In 2011, Virgin produced 741 metric tons of waste, down 29 percent from 2008 levels, but up 7 percent year-on-year. The recent refurbishment of the company’s headquarters, as well as new IT equipment, led to the jump. This waste increase means that Virgin is not going to achieve its planned 50 percent waste reduction by the end of 2012. The company has re-set that target for 2015, the report says.
Until recently Virgin Atlantic says it “had little data” on its UK water use, so over the past year the company has been trying to to address that.
Some of the airline’s aircraft exterior cleaning is carried out in South Africa using a “dry wash” system to save water. Water butts have been installed at one location. The water collected helps to maintain planted areas. The company has also reduced the water pressure at one facility. A reduced flow rate design means these taps will achieve an estimated 60 percent reduction in the amount of water used per tap, the report says.
In March, The Spaceship Company, a joint venture of Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic and air vehicle design company Scaled Composites, received a $290,206 incentive check for completing utility Southern California Edison’s Savings By Design energy-efficiency program.
The program incentivizes the construction of new buildings that exceed California’s Title 24 energy-efficiency standards by at least 10 percent, based on a whole-building performance analysis. TSC won the check with the design of its Final Assembly, Integration and Test Hangar, or FAITH, at the Mojave Air and Space Port in Mojave, Calif.
