Importance of Shifting to Zero-carbon Flying

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Currently, the aviation industry is focused on the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on its growth.  In the longer term, aviation is likely to undergo structural changes with regard to demand and the degree of industry consolidation. That transition provides an opportunity to rebuild the industry for a low-carbon future, something that airlines have been grappling with for some time.

Even before the coronavirus pandemic began, the industry was facing the challenge of reducing its carbon emissions in line with international goals to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

The option that could be transformative, aligning the industry’s growth ambitions is sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Compared with fossil kerosene, SAF could mean a reduction in carbon emissions of 70 percent to almost 100 percent.  To help push options forward, airlines can make targeted investments and purchase commitments that would increase SAF use while reducing costs.

Because of the scale of the challenge, any solution will require a multi-stakeholder approach that also includes governments, tech players, and suppliers. The trick is to create a suitable regulatory framework and supporting incentives so that no single player is penalized for going it alone.

The case for action

The aviation industry has taken steps to address rising emissions. In 2009, it set ambitious targets that include carbon-neutral growth from 2020 onward and halving its net emissions from 2005 levels by 2050.

We don’t know what the pandemic will mean for emissions growth over time. But the target for all industries, companies, and countries is to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, as laid out in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change goals of limiting global warming to no more than 1.5°C above preindustrial levels.  As the energy and transportation industries create a path to decarbonize, sectors in which climate effects are hard to decrease are coming under more pressure, and aviation is no exception.

Airlines shouldn’t risk the perception that they aren’t doing enough about CO2, especially amid mounting scrutiny from the flying public, the media, investors, and regulators. With half of industry growth coming from Asia, including China, India, and Southeast Asia, de-carbonization can work only if airlines from those nations are on board.

Tech and efficiency gains

Airlines are already working to align emissions cuts with their bottom-line interests. They have encouraged operational efficiency and optimal air-traffic management (ATM) and invested billions of dollars to modernize aircraft with more efficient aerodynamics and engines using lighter-weight materials.

Operational efficiency

Fuel typically accounts for 20 to 30 percent of operational costs—one of the largest single cost items. Every kilogram of kerosene produces 3.15 kilograms of CO2.  Airlines therefore have an intrinsic motivation for adopting more fuel-efficient flying, taxiing, and airport operations.  They are also eking out fuel-efficiency gains by decreasing the extra fuel loaded onto aircraft and introducing lighter materials to reduce aircraft weight.

New aircraft technology

New models have highly efficient engines, and modern long-haul twin-engine aircraft are replacing four-engine aircraft, which enables up to 20 percent fuel-efficiency improvement per passenger. Regarding commercial-fleet strategy, executives should consider not just fuel-price predictions but also the future cost of carbon. Applying carbon emissions as a fuel-cost premium could lead to an accelerated fleet rollover and faster adaption of future aircraft technology, including some electrification.  Electric propulsion could start with hybrid or turboelectric flying, enabling further improvements in fuel efficiency as jet engines become smaller and lighter, using less fuel.

Carbon offsetting

Carbon offsetting, provides a large-scale and industry-agnostic means of compensating for CO2 emissions by reducing emissions elsewhere. Airlines are on board with offsetting; indeed, the industry is expected to be a key sponsor for global reforestation. Offsetting is also the basis for such market-based measures as Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), the International Civil Aviation Organization’s carbon-reduction initiative.

Offsetting allows worldwide investment in projects to compensate for emissions, independent of buyers’ own efforts to reduce their footprints.  Yet offsetting as a longer-term solution is controversial. A credible environmental-footprint strategy includes reducing emissions through renewable fleets, fuel efficiency, and other measures as the role of SAF grows over time, in addition to offsetting emissions that remain.

Sustainable aviation fuel

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is a solution that can achieve full de-carbonization, but it comes with challenges on both the supply and demand fronts. When burned, SAF creates the same amount of CO2 emissions as conventional jet fuel. The improvement results from the fact that its production process absorbs CO2, leading to a reduction in CO2 emissions of 70 to 100 percent on a life-cycle basis.

The use of synfuels derived from hydrogen and captured carbon emissions could become a scalable option. Such synfuels require water, renewable electricity to produce hydrogen, and CO2. Today, these power-to-liquid fuels are several times the cost of conventional kerosene, though we expect a significant cost reduction for green hydrogen (via reduced costs of renewable electricity and “electrolyzers”) in the coming years. In a first step, CO2 could be captured as waste gas from carbon-intensive industries, such as steel, chemicals, and cement.

Long term—and to become net-zero CO2—the required CO2 needs to be extracted from the carbon cycle (taken from the air with direct air capture). While this is costly today, the process benefits from cheaper renewable-electricity generation in the future.  While synfuels could become an answer to cutting emissions over the long run, it is unclear, at this point, which SAF sources will emerge as winners.

The coronavirus pandemic has hit aviation hard. Yet as the industry emerges from this painful period, there is an opportunity to move closer to low-carbon goals.

 

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How to Balance Productivity and Well-being of Remote Teams

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If working remotely is going to be the new normal for many companies—business leaders should ramp up productivity now, especially if they want get their business back on track as quickly as possible.

Here are three strategies to help your remote employees be more productive:

1.   Don’t lose your empathy

Leaders put their people’s safety and well-being at the centre of their decisions. Empathetic leadership will continue to be essential as you adapt to leading a remote team. Not only is leading with empathy the right thing to do, but people are more likely to be productive when they feel engaged and supported.

Remote teams in particular need:

Autonomy:  Trust your people to do what they need to do in order to juggle work with their other responsibilities.  Studies show that leaders who give remote employees true autonomy and flexibility see greater employee productivity.

Community:  Working from home can reduce opportunities for interactions and relationships. Encourage team building and explore ways for people to connect and get to know each other as people, not just co-workers.

2.   Up-Skilling

The sudden shift to remote work has underscored the need for employees to develop strong digital skills and adapt to new ways of working.

It is important to make time for people to develop new skills reseña. Employee development and up-skilling sometimes gets side-lined when leaders are focused on ramping up business, but on remote teams, productivity will drop if people are struggling to keep up with technology changes or new collaboration tools.

3.   Address productivity challenges individually

Sometimes the simplest way to help remote employees be more productive is to figure out what’s holding them back and work with them one-on-one to fix it.

There are a lot of factors that can affect individual productivity, but you won’t know what each person is facing unless you create a means for them to communicate with you. Also consider offering enhanced benefits. These targeted benefits can help people address their personal constraints so they can better focus on work.

Productivity is Possible, Even in a Pandemic

Increasing productivity doesn’t happen overnight. It’s realistic to expect a learning curve as you work to raise productivity among a workforce that isn’t used to working remotely.  But it is possible, even in a pandemic, to lead in a way that makes it easier for people to balance their responsibilities, manage their stress, and focus on work. Putting these practices in place now can help remote teams steadily improve their ability to collaborate, problem-solve, and ultimately produce.

 

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Finding your Business’ Purpose in the COVID-19 Era

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Purpose, even during tough times, is a key branding strategy.

Here are some important factors to develop this strategy during COVID-19 era.

Control what you can. 

It might feel like your life is out of control right now, so it’s important to focus your mind and efforts on the things that are within your control.  Reach out to neighbours, friends, family, and co-workers as a way to keep yourself grounded, while also helping those in need. When we’re supporting others, it gives us a sense of purpose.

Get a lot more personal. 

The world is operating in crisis mode, which means you should be communicating more.  Double down on your empathy by addressing the personal needs of your employees and vendors. This concern will be remembered long after the pandemic is over.

New services for new needs. 

Priorities have shifted for many people the world over, but your insight and expertise are still valuable. Learn what the new needs and pain-points are for your customers, clients and prospects. Provide them support and assistance, knowing that you are making a difference in their lives. It can alleviate stress and provide a sense of order.

Adapt to the realities of this strange time. 

Many coaches are working free-of-charge, or at deep discounts to help businesses figure out how to adapt. People’s priorities have temporarily, but drastically shifted, so please avoid obvious attempts at profiting off the pandemic, people will negatively remember those who kept acting as if this was a business(profit)-as-usual time.

Align around supporting the broader community. 

Think outside the box and put a concerted effort into actively supporting the community.  Businesses redeploying workers and equipment to create much needed life-saving devices and supplies, providing food and shelter to emergency workers, medical professionals traveling to hard-hit areas to work in hospitals.

There are free ways to help. 

Assess your available resources – not only financial, but also time and skills – to contribute to community efforts. The Purpose of life is not to be happy.  It is to be useful, to be honourable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.

 

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Planning for Long-Term Business Disruption

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Although the business is starting to get closer to normal in countries like Germany and South Korea, the current business disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic could last for many more months, or even years.

Uncertainty seems to be the new default condition for the foreseeable future. Even so, it’s still possible — and important — to plan for long-term business disruption. Here are some strategies that will help:

Assess and quantify

Dig into your prior financial statements and compare last year’s year-to-date (YTD) revenues to the current YTD figures for the same period of time. Determine the difference and adjust your projected revenues accordingly. Many financial software packages let you input numbers to see how these projections will impact you in the next quarter and beyond.

It’s important to quantify the impact on your company’s bottom line so that you understand what you may be facing in the upcoming quarters. No matter how discouraging it may look, preparing for worst-case scenarios helps you refine your long-term business disruption strategies and minimize the disruption’s impact.

Reduce and eliminate

Now is the time to cut as many expenses as possible. There may well be costs that were “nice-to-haves” but are no longer necessary. If so, strike them from the books.   Think “lean” about everything related to your business. Taking this action can help maintain your reserves. Which items are unnecessary? The answer is different for each company and depends on factors like the impact on employee well-being and overall savings.

Review and research

Learn about the new financial assistance programs offered by government agencies. Under the different coronavirus relief bills there are numerous ways to get the funds necessary to sustain your business over the long term. Options include grants, payroll assistance loans that can be forgiven, bridge loans, no-interest or low-interest disaster relief and recovery loans, and income tax and payroll tax deferment.

Start looking at resources directly from the federal and provincial government. They have streamlined applications ready to fill out online.

Communicate and negotiate

When you assessed your business costs, you undoubtedly noted many monthly expenses that were critical. These include mortgage or office rent, existing business loans, vehicle loans, equipment financing, insurance, utility bills, and vendor payments. Depending on your business focus and model, you may be facing some or all of these essential expenses.

Based on your revenue projections, expense reductions, and the amount of pending financial assistance, you’ll need to update your projections to see which essentials you can continue paying and for how long. You may need to explore different scenarios to see what various payment and deferment strategies do to your long-term financial position.

Pause and pivot

Although so much of a strong long-term business disruption plan maintains an internal focus, you also need to look to your external environment for signs and opportunities that can sustain you through the crisis.  A smart pivot can help you sustain your business, whether it’s for this pandemic or some other crisis-driven disruption in the future.

Connect and support

Look for ways to support your current customer base, even if it’s just to reach out and connect. Keep those relationships going through the business disruption, and customers will most likely return in droves when the economy improves.

 

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The Pandemic has Made us Better Leaders

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Across the globe, business leaders are beginning to consider what a “return” to the office means. While we all crave a return to normalcy, the workplace will never be the same. Leaders are being called upon to carefully navigate the way forward, making crucial decisions in un-chartered territories.

Given that, now is the perfect time to ask: How has my leadership changed for the better because of the pandemic?  There are two leadership traits that we hope leaders will continue to embrace going forward.

1.   Empathy:

Empathy is the ability to see the world as others see it, sense their emotions, and take their perspective, without judgement.  Individual employees in these progressive organisations feel seen, heard and understood. They feel safe to be vulnerable. Therefore, they are more likely to let their managers know what they need and what they can realistically produce. This in turn helps leaders meet those needs, manage expectations, and keep the work moving forward.

While this is the right thing to do for employees, it’s also led to another surprising benefit which we call the empathy advantage. Because leaders have become more oriented to seek perspectives and understand the needs of others, they are making better decisions more quickly than before.  Add empathy-building questions into your decision processes and the whole system will flourish.

2.   Authenticity:

Authenticity is about presence, living in the moment with conviction & confidence and staying true to yourself.  The current situation due to COVID-19 has broken down barriers between leaders and their teams. The Zoom box has become a bit of an equaliser, and as a result, teams and leaders are developing more trust, warmth, and rapport than ever before.

Going forward, maintain this new level of authenticity.  Bring your messy problems to your team.  Share what you’re struggling with.  Ask for help. Show up as your full self. When you do that, your team will too—and together, you’ll consistently generate innovative, creative solutions to intractable challenges.

The road back to the office will inevitably include course corrections, dents and wrong turns.  Hold on to the gifts of authenticity and empathy and you and your team will be better positioned to navigate it.

 

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Stress-Relieving Daily Habits for Entrepreneurs

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Choosing to become an entrepreneur can lead to a fun, exciting journey — but it can also be rife with stress.  Even if you don’t feel especially stressed in the moment, the pressures can add up over time and bring serious consequences for your health and well-being.

The Dangers of Stress

It’s no secret that stress can be damaging, to both body and mind. The symptoms might begin innocuously, making you irritable, leaving you susceptible to bouts of worrying and leaving you with low levels of energy.  Over time, however, these can escalate to major health concerns such as cardiovascular disease, depression and gastrointestinal complaints. Without an outlet to relieve some of the stress you face every day, you could be placing your general health in jeopardy.

Time Management

Time management is one of the biggest challenges entrepreneurs face. You’re probably working excessive hours, often through the weekends, and no matter how many tasks you manage to fit in a day, there always seem to be more around the corner.  Given such heavy workloads and busy schedules, most entrepreneurs don’t even think about setting dedicated time to stress reduction, but stress management doesn’t have to be time intensive.  If you select a handful of reasonable daily habits, you can reduce your daily stress load without worrying about how you’re going to fit it in.

Try following habits on a daily basis to start fighting back against stress.

Starting the Day with Exercise. 

Exercise improves blood circulation, releases endorphins, and gives you more energy throughout the day. Getting some exercise in before you go to work can set you up for a productive, lower-stress day, but that’s not your only option. How you exercise is up to you: jogging, weight lifting and even walking are all good options. The goal is to raise heart rate for an extended period — at least 20 minutes.

Drinking Green Tea. 

Before you pour yourself a mug of coffee in the morning, consider the alternative benefits of green tea. Green tea has been shown to have powerful anti-anxiety effects. It can help you to relax in stressful situations while still providing enough caffeine to get your morning started.

Stretching and Breaking Away from the Screen. 

Stretching exercises combined with deep breathing, will have a massive effect on your stress levels.  Physical stretching may be used as a break from your daily tasks. This will force you to give yourself breaks throughout the day, reduce the eye strain from your digital screen, help you relax and improve your blood circulation — all at the same time.

Reducing Commitments. 

Over-full schedules and task lists without a break can be a major source of stress for entrepreneurs. To reduce the stress, cut down the number of commitments you accept. If this sounds impossible to you, try making it a daily habit, and you’ll see how easy it can become. Each day, find at least one meeting that can be eliminated (and replaced by an email, or similarly concise form of communication), and find at least one task that can be delegated or postponed indefinitely. You’ll have a more flexible schedule in no time.

Surrounding with Scents. 

Working environment can have a major effect on your stress level. One study-backed environmental change in particular that’s worth pursuing is the introduction of positive scents.

Habits are exceptionally powerful tools for stress management because once you adopt them, you tend to stick with them naturally. The hard part is getting started.

There are several ways to create a new habit, from designing a behaviour chain to planning a process rather than a result. How you do it is up to you. The key is to start managing your stress now while you still have considerable control over the state of your health.

 

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