BOEING: Innovating and Leading for a Sustainable Future

Boeing’s long tradition of aerospace leadership and innovation is ever-growing, as the company continues to expand its product line and services to meet emerging customer needs. A broad range of capabilities includes the creation of new, more efficient members of its commercial airplane family designing, building and integrating military platforms and defence systems and creating advanced technology solutions, through to innovative financing and service options for customers.

With corporate offices near Washington D.C., Boeing’s workforce is one of the most diverse, talented and innovative around, comprising more than 160,000 people across the United States and in more than 65 countries. Three business units define the company – commercial airplanes, defence, space and security and global services – backed by functional organisations across the company.

“The Boeing Company is the world’s largest aerospace company and America’s largest exporter,” says the company making the impossible, possible, and helping chart the course of aerospace history since 1916. “It’s been a breath-taking journey, but the best is yet to come.

“Boeing’s market success plays a key role in supporting high-value aerospace jobs across its supply chain and across the United States, including working with more than 12,000 businesses supporting more than one million supplier-related jobs.”

INNOVATION LEADER

“As a top U.S. exporter, the company leverages the talents of a global supplier base to advance economic opportunity, sustainability and community impact. Boeing’s diverse team is committed to innovating for the future, leading with sustainability, and cultivating a culture based on the company’s core values of safety, quality and integrity,” delineates an organisation often heralded as the foremost innovator in aerospace engineering.

“There’s more innovation underway today at Boeing than at any time in our 106-year history. Boeing drives innovation that will transform aerospace and defence as we know it.” The historic partnership with the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) has for two decades been at the core of this trailblazing approach, and a newly-penned agreement guarantees at least another five years of industry-leading innovation and collaboration.

The University of Sheffield AMRC celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, a world-leading research and innovation network boasting more than 120 industrial partners, among them Rolls-Royce, McLaren Automotive, Siemens and BAE Systems. The longstanding and successful relationship with Boeing was a major factor in the decision to build its £40 million Sheffield factory in 2018, the company’s first facility in Europe, for which the AMRC supported cutting-edge process development for efficient machining, factory planning and the digital infrastructure.

The renewed Tier 1 partnership extends Boeing’s access to the AMRC’s research and development capabilities, which it jointly founded with the University of Sheffield in 2001, and allows it to continue to reap the benefits of the industrial and manufacturing expertise and innovation that has existed in the Sheffield City Region for centuries.

“Renewing Boeing’s partnership with the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre demonstrates our commitment to Sheffield and showcases what we have jointly created in 20 years: jobs, innovation, inspiration and inward investment,” stated Sir Martin Donnelly, President of Boeing Europe and Managing Director Boeing in the UK and Ireland. “At its core the agreement looks to the future and what more we can achieve through world-class researchers and industry working together.”

Boeing’s ecoDemonstrator 787 is another example of the transformative innovation underway, harnessing the power of big data to make flying more efficient in real-time. “We are looking for technologies that allow us to help an airplane be more efficient over time,” explains Jeanne You, Director Environmental Performance of this laudable attempt to use big data to make a better planet. “These diagnostics can keep airports operating as efficiently as possible and avoid disruptions.

“The ecoDemonstrator really unleashes the innovation of the engineer to think about those things which are going to help the environment, and accelerate the technologies surrounding saving fuel and producing quieter, cleaner emissions. This will culminate in more rapid upgrades ultimately making a great impact on both airlines and the environment.”

SUSTAINABILITY SOARS

787 was again the magic number, and again it was with sustainability at the forefront when, in September, China Airlines finalised a landmark order for as many as 24 Boeing 787 Dreamliners to broaden its global network and cargo capacity, thus modernising its fleet and cutting fuel use and CO₂ emissions by up to 25%.

Since entering service in 2011, the 787 family’s fuel efficiency, flexibility and range have enabled airlines to open more than 325 new nonstop routes and reduce carbon emissions by 80 billion pounds.

“The 787’s superior fuel efficiency and range, combined with China Airlines’ existing fleet of 777-300ERs, will enable the carrier to grow efficiently and also expand its global route network,” said Ihssane Mounir, Boeing senior vice president of Commercial Sales and Marketing. “This is a milestone order in our continuing partnership with China Airlines, and the market-leading efficiencies of the 787 will play an important role in furthering the airline’s sustainability efforts.”

China Airlines Chairman, Hsieh Su-Chien added: “Our continuous investment in fleet modernisation is the cornerstone of our sustainability efforts. The 787’s best-in-class efficiency and low operating costs will allow us to expand our network for years to come.” Powered by advanced engines and a suite of environmentally progressive technologies, the 787 family has an airport-noise footprint 60% smaller than the previous generation of airplanes.

Canadian carrier WestJet was not to be left behind in the quest for fuel-efficient planes, strengthening its commitment to the 737 MAX family by securing a bumper crop of 42 737-10s and options for an additional 22 jets. “With industry-leading fuel efficiency and reliability, the 737-10 will enable the Canadian carrier to undertake an ambitious network expansion and meet its long-term sustainability goals,” Boeing commented, with which Alexis von Hoensbroech, WestJet Group CEO, agreed.

“With its lower fuel consumption and reduced emissions, the 737-10 will further improve the environmental footprint of our fleet.”

Boeing is committed to innovating for the future and leading with sustainability as well as to responsible environmental leadership, “both in our products and in how we manufacture, deliver and support them.” This was crowned in 2020 when it achieved net-zero carbon emissions at manufacturing and worksites, by expanding conservation and renewable energy use while tapping responsible offsets for the remaining greenhouse gas emissions.

“Accomplishing net-zero carbon emissions in our operations is a significant step toward making the world better for all the communities we serve,” said Chris Raymond, Boeing chief sustainability officer. “Boeing wants to be a positive example and partner in our industry and with other major industrial companies.

“We’ve made great strides since the beginning of the jet age, but our greatest accomplishments are yet to come. We believe the future of flight will take ‘everything for zero’, as we ensure that to aerospace is sustainable for future generations.”