Publish an internal and external airport-wide sustainability report.
Expectations that long-term profitability should go hand-in-hand with social justice and protecting the environment are gaining ground. These expectations are only set to increase and intensify as the need to move to a truly sustainable economy is understood by companies’ and organizations’ financiers, customers and other stakeholders. Sustainability reporting helps organizations to set goals, measure performance, and manage change in order to make their operations more sustainable. A sustainability report conveys disclosures on an organization’s impacts – be they positive or negative – on the environment, society and the economy. In doing so, sustainability reporting makes abstract issues tangible and concrete, thereby assisting in understanding and managing the effects of sustainability developments on the organization’s activities and strategy. Internal benefits for companies and organizations can include: • Increased understanding of risks and opportunities • Emphasizing the link between financial and non-financial performance • Influencing long term management strategy and policy, and business plans • Streamlining processes, reducing costs and improving efficiency • Benchmarking and assessing sustainability performance with respect to laws, norms, codes, performance standards, and voluntary initiatives • Avoiding being implicated in publicized environmental, social and governance failures • Comparing performance internally, and between organizations and sectors External benefits of sustainability reporting can include: • Mitigating – or reversing – negative environmental, social and governance impacts • Improving reputation and brand loyalty • Enabling external stakeholders to understand the organization’s true value, and tangible and intangible assets • Demonstrating how the organization influences, and is influenced by, expectations about sustainable development.
Practice Information
| Capital Cost: | Low Cost ($5,000 – $100,000 US) |
| O&M Cost: | High (>$100,000 US) |
| Payback Period: | Immediate (0 – 2 years) |
| Staffing Requirements: | Moderate (50 – 200 hours per month) |
| Reportability of Metrics: | Qualitative metric |
| Maturity of Practice: | Proven at multiple airports |
| Energy Reduction: | No effect on energy consumption |
| Environmental Benefits: | No environmental benefit |
| Social Benefits: | Moderate social benefit |
Airport Characteristics
Categories
Case Studies
San Francisco International Airport (SFO), San Francisco, California
SFO publishes regular Environmental Sustainability Reports to share its environmental accomplishments with the public and other airport stakeholders. Topics covered within the report include: green buildings and facilities; climate change; energy conservation and renewable energy; air quality; noise abatement; water conservation and water quality enhancement; natural resources management; solid and hazardous waste management; and employee wellness.
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
In an effort to communicate strategies, successes, and challenges in becoming more sustainable, DFW has published an airport sustainability report. The report is prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Guidelines. GRI, a non-profit organization, has developed a comprehensive Sustainability Reporting Framework that enables all organizations to measure and report their economic, environmental, social, and governance performance.
2012
Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA)
CDA released a 2012 Sustainability Report entitled A Sustainable Path. The Report documents the CDA’s green accomplishments at O’Hare and Midway International Airports. The Report also sets goals for Chicago to maintain its position as a global leader in airport sustainability. A Sustainable Path considers sustainability of the following areas: energy; natural resources; waste; ground transport; and community.
Related Links
Chicago Department of Aviation, A Sustainable Path
San Francisco International Airport, “Sustainability”
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- Edited by Suzanne D. on 29-Feb-2016
