How is air cargo industry reimagining waste, one supply-chain at a time

When the air cargo industry talks about decarbonisation, the conversation often circles back to Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). But at the 2025 IATA World Cargo Symposium (WCS) in Dubai, it became clear that sustainability isn't just about what's in the fuel tank — it's also about what ends up in the trash.

In a panel on circular economy in air cargo, industry leaders peeled back the layers on one of the sector’s most under-discussed opportunities: reimagining waste not as a by-product, but as a resource. Moderated by Saleem Saeed, Sustainability Manager at IAG Cargo, the conversation featured Michelle Fok, Head of Sustainable Development at Cathay Cargo Terminal; Celine Hourcade, Vice President, Global Head of ESG / Sustainability at SATS; and Daniel Leng, Chief Operating Officer at LATAM Cargo; each offering deeply grounded insights into how their organisations are attempting to close the loop on materials, processes, and procurement.

“Sustainability isn’t always a cost centre. In many of our projects, it helped us save money, simplify operations, and reduce waste.”
Daniel Leng, LATAM Cargo

Their collective message? The path to circularity in air cargo is complex, but the potential payoff — for the planet and the bottom line — is immense.

Beyond carbon: Why circularity is the next sustainability frontier
Net-zero by 2050 is now a baseline expectation in aviation. But the panellists of the sustainability track at IATA WCS Dubai argued that meeting this goal requires more than cleaner fuels. It calls for an industry-wide pivot away from the traditional “take-make-dispose” approach and toward systems where materials are reused, repurposed and retained in the value chain for as long as possible.

As SATS’s Hourcade pointed out, it’s a shift that starts not with fuel but with a fundamental mindset change: “Transformation requires that mindset shift,” she said. “You have to start with your local teams, test what works in your own context, and once you understand the impact, you can expand and apply those learnings to operations across the network.”

Circularity isn’t a parallel track to sustainability — it’s the infrastructure that underpins it.

From siloed operations to shared intelligence
One of the most powerful takeaways from the discussion was the recognition that most air cargo terminals operate in isolation. Cathay Cargo Terminal’s Fok acknowledged that, despite belonging to a major airline group, her team at Cathay Cargo Terminal had limited visibility into the innovations or challenges faced by others.

“We don’t really have a very big network of talking to each other,” she admitted. “If we’re limiting ourselves to just our own operations and local knowledge, it means we’re also limiting our ability to learn from some of the good practices happening elsewhere — whether that’s in the UK, the US, or even in Chile,” mentioned Fok.

This lack of communication is more than an operational inconvenience — it’s a lost opportunity. In a sector defined by global connectivity, the internal fragmentation is stark. If the industry can move containers across oceans in 24 hours, surely it can move knowledge across departments.

Procurement as strategy, not paperwork
The panel also pulled back the curtain on one of the most overlooked levers of sustainability: procurement. In many organisations, procurement is treated as a compliance function — focused on cost, volume, and delivery. But in a circular model, procurement becomes a strategic driver of change.

LATAM Cargo’s Leng didn’t mince words: “If you say, ‘Okay, I’m just going to decide based on price,’ then you’re not being true to what you’re claiming as a sustainability-led company.”

What does this mean in practice? It means choosing materials not only for their performance or cost but also based on recyclability, reusability, and environmental origin. It means embedding sustainability into contracts, so vendors are held to the same values as the buyer. And it means pushing beyond superficial certifications to demand operational transparency.

“If we’re limiting ourselves to just our own operations and local knowledge, it means we’re also limiting our ability to learn from some of the good practices happening elsewhere.”
Michelle Fok, Cathay Cargo Terminal

“We’re not quite there yet,” Leng admitted, “but if you don’t involve your suppliers from the beginning — if you’re not clear about your sustainability expectations — it’s going to be very difficult to make any progress.”

The innovation culture gap
Perhaps the most compelling part of the conversation revolved around the cultural barriers to circularity. Shifting mindsets inside large organisations is no small feat. Sustainability, in many firms, is still siloed — treated as a marketing function or relegated to an annual report, mentioned Leng in an exclusive interview on the side lines of IATA WCS.

But as Fok explained, her team used the IATA Environmental Assessment (IEnvA) certification process as a Trojan horse to re-examine their entire operational model through the lens of sustainability. “It challenged me to look into the whole process again together with our stakeholders,” she said. “I alone cannot do anything; it has to be collaborative.”

Leng echoed that sentiment with a powerful reminder of where real innovation comes from: “All of our sustainability initiatives — every single one of them — came from our frontline teams. That’s where innovation lives. All they needed was support and room to explore.”

He continued, “Sustainability isn’t always a cost centre. In many of our projects, it helped us save money, simplify operations, and reduce waste. You just have to give your people the space to innovate.”

Regulatory disarray: The enemy of progress
Circularity may be a global ideal, but regulations are deeply local. For multinationals like SATS and LATAM, this fragmentation poses a significant challenge.

“We operate in 27 countries,” Hourcade noted. “We have to face different jurisdictions, different regulations, and they are not consistent with one another.”

Leng shared a similar frustration: “Some companies can do it in one country but not in another, simply because local regulation doesn’t allow you to take that step. That lack of consistency makes it harder to implement good practices at scale.”

“But if we can align incentives, if we can be transparent, and if we can share learnings, then we have a fighting chance (towards achieving sustainability)”
Saleem Saeed, IAG Cargo

This inconsistency isn’t just frustrating — it’s a strategic risk. It creates inefficiencies, undermines ROI, and disincentivises innovation. That’s why all three panellists agreed: industry bodies like IATA must take the lead in establishing common guidelines and global standards.

The missing piece: Standardisation across the chain
Circularity isn't just about reusing materials — it’s about designing systems that make reuse possible. That requires standardisation. But as Hourcade pointed out, this is easier said than done when each airline specifies different materials and packaging preferences.

“If each airline has its own type of plastics, or a different type of cover they want us to use, then we lose control over our own sustainability strategy,” she said. “It creates fragmentation that ultimately works against the circularity ambition we all share.”

The problem isn’t just material choice. It’s also about volume. Without scale, circular solutions — like reusable cargo wraps or cardboard pallets — struggle to achieve economic viability. In other words: innovation needs alignment to survive.

Labs, loops, and learning from failure
So where does that alignment begin? According to Leng, it starts with creating experimental hubs. LATAM uses its operations in Santiago and Miami as “labs” to test circular solutions like reusable pallets, biodegradable straps and new loading procedures.

“In Miami, for example, we’ve replaced single-use plastic wraps for flower imports with reusable blankets. It keeps the flowers dry during rain, performs better than plastic, and is reused endlessly. It’s simple, effective, and cleaner.”

He also pointed to LATAM’s Second Flight initiative: “We collect old uniforms from our crew and give them to local artisans to create purses, wallets, and other goods. Instead of ending up in landfills, they get a second life — and empower local communities.”

Even cargo pallets haven’t been spared the circular rethink. “We now inspect the wooden pallets brought in by customers. If they’re operational, we reuse them. If damaged, we repair them. If beyond repair, we recycle them. This helped us cut pallet purchases for exports by 100% and for imports by 50%.”

And in Santiago, LATAM's use of bright red plastic pallets — made from recycled soda crates — has not only helped reduce waste but also loss: “Since we’re the only ones using red, we no longer lose them. It’s a small but smart win for operations and the planet.”

But testing also means failing — and that’s something the industry needs to get comfortable with. “You need to develop that safe environment for creativity,” said Saeed. “It’s that continuous improvement bit. You try something. If it doesn’t work, you try again.”

Fok agreed: “We need to keep failing, we need to keep innovating, keep learning from the journey, and keep improving.”

Airlines as enablers, not observers
Another recurring theme was the pivotal role airlines play — not just as clients, but as co-innovators. “Airline is actually a very important stakeholder inside the circularity journey,” Fok said.

When airlines back a circular initiative — whether it’s a new type of pallet or a reusable cargo wrap — they give it scale, credibility and operational runway. In many cases, projects that would otherwise stall in pilot mode can go global with the right airline support.

“If each airline has its own type of plastics, or a different type of cover they want us to use, then we lose control over our own sustainability strategy.”
Celine Hourcade, SATS

Leng reinforced this with a broader strategic vision: “As a group, we’ve committed to a sustainability strategy centred on climate change, shared value, and circular economy. We’re not just flying sustainably — we’re redesigning our culture around it.”

Final descent: Rethinking waste as strategy
The transition to a circular economy in air cargo isn’t a quick fix or a corporate buzzword. It’s a paradigm shift. It requires letting go of linear thinking and reimagining waste as a strategic asset — not an unavoidable cost.

The panelists at WCS 2025 offered a refreshingly grounded take on what it will take to get there. Collaboration. Cultural transformation. Standardisation. Transparency in procurement. And above all, a willingness to fail, learn, and adapt.

“There’s no silver bullet,” Saeed concluded. “But if we can align incentives, if we can be transparent, and if we can share learnings, then we have a fighting chance.”

The message from Dubai was clear: sustainability in air cargo is no longer just about flying cleaner. It’s about thinking in circles — because that’s the only way forward.