Air Canada in 2020 became the first airline in the Americas to be certified by IATA for its work against illegal wildlife trafficking. Four years later, they announced a partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute of Canada to combat a terrible problem that could seriously damage the planet.
By 2028, who knows?
“We’ve been involved in the movement against wildlife tracking for many years,” Valerie Durand, Head of Investor Relations and Corporate Sustainability at Air Canada, told Open Jaw in an interview.
As part of its certification by IATA in 2020, Air Canada arranged a webinar to raise industry about the issue. Several stakeholders took part, and the legendary Goodall made an address to the group.
“That’s where the relationship started,” Durand said. “It just grew and grew from there.”
“At the end of the day we’re looking to raise awareness about illegal wildlife trafficking, as it’s something people don’t think about; the risk in the airlines. And it’s not just affecting us, it’s every airline in the world,” she said. “It’s important to maintain global biodiversity and maintain the safety of species But it’s also a risk to zoonotic diseases (infections spread between people and animals). So that’s why we’re involved in this.”
Durand said she’s been a fan of Goodall’s work for years. On Friday, 12APR, she will meet Goodall at a party in Vancouver to celebrate her 90th birthday.
That’s a nice reward for someone who says she has trouble sitting still and who has always wanted to have an impact on the world.
“I’ve always been someone who’s interested in giving back and having an impact on society and on the planet,” she said in a Teams call from Air Canada’s office in Montreal. “Our team is very much focused on philanthropy, social impact, the work we do through our environmental efforts, and so on.
“I’m head of investor relations, so I do stakeholder engagement in this regard. We also do promotions through our corporate reports and events planning and so forth.”
Durand said it’s a great feeling when Air Canada launches an important program or gets involved with something like the Jane Goodall Institute.
“When you’re really proud is when you really have a true impact on someone’s life. When we can leverage Air Canada’s assets to truly make a difference on the environment or on people’s lives, that’s when we’ve hit the nail on the head.”
Other great Air Canada initiatives have helped the people of Ukraine and allowed sick children and their parents to get to hospitals far from home.
To further support The Jane Goodall Institute of Canada's ongoing environment and conservation work, Durand said Aeroplan will be launching a Points Match Week beginning Earth Day, April 22-28. All points donated by Aeroplan members will be matched at 100% by Aeroplan, with all proceeds going directly to the JGIC.
In collaboration with JGIC and involvement from Goodall herself, the Air Canada awareness campaign is showcasing animals endangered from illegal wildlife trafficking, the airline's in-flight entertainment welcome screens, social media and more during Earth Month, along with a special message from Goodall.
Air Canada is also the first airline globally to showcase conservation documentaries from Age of Union, a non-profit environmental alliance that supports and makes visible a global community of changemakers working on the ground to protect the planet's threatened species and ecosystems.
Dax Dasilva, founder of Age of Union, is part of The Jane Goodall Legacy Foundation's Council for Hope, a group of highly respected and influential individuals from the fields of conservation, science, business, government, media, and the arts with a shared mission of protecting our planet and perpetuating Goodall's legacy as an everlasting force for good.
Customers can find these documentaries onboard in a newly launched environment-focused film and TV category, "Our Planet," in the airline's inflight entertainment. Beginning in April, customers will be able to watch The Corridor, We Are The St. Lawrence River, CAUGHT, and more.
Learn more about Air Canada's efforts to combat illegal wildlife trade and its environmental and sustainability programs at its Leave Less website.
Ukraine2Canada
Air Canada also created the Ukraine2Canada to support Ukrainian people affected by Russia’s invasion.
Background
- The Air Canada Foundation first responded with an employee matching campaign and raised over $170,000, which was donated to the Canadian Red Cross.
- Air Canada donated $10 for every booking made for travel to Europe - $250,000 was raised and will be donated to an organization(s) supporting the resettlement of Ukrainians in Canada.
- We set up a charitable account on the Aeroplan donation site for Aeroplan members to donate their points to help bring Ukrainians to Canada
- On 20APR 2022, Air Canada donated 100M points to this account, and the Ed Shapiro Foundation agreed to match Aeroplan member donations up to 50M points.
- The impact of the Ukraine2Canada campaign was that:
- Over 200M points were collected between Aeroplan, Member donations and The Shapiro Foundation.
- Approximately 300 tickets were made available every two weeks on a first-come, first-served basis. The Ukraine2Canada (U2C) Travel Fund's first ticket release in 2023 occurred on January 2nd. The U2C Travel Fund will continue to release tickets every two weeks until all available funding and miles for this effort have been exhausted.
- The campaign officially ran in 2023, but Air Canada continues to collect points online to give to Miles4Migrants to book Ukrainians who qualify to come to Canada.
- Miles4Migrants continues to use the remaining points left in the Ukraine relocation Aeroplan account to aid those still wishing to flee the country.
