Malaysia Airlines Empowers Passengers to Support Environmental Conservation Efforts by WWF-Malaysia

KLIA, 5 July 2022: Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) today announced a collaboration with WWF-Malaysia to support the organisation’s forest conservation efforts in Batang Ai, Sarawak.

MAB welcomes passengers to play their part in supporting WWF-Malaysia’s conservation efforts to conserve habitats for wild orangutans as well as improve the well-being of the local communities in Ulu Sungai Menyang in Batang Ai by planting agarwood which is commonly known as gaharu trees in degraded forests.

Planting gaharu trees and other native tree species in a degraded forest serves two purposes: the restored forest provides an expanded habitat for the orangutan, while gaharu leaves and other trees generate income for the local communities.

For this, the airline invites passengers to participate in the act of kindness by donating to the project when they make bookings on Malaysia Airlines’ website to all destinations across international and domestic networks. Passengers can choose to donate either RM10, RM50 or RM100 to WWF-Malaysia before completing their booking.

Commenting on the move, which is in line with Malaysia Aviation Group’s (MAG) sustainability blueprint, focusing on the United Nations’ 13th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on climate action, Group Chief Sustainability Officer of Malaysia Aviation Group, Philip See said, "As corporate citizens, it is our collective responsibility to work towards a future that protects the environment and communities in which we operate. We believe that our partnership with reputable non-governmental organisations (NGOs) like WWF-Malaysia, which is well-known for its conservation efforts at significant sites like Batang Ai, is critical to attaining our sustainability goals."

"WWF-Malaysia welcomes MAB’s support for this forest conservation project that marks the beginning of a collaboration towards reversing the loss of nature and transforming Malaysia into a sustainable nation by 2030. A sustainable nation is one that is characterised by a net zero economy, in which greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions are reduced, while our forests act as a carbon sink. With aviation as one of the major GHG emitters contributing to global warming, our long term engagement with MAB is to seek pathways that help to decarbonise aviation fuel, as well as restoring degraded forests," said Dr. Henry Chan, Conservation Director for WWF-Malaysia.

Since its launch in April 2021, MAG continues to accelerate its Sustainability Blueprint agenda in all sectors, inspiring positive change through various initiatives. In addition to supporting the United Nations’ 13^th SDG (Climate Action), these initiatives target three other SDGs: Goal 5 (Gender Equality), Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and Goal 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production).