Impact, risk and opportunity management
ESRS 2 IRO-1 – Description of the processes to identify and assess material resource use and circular economy-related impacts, risks and opportunities
The general methodology for identifying impacts, risks and opportunities is described under ↗ ESRS 2 General disclosures – Description of the process to identify and assess material impacts, risks and opportunities.
E5-1 – Policies related to resource use and circular economy
The Lufthansa Group regards the R-strategies that systematically prioritise efforts to reduce, reuse, recycle, recover and replace materials as the model for its resource use and circular economy activities. These are put into practice by the individual business segments in various ways.
Passenger Airlines approaches to resource use and circular economy
Based on the R-strategies and the EU’s waste hierarchy (2008/98/EC), the Lufthansa Group Passenger Airlines has introduced specific guidelines under the framework of its global waste policies with the aim of promoting the shift away from the use of virgin resources and towards renewable, recycled or recyclable materials. In respect of single-use plastic packaging in particular, the airlines are increasingly using materials from renewable and recyclable resources for items such as single-use cutlery, headphones and blanket packaging. Where feasible within procurement processes and the intended area of use, care is taken to ensure that products to be used in the future are made from a single material and can be recycled. In addition, all Passenger Airlines of the Lufthansa Group continuously adapt their tenders and supplement them with requirements to source only materials that do not contain any single-use plastic or single-use aluminium, that are renewable or recyclable and that comply with applicable regulations such as the EU’s Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and the European Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). The airlines are also ensuring that single-use plastic packaging is sent directly for recycling. For example, in the reporting year, Brussels Airlines introduced a recycling process for all plastic packaging, aluminium cans and paper cups on short-haul flights, while Air Dolomiti implemented the collection of packaging from a branded product at the end of the flight for recycling purposes. Responsibility for implementing these measures lies with the Lufthansa Group airlines within the relevant Hospitality and Catering Management departments. The Lufthansa Group central function Customer & Hospitality Experience initiates cross-Group measures and standards while coordinating their implementation across the airlines.
The Passenger Airlines of the Lufthansa Group have jointly defined a framework for dealing responsibly with in-flight waste, covering every aspect of it. In-flight waste is divided into three categories: single-use waste, food waste and reusable waste. Single-use waste refers to materials that become waste after being used once in-flight or after a flight event, without any defined recycling processes. Food waste may arise both during and after flights. Reusable waste includes materials that are already part of a circular system but later become waste without any downstream recycling processes.
In an effort to reduce resource consumption, Lufthansa Group Passenger Airlines is focusing on keeping finite resources within a closed loop for as long as possible. This includes efforts to return all in-flight plastic and aluminium items to the circular economy or replace them entirely with renewable raw materials. In the area of reusable waste and damaged but reusable materials, such as blankets, pillows, tablets and trays, Passenger Airlines is focused on reducing waste by returning these items to the resource cycle.
Conceptual measures are also being taken to minimise food waste while improving the level of data transparency regarding customer wishes and flight-specific eating patterns in collaboration with catering companies. The Passenger Airlines in the Lufthansa Group are striving to improve data quality and optimise the management of food resources by fostering collaboration with the catering companies.
The Lufthansa Group Corporate Responsibility (under the responsibility of the Chief Technology Officer, covering Fleet Management, IT & Digital, Innovation & Tech Factory, Procurement and Sustainability) and Product Management (under the responsibility of the Chief Commercial Officer, covering Global Markets & Commercial Steering Hubs) departments are jointly responsible for management and coordination, conceptual work, target setting and monitoring at Group level in respect of in-flight waste. To ensure Group-wide integration, a working group made up of Passenger Airlines representatives has been established to discuss the progress made and challenges faced and to draw up joint standards several times a year. Since 2023, the Lufthansa Group airlines have implemented the R-strategies, as illustrated by the following examples:
- Reduce: services, such as providing headphones on request to reduce single-use plastic
- Reuse: use of reusable products, such as reusable cups
- Recycle: use and collection of certain plastics for recycling
- Recover: implementation of a process for transferring beverage residue to a biogas plant
- Replace: switch from plastic to paper packaging
Lufthansa Technik approaches to resource use and circular economy
Within its main business activity – the maintenance of aircraft and aircraft parts, such as components, engines and landing gear – Lufthansa Technik is guided by the requirements of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), which set out in detail the permitted parts and repair procedures.
As a maintenance organisation, Lufthansa Technik is obliged to operate in compliance with the requirements of European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Part-145 governing aircraft maintenance and other safety regulations. Consequently, Lufthansa Technik does not make the decisions regarding the use of recycled materials. In addition, the Company sources its materials and parts exclusively from certified suppliers that guarantee the required quality standards. Segment and site management are responsible for the implementation.
Individual Lufthansa Technik sites pursue concepts to reduce waste volumes, with the objective of continuously increasing recycling rates. Lufthansa Technik sites differ in terms of size, activities and local legal standards. On the basis of overarching targets and an annual review of target achievement by the Executive Board, it is up to each site to develop its own approaches and define measures to ensure Lufthansa Technik achieves its group-wide aim of increasing the recycling rate to 75%. No additional central implementation guidelines are in place. As part of its circular economy strategy, Lufthansa Technik operates a leasing model for aircraft components. This concept enables airlines of the Lufthansa Group as well as third-party airlines to replace defective spare parts with overhauled components from Lufthansa Technik’s component pool. Ownership of the spare parts remains with Lufthansa Technik, allowing them to be reused in identical aircraft models operated by other airlines. In this way, components remain within the material cycle. The contractually agreed leasing models are intended to allow for more efficient use of spare parts.
With regard to the procurement and use of environmentally friendly resources, Lufthansa Technik, as an MRO provider, is bound by technical standards to a -particular extent. The materials and components used are generally sourced directly from the OEM and are subject to stringent regulatory and safety-related requirements. As a result, targeted procurement of more environmentally friendly materials is often not possible. However, where auxiliary and operating materials or packaging materials are not regulated by OEMs, preference is given to more environmentally friendly alternatives. The objective is to achieve continuous improvements in resource conservation and sustainability, even within the existing systemic constraints.
Lufthansa Technik also applies adapted circular economy R-strategies in various processes within its repair and maintenance services. The leasing of spare parts and other replaceable aircraft components to airlines helps to keep inventories low and materials in economic circulation for longer. The use of maintained and newly certified components from retired aircraft supports the principle of reuse. In addition, materials such as steel and aluminium from retired aircraft are sent for recycling.
Lufthansa Cargo approaches to resource use and circular economy
Lufthansa Cargo pursues a circular economy concept aimed at avoiding and reducing the use of resources as well as conserving resources. This includes loading aids and equipment that are indispensable in the airfreight transport sector. These are mainly items designed for multiple use that only become waste once they are no longer repairable or reach their date of expiry according to international airfreight regulations. Some loading equipment is disposable by nature or on account of product-specific requirements.
For both material categories – reusable items such as straps, nets and boards and single-use items such as plastic film – Lufthansa Cargo has defined specific actions based on the principles of the circular economy: increasing recycling rates by substituting materials, introducing closed-loop systems and conserving resources, increasing resource efficiency by reducing the materials used, maximising reusability within the framework of existing regulations and implementing upcycling projects with individual materials.
Lufthansa Cargo, too, therefore integrates the circular economy R-strategies into its Group-wide air transport services on the basis of the described approaches. One focus area is the reduction of virgin resources, for example through the introduction of plastic films with 10% recycled content, which are used across the Company worldwide. In addition, Lufthansa Cargo seeks to maximise the use of containers, pallets, nets, boards and straps until they reach their date of expiry or until they are no longer fit for use. To ensure efficient use of resources, boards that may not or cannot be used any longer are utilised as an energy source by a waste disposal company at the Frankfurt site.
At Lufthansa Cargo, loading aids and equipment are continuously reviewed to determine the feasibility of replacing them with new materials offering improvements in respect of weight savings, durability, reparability and other circular aspects.
The primary aim of using lightweight containers made of fibre-reinforced composites instead of aluminium containers is to save on kerosene and, with that, reduce CO2 emissions. For Lufthansa Cargo and its subsidiaries, the long-term use of loading equipment has a high priority. To this end, they focus on optimising the useful life of lightweight containers, taking into consideration International Air Transport Association (IATA) regulations as well as programmes for the construction and careful use of certified containers and pallets. There is a trade-off between the savings in kerosene achieved through the use of lightweight containers and the disposal of these containers at the end of their useful life. More nuanced analysis is needed for greater consideration of the circular economy in future decision-making processes as well. Therefore, Lufthansa Cargo and its subsidiaries recognise the efforts of IATA to conduct product life cycle assessments for lightweight containers together with the industry.
The principles set out here are implemented either through contractual agreements worldwide or internal initiatives, particularly at the largest cargo hubs in Frankfurt and Munich. These also involve various stakeholders such as manufacturers, suppliers, waste disposal companies, service providers and own employees. Furthermore, Lufthansa Cargo partners with local vocational and training centres and is actively involved in working groups on circular economy topics within the industry association IATA, in which Lufthansa Cargo representatives engage with other industry players.
Lufthansa Cargo includes binding circular economy requirements in its contracts with suppliers and service partners in order to enable sustainable standards along the entire supply chain. A key element in this context is the constant exchange and close cooperation with Jettainer GmbH, the subsidiary responsible for loading aid management services. Together with manufacturers, more resource-efficient materials are developed and tested and, following successful trials, integrated into operations. One example in this area is the search for lighter heavy-duty floor systems.
Responsibility for compliance with and implementation of the circular economy concept lies with the Executive Board of Lufthansa Cargo. Implementation is supported by experts in the Environmental Management and Corporate Responsibility, Logistics Procurement and Global Fulfilment Management departments.
E5-2 – Actions and resources related to resource use and circular economy
Passenger Airlines take action based on the R-strategies
Lufthansa Group Passenger Airlines has defined various actions along the procurement process and operating processes during and after flights.
Replace: expedite the replacement of single-use materials
In the procurement process, the focus is on replacing single-use plastic and single-use aluminium. The Procurement department procures renewable and recyclable materials wherever possible.
In the reporting year, Brussels Airlines replaced single-use aluminium trays for salads and desserts with bagasse trays in Economy Class. Bagasse, a by-product of sugarcane processing, is a more environmentally friendly alternative to aluminium in food service. Further potential applications at Lufthansa Airlines were assessed during the reporting year, with additional use to be conceptually developed in 2026.
At SWISS, single-use aluminium trays for salads and desserts in Economy Class were replaced with reusable trays for the second service, and the Economy Class aperitif service is now also served in reusable trays.
Since September 2025, SWISS and Edelweiss have packaged blankets and headphones in paper instead of plastic. Blanket and headphone packaging across Lufthansa Airlines, SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Discover Airlines and Edelweiss has now been converted from plastic to paper following the implementation of this measure.
Brussels Airlines and Air Dolomiti replaced plastic cups in Economy Class with paper cups during the reporting year. SWISS and Eurowings introduced a paper cup that requires less plastic coating and contains less than 1% polymer.
Reduce: cut resource use and analyse waste streams
In 2025, various services were introduced and expanded to reduce resource consumption in on-board operations. For example, items from the amenity kit in SWISS Business Class are now distributed only upon request. Smaller items, such as the packaging for long-haul moist towelettes, are being switched to paper packaging at SWISS, Austrian Airlines and Edelweiss, and are distributed using reusable tongs in order to further reduce the use of single-use materials and non-renewable resources. To increase resource efficiency and transparency in post-flight operations, the Lufthansa Group analyses waste streams, with a particular focus on food waste. One key action is the continuous analysis of food consumption by the Passenger Airlines. With the Lufthansa Group’s mobile “Tray Tracker”, technology supported by artificial intelligence was developed to analyse food consumption on incoming flights. The level of food waste is also determined by categorising meal trays and detecting untouched meals. The aim is to facilitate informed loading decisions that reduce waste through data analysis, visualisation and pattern recognition. Based on these insights and on structured feedback from cabin crews, meal loading was adjusted during the reporting year on night flights from Boston and Bangkok at SWISS and Austrian Airlines to reduce food waste.
Recycle: recycle materials
The Lufthansa Group has introduced airline-specific recycling guidelines for cabin crews for application on all of its Passenger Airlines. Following an initiative launched by Eurowings in the 2024 financial year, PET recycling was made possible at Düsseldorf Airport. This recycling option was expanded in the 2025 financial year to the stations in Stuttgart, Berlin, Nuremberg and Mallorca.
In cooperation with its material partner, Lufthansa Airlines transferred a total of 52,684 tonnes (previous year: 44,886 tonnes) of textiles to recycling processes. These recycling processes have also been established at SWISS and Austrian Airlines since 2025.
During the reporting year, Austrian Airlines introduced a separate on-board collection process for plastic cups, which are mechanically recycled and used to produce new plastic cups, thereby keeping the materials within a closed-loop system. Edelweiss instructed its cabin crews to collect plastic seals from in-flight service trolleys separately, so that they can be fed into recycling processes.
Lufthansa Technik puts an emphasis on recycling
The individual Lufthansa Technik sites comply with statutory waste disposal regulations and implement locally adapted policies to achieve the target of increasing the recycling rate to 75% by 2025. With this in mind and taking applicable regulations into consideration, recyclable metal materials such as steel from across the Group are sold specifically to specialised recycling companies. This helps to improve resource use and increase the recycling rate, while also generating economic benefits through the sale of metal waste to recycling companies and reducing disposal costs. Lufthansa Technik also actively recycles components from aircraft that are no longer in service and puts these back into the component cycle as certified spare parts following maintenance.
Lufthansa Cargo is committed to conserving resources with regard to its cargo capacity
Measures taken by Lufthansa Cargo and its subsidiaries to conserve resources cover all cargo capacity on both cargo and passenger airlines of Lufthansa Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Discover Airlines and SunExpress as well as onward ground transport by truck. Where service providers take care of cargo handling operations, compliance with requirements for the promotion of the circular economy is maintained through contractual agreements. Internal employees are involved in this, along with manufacturers, suppliers, handling partners and local institutions such as vocational and training centres.
Tests conducted in the 2024 financial year using a biodegradable film for securing loads delivered positive results. As a result, specific sustainability criteria such as recycled content or biodegradability can now be explicitly incorporated into tender specifications. In addition, the return-to-manufacturer scheme for load-securing straps tested in the previous year has become a standard process for Lufthansa Cargo and its subsidiaries. The manufacturer inspects the returned straps and supplies usable ones back to Lufthansa Cargo. Straps that have expired or can no longer be used are passed on to sheltered workshops, where the materials are separated and recycled. Since January 2023, the Company has also been using a net to secure loads on smaller pallets. It is around ten kilogrammes lighter than the previously used nets. However, the planned rollout to larger pallets could not be implemented in 2025, as the lighter nets do not yet fully meet the higher quality and safety requirements for heavier loads on larger pallets. Implementation is therefore planned for 2026.