Elite Traveler Summer 2022

LEADERS IN LUXURY

IanMoore CCO, VistaJet

already have their own programs. Today, if you want to get business from corporations globally, if you want fi nancing, you must have a robust sustainability program. Was the decision to go carbon neutral part of the original plan? It wasn’t, and the reason is you are putting all the pieces together, and you want to see what you can do fi rst. The manifesto was a stretch — we are a stretch company — and we wanted to make sure we could do it. We wanted to go carbon neutral at some point, but we didn’t want to commit until we knew we could do it. Will you expand the carbon neutral pledge across the entire group? We are looking to expand across the group. The challenge is that with the group, we have on- fl eet and o ff - fl eet solutions, so it takes a little bit longer…. We are working hard for the entire family to be included. vistajet.com

In January 2020, VistaJet launched its Sustainability in Aviation manifesto during the World Economic Forum in Davos. Described as an “action handbook for change in business aviation,” the unit of Vista Global Holding pledged to be carbon neutral by 2025, a quarter-century ahead of the date industry executives typically cite. CCO Ian Moore tells Elite Traveler what went into the initiative and what’s next. When did you start working on the Sustainability in Aviation manifesto? We had been working on it two years before. Everything we do, from our aircraft to our service, has to be the best that it can be. We wanted to make sure what we were doing was as bulletproof and comprehensive as possible. We didn’t have the sustainability knowledge inside the company. We had the will but not the know-how, which meant engaging outside partners. Our programs are audited, and that gives an added level of credibility, so we are opening ourselves up.

What was the main motivation for the manifesto?

Customers, particularly HNWs and corporates, as well as our own employees, were putting their ideas forward. Most people may think certain parts of the world are more focused on sustainability than others. That’s not the case. We had a very quick uptake globally. Over 85% of our customers signed up. The majority that didn’t were companies that