Managers' Views on Environmental Management: An Examination of the Taiwanese Airline Industry

Abstract

Air transport has made a major contribution to globalization and world economic growth. However, aircraft operations inevitably have a serious impact on the environment. Leading airlines have established policies, goals, and action plans on environmental management. This study uses a questionnaire survey to gain an understanding of the views and attitudes of airline managers in Taiwan toward environmental management. The results show that airline managers mostly have a positive and supportive attitude regarding environmental management, and believe that airlines can play an important role in environmental protection. The most important motivations for promoting environmental management are improving company image, reducing harm to the natural environment, and fulfilling corporate social responsibility, while the main obstacles to the development of environmental management are insufficient government grants, subsidies, and incentives, investment capital too high, and inadequate aviation environmental regulations. This study also reveals that the government should take a more proactive role in the development of Taiwanese airlines’ environmental management.