On July 29th, 2021, Oceanit welcomed the Aaron Robinson, United Airlines’ senior manager for Environmental Strategy and Sustainability, as a No Limits Speaker Series guest. Mr. Robinson manages United Airlines’ Eco-Skies program, focusing on sustainable aviation fuel development, corporate customers, emissions reductions, and external communications. Oceanit colleagues and several external guests joined to hear his presentation titled, “Innovation Toward a Decarbonized Aviation Industry.”
During Aaron’s time leading the program, United has been recognized as Air Transport World’s Eco-Airline of the Year – twice, Newsweek’s highest ranked airline globally for environment, and the highest rated U.S. airline by Carbon Disclosure Project each year. After leading the fuel conservation program at Northwest Airlines, he transitioned to environment at post-merger Delta Air Lines, where he oversaw all aspects of compliance with the EU ETS, represented the airline in developing its climate change strategy, led numerous internal sustainability programs, and published the airline’s emissions and sustainability reports.
Aaron has also worked in airport operations, financial analysis, operational reliability, and cargo safety. In addition to serving at Air Transport World, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, and Rolls-Royce, he also founded SimAirline.net, an online flight simulation organization. He holds a BA in Economics from Carleton College, an MBA from The University of Texas, and a private pilot’s license.
The aviation industry is a highly visible emitter of carbon, accounting for approximately 2.5% of global CO2 emissions. Ironically, the very industry that has brought enormous prosperity to places like Hawai’i since the early days of trans-pacific flight, is now at risk of negatively impacting the same communities via the unintended consequence of climate impact and sea level rise. United has committed to being 100% green by 2050 – reducing their greenhouse gas emissions by 100%, without relying on offsets.
Oceanit has been working with United Airlines since 2018, testing advanced icephobic and omniphobic surface treatments developed by Oceanit’s Nano Materials team.
Enjoy the video of Aaron Robinson’s presentation below and be sure to read more about United’s sustainability efforts by clicking here.
