MUMBAI: Be it the A-380 liner that it will introduce in a few years, or the day to day operations, BA claims responsible investments towards environment. Its attention is on both input and output areas and that spans across things like 20 per cent better fuel efficiency, emissions savings, Green House emissions. etc. From how it flies to how it buys, the key message across all suppliers is reduced carbon emission, waste, noise and improving local air quality.

In fact, amidst its top corporate aims in near future we find targets like recycling 50 per cent of all its waste, working on cutting UK waste to landfill by 2010 and reduced average noise per flight by 15 per cent by 2015.

In parallel, BA is investing in alternative fuel research and reduced CO2 per passenger Km by 25 per cent by 2009. Measures range from small ones to big ones. They spread from default corporate standards like B&W power points, or double-sided printing to IP telephony deployment and evaluation of smart devices as substitutes of desktops.

Targets also include 80 servers to switch off with the use of virtualization. There are thermal imaging cameras that help in hotspot identification for temperature and energy control and energy efficiency controls in data centres. IT's role is in the top gear here. The company has a dedicated project team and is using IT to reduce direct carbon footprint.

CyberMedia News managed a short chat with Paul Coby, CIO, British Airways at the margins of NILF 2009. Excerpts.

You have set a pretty ambitious and respectful target of 25 per cent carbon footprint reduction by 2011. That's one of your five corporate level goals. How much is the progress so far?

We are almost half-way through. We can boast of figures like 10 to 12 per cent in energy savings already and are committed to achieving it and keep on our responsibility as a dedicated corporate player.

How are you handling the 'inject' and 'reject' buckets as a CIO in today's times?

Recession is challenging for anyone and we have been handling today's scenario from a focus of responsible air travel and responsible IT. Every project is being reviewed to see whether it has a fast immediate delivery. There are some projects that we have postponed that are costing a lot and that don't fit in quick turnaround criteria.

Anything that goes high on 'inject'?

We will continue to invest in areas that impact customer's service, be it planning flights or hotels better or dynamic management of holidays. Customer experience will be our focus.

What is the main focus of review of your broad IT strategy now?

The key issue is that slowdown or not, green cause is still important. But otherwise we review every penny across the entire airline. Yesterday, it was about more for less, today it is about even more for even less!

With so much dedication and experience in green IT, can we expect it turning from a cost centre to profit centre ever?

To be frank, green is not something you have a choice against anymore. There is no alternative. We are committed to being a responsible and sustainable company. The good news is that it is helping to save costs but still that's not why you would choose to do it. It's much more significant than that perspective.

©CyberMedia News