Lexie Bullock is an environmental professional with 10 years of experience in the field. Her passion and area of expertise is environmental compliance in the aviation industry. As the Manager of Environmental Compliance Programs at Air Canada, Lexie supports ground and flight operations in meeting their environmental obligations.
Through this article, Lexie Bullock, Manager of Environmental Compliance Programs at Air Canada, shares insights from her career and the challenges of maintaining environmental compliance in the aviation industry. Starting her journey as a field technician, she progressed through roles in waste management, industrial compliance and now aviation. She discusses the critical challenge of navigating compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic and highlights the growing importance of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and emerging regulations aimed at emissions reductions.
A Journey in Environmental Stewardship
My professional journey started as a field technician in the municipal sector, focusing on waste management and water resources. I was fortunate to gain hands-on experience early in my career, including surface and groundwater sampling, landfill methane monitoring and hazardous waste management. After this, I pivoted to the industrial sector, where I worked for a paper manufacturing company. Here, I identified environmental risks in the operations and implemented process changes to meet regulatory requirements related to spills, waste and effluent treatment. This led me to my role at Air Canada, where I support our ground and flight operations in meeting compliance with environmental legislation. I work with a team of experts who develop and manage programs related to wastewater, storage tanks, hazardous waste, air pollution and other areas of environmental compliance.
Emerging legislation around emissions reductions and sustainable aviation fuel is already reshaping the future of aviation. Establishing a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supply chain is critical for the industry’s sustainability
Maintaining Compliance During Crisis
The biggest challenge I encountered while working in the aviation industry was maintaining environmental compliance during the COVID-19 pandemic. While the world abruptly came to a halt and our operations faced a severe drop, our environmental compliance obligations remained the same. Our team relies heavily on operational employees to inspect and keep records on environmental assets, such as storage tanks or hazardous waste areas.
We immediately identified this issue in stations that were shut down due to the pandemic or where staffing was significantly reduced and faced the challenge head-on. We carried out a system-wide risk review of potential compliance gaps and developed station-specific action plans to ensure we remained in compliance with all environmental requirements. For example, sending a technician to a closed station on a weekly or monthly basis to carry out mandatory environmental inspections and maintain compliance records.
Sustainable Future: Emerging Trends in Aviation
An emerging trend that is already shaping environmental compliance in aviation is more legislation surrounding emissions reductions and the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). We are beginning to see new regulations emerging in Europe, and more countries are sure to follow. Establishing a SAF supply chain and other low-carbon fuel initiatives in Canada is essential for the future of the Canadian aviation industry. Additionally, many countries are starting to publish legislation on sustainability initiatives that were not regulated in the past, such as single-use plastics and stewardship programs.
A Coordinated Approach in Aviation Operations
Given that we run a large and complex business with many moving parts, we plan for a wide range of potential incidents, including inadvertent spills. We have a well-established spill response procedure that operational employees across all regions are trained to follow. Our frontline personnel are fundamental in ensuring spills are contained, cleaned up in a safe and timely manner and reported internally. Our environment team provides 24/7 monitoring of spill incidents across the Air Canada system, both within Canada and internationally and reports spills to external authorities as per regulatory requirements. Air Canada operates in a continuous improvement environment, and all such events are tracked and analyzed to identify mitigation and incident reduction measures that can be implemented.
Integrating Compliance with Efficiency
Environmental compliance is a core component of our operations, and all employees are accountable for maintaining due diligence in their work area. Instead of treating environmental obligations as separate or additional work, they are embedded into daily operational procedures and task management tools. This ensures employees are prompted to carry out environmental inspections and keep records within prescribed timelines. We also have a mature internal audit program to monitor the environmental performance of each station, which helps us identify areas of improvement and implement practical corrective actions.
A Guide for Young Professionals in Environmental Compliance
My advice for young professionals is to educate yourself on the industry’s environmental challenges and be adaptable to change. Stay open to new opportunities, as you never know where they might take you.
