A new professional certification program in the Naveen Jindal School of Management in partnership with leading aviation, transportation and sustainability companies aims to help raise awareness about achieving net-zero emissions in aviation, travel and transportation.
Offered by the Jindal School’s Executive Education Area, the 17-hour Sustainability Strategy Management in Aviation and Travel professional certificate helps aviation and transportation industry leaders enhance their insight, operational effectiveness and basic abilities in core strategic sustainability initiatives. The program’s intended audience is professionals in airlines, airports, technology professionals, aviation leaders, environmental advocates, hospitality and corporate leaders in environmental compliance and corporate social responsibility.
The two-day course will be held Feb. 6-7, 2025, in the Jindal School’s Executive Dining Room. The instructors will be sustainability experts from the following companies: Accelya, American Airlines, BNSF Railways, CBRE, DFW International Airport, Eaton, Johnson Mathey, TE Connectivity, and VoltAero.
“This program is guided by visionaries and speakers from the industry,” said John Barden, dean of Executive Education at the Jindal School. “It focuses on innovation and impactful change, sets a new standard and is a gateway to transforming the future of sustainable aviation and transportation. It will help its graduates drive change and create a more sustainable world.”
The program highlights the importance of having well-defined sustainability strategies in aviation and travel, said Samar Khan, sustainability lead in the Jindal School’s Executive Education Area.
“We assist participants with the know-how to achieve net-zero emissions in aviation by 2050,” he said. “Its focus is educating and guiding the industry toward compliance and sustainable practices.”
The program is comprised of eight modules that begin with foundational knowledge of aviation management and progress to advanced industry topics such as fuel efficiency and emissions reduction, regulation compliance mechanisms and carbon offset projects, and sustainable operational strategies in aviation.
“The program’s structure and content were determined by industry needs, focusing on sustainability, management practices, advanced technologies and compliance with international frameworks,” said Khan, who is founder and chief sustainability officer at TripAI Technologies, a company that that offers products and services that solve key challenges in the travel and hospitality industries by using artificial intelligence and data.
Advanced technologies like AI will play a crucial role in helping the aviation industry become sustainable, Khan said.
“AI is used to optimize fuel efficiency, airport operations, reduce fuel consumption and emissions, and to manage environmental impacts, showcasing its role in sustainable aviation,” he said.
Khan said sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and transportation will play an increasingly important role in aviation’s future, along with electric and hybrid aircraft.
“SAF can reduce emissions from existing fleets while electric and hybrid technologies are still developing” he said. “As electric aircraft become more viable for short-haul flights, SAF will continue to be essential for long-haul flights and larger aircraft, providing a complementary pathway to achieve overall aviation sustainability.”
Participants in the program will learn about SAF production, blending and life cycle assessment, and its role in greenhouse-gas schemes that help companies meet international aviation emission standards, Khan said. Students in the program will be exposed to case studies that detail real-world examples of green infrastructure implemented by the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. The airport’s waste management challenges and solutions will also be covered.
Barden and Rhonda Bush, director of the Global Leadership MBA and senior assistant dean in the Jindal School’s Executive Education Area, both said that the certificate exemplifies the interconnectedness of business in an increasingly complex society.
“As JSOM continues to expand its curricular options in both AI and sustainability, this opportunity offers participants to see the overlap through a business and strategic lens,” Bush said. “Our hope is that this new certificate will be a framework for future certificates in other industries.”
Barden reiterated that in our ever-changing world of information and sustainability, business success depends on outcomes, and transformation from all levels of management.
“Profitability and cultural changes are incurring minute by minute, whereby everyone needs to help create sustainable strategic plans,” Barden said. “Here in JSOM, we fuel and transform the practical, strategic, theoretical knowledge to make the world a better place.”
