2025 Winner: Sustainability Training & Development
Before 2025, Air Europa’s sustainability training primarily focused on environmental management and regulatory compliance, providing limited coverage of broader ESG topics and leaving gaps in how sustainability was applied in daily operations. To address this limitation, the airline launched a redesigned Sustainability Training Program in 2025 with a comprehensive ESG focus aimed at embedding sustainability across all areas of the airline division.
The mandatory program covers all employees, including office staff, flight crews and maintenance teams, and combines online learning modules with in-person workshops to strengthen engagement and practical understanding. By expanding training beyond environmental compliance to include social and governance dimensions, the initiative helps employees better understand their role in achieving the company’s environmental and social goals.
This effort reflects Air Europa’s attempt to strengthen sustainability education as part of its corporate culture, embedding ESG awareness into employee learning and daily operations. The initiative was recognized when the airline was named the winner of the 2025 The Aviation Challenge award in the Sustainability Training and Development category.
Hybrid Sustainability Training: From Theory to Operational Practice
To make sustainability training more engaging and applicable to aviation operations, Air Europa designed the program as a hybrid learning system that combines digital education with practical operational training.
The digital modules introduce key sustainability concepts and topics such as circular economy, climate change, biodiversity, human rights, diversity and inclusion, workplace safety and sustainable business practices. To strengthen engagement and knowledge retention, the training incorporates interactive materials, videos, real case studies, and short quizzes throughout the course.
In addition to digital learning, the Environmental Sustainability team conducts in-person workshops for flight and maintenance crews. These sessions focus on practical demonstrations and open discussions addressing real operational challenges, such as onboard waste segregation. Additional onsite training is also organized at maintenance hangars and crew bases to reinforce proper waste management practices and responsible resource use in high-impact operational environments.
By linking theoretical learning with operational training, the program helps translate sustainability principles into daily actions across departments. Additionally, in order to ensure the program to continue evolving while strengthening sustainability awareness and operational practices across the organization, learning outcomes are monitored through feedback surveys from each participant and participation tracking.
Cultural Impact: Shifting Sustainability from Compliance to Daily Practice
The Sustainability Training Program has helped shift employee perception of sustainability from a corporate requirement to a shared value guiding everyday decisions across the organization. By December 2025, 75% of employees had completed the training, with full participation expected by the end of 2025.
As sustainability awareness increased, operational teams began translating the training into practical actions. Flight and maintenance crews became more proactive in waste segregation and reducing single use materials, while office teams increasingly incorporated sustainability considerations into project planning and procurement processes.
Employee surveys also indicate stronger engagement with Air Europa’s sustainability strategy and related initiatives, including The Aviation Challenge and operational efficiency programs, with the company’s commitment to sustainability receiving an average employee rating of 8.07 out of 10. These changes reflect a broader cultural shift across the organization, where sustainability is increasingly viewed as an integral part of the company’s identity and long-term operational performance.
