Southwest Airlines Honored By D CEO Magazine For Leadership In Sustainability

DALLAS – Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) has been named a winner of the D CEO Magazine 2023 Nonprofit & Corporate Citizenship Awards in the Sustainability Leadership category for its ongoing environmental sustainability and corporate citizenship initiatives. The award recognizes outstanding achievements by a company showing leadership in sustainability.

The Nonprofit & Corporate Citizenship award highlights Southwest's refreshed climate strategy, including their work toward achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, as well as reducing carbon emissions intensity by 25 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2035¹. It also honors the carrier's four-pillar strategy of Reduce, Replace, Offset, and Partner to address its overall environmental sustainability goals.

"Environmental sustainability is an ongoing priority for our future and drives our corporate citizenship efforts, with a focus on our People, Performance, and Planet," said Reid Grandle, Senior Vice President, Finance, Strategy, & Sustainability at Southwest Airlines®. "We're focused on treating our Planet similar to how we treat our Customers—with respect that extends beyond takeoff and landing."

The award also celebrates Repurpose with Purpose, Southwest's global sustainability initiative that upcycles aircraft seat leather into new products.

"The driving force behind Repurpose with Purpose has remained the same since its inception," said Laurie Barnett, Vice President, Corporate Reputation at Southwest Airlines. "When presented with an aircraft renovation initiative in 2014, we asked ourselves how Southwest could help prevent materials like aircraft seat leather from going to waste. Fast-forward to today, and we're proud to partner with a variety of organizations to give thousands of pounds of leather new life. Since the program's inception, we've donated more than $1.3 million in grants and more than 1.4 million pounds of leather to provide employment, skills training, and other social benefits for organizations and communities."

For more on Southwest's holistic corporate citizenship initiatives, including its refreshed climate strategy and a snapshot of the carrier's strategic priority to be a good corporate citizen through a focus on People, Performance, and Planet, visit southwestonereport.com.

ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.   
Southwest Airlines Co. operates one of the world's most admired and awarded airlines, offering its one-of-a-kind value and Hospitality at 121 airports across 11 countries. Southwest took flight in 1971 to democratize the sky through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel and now carries more air travelers flying nonstop within the United States than any other airline². Based in Dallas and famous for an Employee-first corporate Culture, Southwest maintains an unprecedented record of no involuntary furloughs or layoffs in its history. By empowering its more than 71,000³People to deliver unparalleled Hospitality, the maverick airline cherishes a passionate loyalty among more than 126 million Customers carried in 2022. That formula for success brought industry-leading prosperity and 47 consecutive years⁴ of profitability for Southwest Shareholders (NYSE: LUV). Southwest leverages a unique legacy and mission to serve communities around the world including harnessing the power of its People and Purpose to put communities at the Heart of its success. Learn more by visiting Southwest.com/citizenship. As the airline with Heart, Southwest has set a goal to work toward achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Southwest has also set near-term targets and a four-pillar strategy to achieve its environmental sustainability goals. Learn more by visiting Southwest.com/planet.  

1. Southwest's carbon emissions intensity reduction goals are compared against a 2019 baseline on a revenue ton kilometer basis [including Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 Category 3 emissions (upstream emissions of jet fuel)] and includes the use of sustainable aviation fuel and excludes the use of carbon offsets.
2. U.S. Dept. of Transportation most recent reporting of domestic originating passengers boarded       
3. Fulltime-equivalent active Employees       
4. 1973-2019 annual profitability    

Media Contacts:   
Visit the Southwest Newsroom at swamedia.com for multimedia assets and other Company news.   
  
Media Relations Team: (214) 792-4847, option 1   

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