Education & Involvement

Everyone at Alaska Airlines is involved in environmental stewardship. In addition to a dedicated Environmental Affairs department that ensures compliance with all federal, state, and local environmental laws and regulations and provides technical guidance and environmental training, environmental responsibility is integrated into the performance plans of our CEO, the company's officers, and their direct reports so that environmental considerations are integrated into daily operational and decision-making processes throughout the company. Each department within the company is required to establish, track progress, and document their own goals for minimizing their environmental impact.

In addition, a "Green Team" consisting of representatives from various departments within the company has been organized to foster a culture of environmental responsibility among employees and management by promoting awareness of environmental concerns, actions and responsibilities.

Environmental Affairs

The Alaska Airlines Environmental Affairs department reports directly to the Chief Compliance Officer. Corporate environmental affairs staff develop corporate environmental policy, technical guidance, conduct environmental training, perform audits, and report environmental performance to upper management and the Board of Directors. They are assisted by a network of specially trained employees at all of our airport locations. These "HAZWOPER" employees are responsible for all day-to-day environmental compliance, chemical safety, and waste management activities.

Approximately 200 employees at Alaska Airlines receive additional advanced training on environmental and chemical safety issues. These environmental coordinators, commonly referred to as "HAZWOPERs", represent many different departments and job titles, including both management and hourly employees. "HAZWOPER" employees may be called upon to manage chemical spills, review environmental permits, conduct environmental inspections, and provide leadership and guidance to other employees with respect to environmental and chemical safety issues. Initiation into this program begins with an intensive 3-day course and is maintained with annual recurrent training.

The Alaska Airlines Environmental Affairs department has also conducted multi-media detailed environmental evaluations of Alaska Airlines facilities for the past 18 years. Airport and maintenance facilities throughout our system are evaluated for compliance with Federal, State, and local environmental requirements as well as corporate environmental policy. The results of the audits are evaluated and reported to divisional vice presidents and summarized for the Board Audit Committee.

Performing audits provides assurances that Alaska Airlines is responding adequately to constantly changing regulatory requirements and identifies situations where the company can more proactively manage environmental issues. Results from the audits are used to detect gaps and areas for improvement, upgrade existing policies, improve training, and enhance employee communications programs.

Employees who work outside at our airports and/or work near chemical products complete several hours of environmental training every year. Training covers the basics of waste management, preventing water pollution, handling hazardous materials, and preventing and responding to spills. Selected subcontractor staff are also trained to Alaska Airlines' high standards.

Green Team

The Alaska Airlines "Green Team" provides a forum and vehicle for environmentally-conscious employees to share, learn, and act upon opportunities within he company to reduce negative environmental impacts. Additionally, team members work together to support and advance environmental responsibility and stewardship across the company, within their communities, and at home.

Now almost 200 strong, the Green Team is made up of employees from every major work group - pilots, customer service, marketing, supply chain management, graphic resources, corporate communications, in-flight, environmental affairs, human resources, maintenance and engineering, sales, and IT, and from every level of the org chart. Membership on the Green Team is open to all employees who are passionate about the environment and who want to be able to act on that passion as a part of their job.

The Green Team sponsors or partners with other organizations in sponsoring various "green" events throughout the year. For example, in May 2008, the Green Team organized an "E-cycle" event in which nearly 400 employees and community members brought in more than 20 tons of computers and other electronics to be recycled or donated to charity.

Green team members act as ambassadors and consultants to other work groups within the company who want to form their own "green teams". Additionally, the group maintains a robust internal communication portal, through which employees can find helpful information about activities in their communities, "green" industry news, tips for how to take environmental actions at home, progress on current "green" initiatives at work, and much more. For more information, contact www.green.team@alaskaairlines.com.