Lufthansa Cargo is stepping up its sustainability drive by committing to meet goals set by the United Nations.

The cargo business said that it would target five of the UN's 17 sustainability goals, which aim to end hunger and poverty on earth over the next 30 years.

The five goals that Lufthansa Cargo will target are: ending poverty; good health and wellbeing; decent work and economic growth; industries, innovation and infrastructure; and climate action.

"Lufthansa Cargo actively supports the sustainability goals of the United Nations. We take our corporate responsibility very seriously and have set ourselves the goal of bundling our wide-ranging social activities in the future in five areas that are particularly closely related to the business activities of Lufthansa Cargo. This will make our past and future commitment even more comprehensible," explained Peter Gerber, chairman of the executive board of Lufthansa Cargo, who is set to leave the airline.

On poverty, Lufthansa Cargo said it opens up access to the world market for all regions and thus makes a very concrete contribution to local economic development, especially in emerging and developing countries.

Through its investment in pharmaceutical hubs and close partnerships with the pharmaceutical industry, the company is continuously expanding its expertise in the fight to preserve health and wellbeing.

On work and economic growth the company said that phases of high turnover have always been used to make wise investments that paid off in times of crisis.

"Instead of short-term profit-taking, solid growth is the declared and provable goal of the company," the company stated.

"Lufthansa Cargo is committed to sustainable industrialization, supports innovation and is involved in building a crisis-resistant infrastructure," it added.

Finally, on climate action, the cargo carrier said it is investing in new aircraft and lighter equipment as well as participating in the carbon offsetting programme, CORSIA.

"Efficiency is increased on the one hand and fuel consumption and CO2 emissions are reduced on the other," it said.

"We are proud to have made our contribution to countless large and small projects over the past decades. This has resulted in initiatives such as Cargo Human Care, Cargo Social Care, Cargo Crisis Care and Cargo Climate Care, which underpin and demonstrate our commitment to corporate responsibility: Sustainable commitment is part of us and part of our DNA," added Gerber.