With Chinese nationalism rising and anti-French feelings increasing, Airbus has shifted gears and called on its partners, suppliers and other related parties in China to share its vision of building a green, eco-friendly aviation industry.
Rainer Ohler, senior vice president of Public Affairs and Communications of Airbus, introduced Airbus's environmental concept and visions at a recent meeting and called on the company's Chinese partners, suppliers and related parties to make joint efforts to contribute to the construction of an environmentally-friendly aviation industry.
In January 2007, Airbus received its ISO14001 Environment Certificate and became the first manufacturer within the aviation industry to obtain the certificate that covers all the production bases and lifecycle of the products of the company, ranging from the design and production to dismantling and recycling of the planes. Airbus has set a goal for the airplane making process, which says that by 2020, it will reduce energy consumption by 30%, carbon dioxide emission by 50%, water use by 50%, waste water emission by 80% and discarded waste by 50%, based on the 2006 level.
At present, each of Airbus' A380 planes uses less than three liters of oil for every 100 kilometers, which equals the oil consumption of a small-sized car, and the carbon dioxide emissions of the plane is only about 50% of that of a family-used car stipulated by European Automobile Industry Association in 2008.
Anti-French feelings have reached an apex over the past few days because of continued rumors that France-based Carrefour is funding Tibetan separatists and after protesters attacked a wheelchair-bound Olympic torch relay participant in France.