The Latin American airline is the first carrier operating at Miami International to obtain an ISO certification for their exemplary environmental management system, following an external audit. This way, MIA endorses LAN Cargo’s efforts to minimize the impact of its ground operation on the ecology and to progressively reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.
Miami International is not just any destination within LAN Cargo’s wide-span network, it‘s the carrier’s main air freight hub north of the Equator. Accordingly, the number of flights are
numerous. The company’s warehouse is the second largest at MIA International where the airline also has set up a maintenance hangar of almost 100,000 square-feet. It is LATAM Airlines Group’s
first maintenance facility in the United States. From Miami, LAN Cargo connects to different destinations in Europe and it serves as a strategic point for operations to and from Latin
America.
On the way to becoming a green carrier
Against this background, the ISO 14001:2004 certification earned by the airline for its outstanding environmental management system at MIA Airport must be seen. “We want to be one of the best
airline groups in the world and caring for the environment is essential to achieve that,” stated LAN Cargo’s CEO, Cristian Ureta. He went on to say: “Compliance with ISO standards will allow us
to grow and develop our ground operation more efficiently, improve resource management and allocation, and reduce our operation's environmental impact and carbon footprint.”
LAN Cargo states that the certification is the result of three years of intensive preparation, validating the carrier’s management and ecological policies. Based on a series of tools and actions
that strengthen the company’s measures to control and reduce environmental impact, the standards also promote the continuous improvement of operations.
Comprehensive task to fulfill all tough ISO criteria
The system consists of a series of processes and practices that allow to identify, control, manage and reduce the environmental impact of all of its ground operations, including all technical and
operational matters taking place within the warehouse and maintenance facility.
The ISO 14001:2004 certification is the highest level a carrier can attain within the Environmental Management System. “And we were the first airline in the Americas to get it and the third in
the world. It is the result of the work of many years and it is starting to bear fruit,” said Enrique Guzmán, Environmental Senior Manager at LAN on the occasion of receiving the
award.
Today’s ISO certification is in line with environmental efforts initiated by both LAN Cargo and its parent LAN Airlines. Only three years ago, the Latin American carrier went through a validation
process in which all ground operations in Miami were thoroughly inspected by independent controllers on behalf of IATA, checking all relevant procedures. As result, the mother company together
with its cargo arm obtained the IATA certification for Stage 1 of the Environment Assessment System (IEnvA).
Now, the higher ranking standard ISO 14001:2004 has followed suit.
Heiner Siegmund
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