In 2014, three Flight Safety workshops, based on the re-enactment of a real event, brought together over 700 employees from all Air France divisions. KLM issues SafetyF@cts and e-newsletters to inform managers and employees on safety-related topics and safety principles. Safety Champions ensure awareness and inspire safe employee behavior in all divisions.

• Protecting customers, employees and assets through the Group’s security procedures

The Group’s security procedures aim to protect customers, employees and assets (aircraft, facilities and IT systems). This includes various measures such as risk analysis of Air France-KLM’s business and operations and the systematic inspection of aircraft, passengers, baggage, cargo and employees. These procedures, which are subject to strict regulation, are carried out with a constant concern for the privacy of passengers and employees. To ensure the highest level of protection for their customers and employees in over 100 countries and 200 cities, Air France and KLM’s security departments constantly monitor international geopolitical developments. Dedicated teams are responsible for ensuring continuous flight operations and where necessary, for implementing additional security measures.

Which GRI indicators/Standards have been addressed?

The GRI indicators/Standards addressed in this case are:

1) G4-14: Report whether and how the precautionary approach or principle is addressed by the organization and the updated GRI Standard is: Disclosure 102-11 Precautionary Principle or approach

2) G4-PR1: Percentage of significant product and service categories for which health and safety impacts are assessed for improvement – the updated GRI Standard is: Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories

 

References:

1) This case study is based on published information by Air France-KLM, located at the links below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the following links:

http://database.globalreporting.org/

http://www.airfranceklm.com/en/activities/passenger-transport (June 2016)

2) http://www.fbrh.co.uk/en/global-reporting-initiative-gri-g4-guidelines-download-page

3) https://g4.globalreporting.org/Pages/default.aspx

4) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/

Note to Air France-KLM: With each case study we send out an email to your listed address in request for a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.