American Airlines Priority ESG Issues
Originally published in American Airlines 2021 ESG Report
The last two years have brought enormous change and disruption to our industry, economy and the world. More than ever, rigorous management of environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities is critical to the success of American Airlines and to the health of our planet. We have long recognized the importance of these issues and have developed an integrated and transparent approach to ESG management, measurement and reporting. That said, there’s always room for improvement, and we continue to look to best practices within and outside our industry as we refine and strengthen our policies, practices and disclosures.
Our Priority ESG Issues
Our ESG strategy is focused on the topics that are most important to our company and our stakeholders. We periodically conduct formal ESG materiality assessment processes, most recently in 2018, that serve as the foundation of our analysis of areas of risk and opportunity. And, through ongoing engagement across our company and with a broad range of external stakeholders, we validate and, as needed, refine our assessment based on the input we receive and changes in our operating environment.
We also continually monitor ESG trends, standards and practices relevant to our industry, and look to external reporting frameworks, including SASB and TCFD, as key indicators of investor perspectives on the most significant ESG risks and opportunities for our company. In 2021, these activities affirmed our focus on the following priority issues:
- Climate change and fuel efficiency
- Customer satisfaction and operational performance
- Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI)
- Safety (including flight safety and team member health and safety)
- Team member and labor relations
Driving progress across all these issues is a key objective for American. At the same time, we recognize that the business landscape is evolving rapidly and that we must be ready to address new areas of concern if and when they emerge. We will continue to seek stakeholder input while also closely monitoring emerging ESG practices and trends.
In 2021, American joined the United Nations Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability effort. The index on page 53 guides stakeholders on where to find information on our efforts to implement the Global Compact’s Ten Principles.
