United’s information page about its purpose and impact

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

As a global airline in the business of bringing people together, we are more committed than ever to creating a more diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace and world where we all thrive.

Our path forward

We’re dedicated to growing our inclusive culture from the inside out. Our diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) commitment is focused on our four pillars: culture, representation, equity and brand. As we look ahead, our DEI commitments are core to the way we do business. Click here to learn more about how we’re taking action.

Raising the bar

Below are the awards that recognize our successes and the work we continue to do constantly to improve and be industry leaders in DEI:

• 2021 Top 50 Companies for Diversity for the second year in a row and we’re the only airline to make the list
• 2021 Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion with a top score of 100 on the Disability Equality Index for the sixth-straight year
• 2021 Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality with a perfect score for a decade strong on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index

Global Community Engagement

At United, we’re all about connecting people, uniting the world and serving our communities nonstop. Learn how we’re taking an active role in our global citizenship and how you can too.

Every Action Counts is our pledge to put our people and our planes to work for the greater good. From leading employee volunteer events to helping with relief efforts around the world, we’re there for the communities where we live, work and fly. Together, we can protect the environment, promote inclusion, give aid to communities in need and inspire the leaders of tomorrow. Visit united.com/everyactioncounts to learn more about our commitment to our communities, or to submit a nonprofit for support consideration.

United's 100% Green Commitment

At United, we believe the airline industry needs to be bolder when it comes to making decisions that confront the climate crisis. That's why we've committed to become 100% green and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions 100% by 2050 by taking the harder, better path of reducing emissions from flying, rather than relying on traditional carbon offsets.

Here are some of the ways we're making sustainability the new standard in flight:

In 2020, we became the first airline to announce a commitment to invest in carbon capture and sequestration by committing to a multimillion-dollar investment in 1PointFive, anOxy Low Carbon Ventures project that plans to build the first industrial-sized Direct Air Capture plant in the United States. A single plant is expected to capture and permanently sequester one million tons of CO2 each year, the equivalent of the work of 40 million trees, but covering a land area about 3,000 times smaller.

Since then, we’ve made several announcements that demonstrate our commitment to investing in new technologies and programs that significantly reduce our emissions and measurably reduce the speed of climate change.

• In July 2021, UAV announced that along with Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) and Mesa Airlines, they have invested in electric aircraft startup Heart Aerospace. Heart Aerospace is developing the ES-19, a 19-seat electric aircraft that has the potential to fly customers up to 250 miles before the end of this decade.
• In April 2021, United announced the launch of the first-of-its-kind Eco-Skies Alliance, a group of more than a dozen leading global corporations that will collectively contribute towards the purchase of SAF to reduce their aviation-related impact on the environment.

In February 2021, we announced an agreement to work with Archer Aviation to accelerate the development and production of their electric aircraft – an urban mobility solution that has the potential to serve as an 'air taxi,' giving United customers another opportunity to reduce their carbon footprint before they even board a United flight

In 2019, we committed $40 million toward an investment initiative focused on accelerating the development of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other decarbonization technologies. That same year, we operated the Flight for the Planet, which represented the most-eco-friendly commercial flight of its kind in the history of commercial aviation.

In 2018, we became the first U.S. airline to commit to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions—50% by 2050.

In 2016, we became the first airline globally to use SAF in regular operations on a continuous basis with SAF from World Energy.

In 2015, we invested $30 million in Fulcrum BioEnergy, a SAF producer that converts trash to low-carbon jet fuel, the largest investment by any airline in a SAF producer. Through the associated purchase agreement, United has nearly half the global airline industry's publicly announced commitments for SAF.

United continues to lead the industry in investing and identifying ways to decarbonize aviation. In fact, in 2021, United was recognized as Air Transport World’s Eco-Airline of Year for the industry-leading steps we have taken to decarbonize air travel. The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) named United as the only airline globally to its 2020 Climate 'A List' for the airline's actions to cut emissions, mitigate climate risks and develop the low-carbon economy, marking the seventh consecutive year that United had the highest CDP score among U.S. airlines.