For the second year in a row, Newsweek’s annual Green Rankings recognized American Airlines as the greenest U.S. air carrier. In a list of the 500 most environmentally responsible publically traded companies in the United States, American landed as the 49th greenest overall and the most responsible company in the transportation and logistics category.

How did we do it? At American, going green is a team effort. Everyone – from the CEO to our pilots to our cargo handlers – takes part in lightening American’s impact on the environment. One of our top priorities is reducing fuel use. We recently placed the largest aircraft order in history; new, more efficient planes consume less fuel and emit fewer gasses into the atmosphere. With our Fuel Smart program, we have saved more than 500 million gallons of jet fuel, which reduces our annual CO2 emissions by 2.6 billion pounds.

To better protect the environment, we also refined our operations:

• Our pilots use only one engine during taxiing (reducing CO2 emissions by 60 million pounds);
• At airports across the world, we wash engine compressors with hot water to remove contaminants (another 152 million pounds of CO2 saved); and
• By towing aircraft between terminals and hangers rather than using jet engines, we saved 3.6 million gallons of fuel (or 76 million pounds of CO2 annually).

Being a responsible steward of the environment is not just about CO2. Companies produce waste, and our goals is to produce as little as possible. To that end, our flight attendants recycled more than 15 million aluminum cans in 2010, and our maintenance facilities recycled more than 1.7 million pounds of aircraft parts and components.

There are numerous other efforts underway throughout our international network. We appreciate the recognition, being counted among some of the most responsible businesses in America, but we also hold our company to a high standard. Goals are important, and in the coming years, we plan to do even more to reduce our carbon footprint and continue taking part in the global effort to protect the environment.