As one of the largest privately owned energy infrastructure firms in the U.S., Bernhard considers energy efficiency to be at the center of everything it does. This encompasses everything from the projects it completes for customers to its own internal operations – including the operations of the company leased aircraft, a Learjet 75.
“Bernhard makes it really easy to have a sustainability-driven mindset,” said Trevor Childs, the company’s chief pilot. “Because energy efficiency is a core concern of the company and our customers, there’s a top-down emphasis on promoting a low-carbon future.”
Embracing a Range of Sustainability Efforts
When Childs started flying for Bernhard in 2014, it was early days for sustainability efforts in business aviation. The opportunity to spend less on fuel was the primary driver of any interest in making operations more efficient.
Since then, inspired by efforts undertaken by other parts of the company, Childs has helped Bernhard’s flight department evolve to embrace sustainability more holistically. Today, his team approaches daily operations with a full appreciation of the importance of reducing carbon emissions, both for flight operations and for the company as a whole.
“Earning this accreditation helps to transform business flight from something companies may be reluctant to discuss, to a positive that furthers the discussion on sustainability best practices.”
TREVOR CHILDS, Chief Pilot, Bernhard
Now, Bernhard’s aviation-sustainability efforts run the gamut. The company has changed its flight profiles with the goal of lowering emissions in the air – for example, cruising at Mach 0.76 rather than Mach 0.80, flying at higher altitudes and using steeper descent profiles to reduce fuel burn.
On the ground, the company Learjet employs single-engine taxiing where possible, and limits auxiliary power unit runtime. The flight department has increased recycling in the office and on flights, which now serve drinking water in 100% recycled bottles, and with the help of Bernhard’s Environmental and Social Governance department, now enables passengers to access the digital version of the Wall Street Journal instead of putting a print version of the newspaper on every seat.
“Bernhard makes it really easy to have a sustainability-driven mindset. Because energy efficiency is a core concern of the company and our customers, there’s a top-down emphasis on promoting a low-carbon future.”
TREVOR CHILDS, Chief Pilot, Bernhard
“There are all kinds of things you can do with minimal cost, and we try to do those things as soon as we learn about them,” explained Childs. “It’s great for the environment, and for the company.”
Leveraging SAF, Book and Claim and Carbon Credits
Bernhard is a carbon neutral company through the purchase of carbon offsets to compensate for the company’s Scope 1, Scope 2 and select Scope 3 emissions – though Childs wishes there was more availability of aviation – and region-specific credits. With its hangar in Little Rock, AR, the company doesn’t yet have the ability to purchase sustainable fuel locally, but it has recently begun buying SAF on occasion when flying to locations where it’s available.
“We don’t get to participate in SAF in our primary locations, but we recently made our first purchase while in Burbank, CA,” said Childs. “It was more expensive than regular fuel, but the jump in price wasn’t as large as I anticipated, and it was an easy decision. And we’ll be back in California again soon, so we’re going to do it again.”
While the company hasn’t yet participated in book-and-claim SAF purchases, it believes that book and claim could be a more cost-effective way to lower its carbon footprint than offsets and plans to allocate a portion of its annual fuel budget to book and claim moving forward. According to Childs, it’s critically important to increase demand for SAF, and book and claim enables Bernhard to contribute meaningfully to doing so.
“There are all kinds of things you can do with minimal cost, and we try to do those things as soon as we learn about them.”
TREVOR CHILDS, Chief Pilot, Bernhard
Reaping the Benefits of NBAA Accreditation
One especially significant milestone in Bernhard’s drive toward net-zero aviation operations came in 2024, when the company’s flight operations received accreditation from NBAA’s Sustainable Flight Department Accreditation Program for achieving key efficiencies and reducing the environmental impact of its aviation operations.
According to Childs, the accreditation process brought a variety of benefits to his flight department. It enabled the flight department to align more closely with the broader company around building a culture of sustainability. It helped the department learn more about important sustainability levers, like SAF, and to implement best practices to reduce its carbon footprint. This important achievement positions the flight department as a leader among its peers – unlike the other operators at its FBO, Bernhard is the first and only to achieve this accreditation.
“The NBAA accreditation has been of paramount importance to my understanding of sustainability and how to achieve it,” concluded Childs. “It gives our flight department more visibility within the company, and makes it easier to start conversations about sustainability with other operators. Earning this accreditation helps to transform business flight from something companies may be reluctant to discuss, to a positive that furthers the discussion on sustainability best practices.”
