23 Airports of the Groupe ADP’s Network Launch the “Airports for Trust” Charter, and Commit to Building a Sustainable and Responsible Future
Groupe ADP and several partners companies belonging to the world’s leading airports network – TAV Airports, Airports International Group (Amman), Liège Airports, ZAG (Zagreb), Nuevo Pudahuel (Santiago de Chile) and Ravinala Airports (Madagascar) – have signed the “Airports for trust” charter.
Through this charter, the signatories – representing 23 airports out of the group’s current network of 27 – announce their common ambition to build an even more sustainable and responsible airport industry, with enhanced cooperation.
All the signatories’ airports of this charter share a common ambition: being leaders in terms of environmental protection. This means being exemplary within their field of action and by taking additional initiatives to extend their policy to the entire airport value chain.
To this end, the charter commits to four main ambitions:
- Move towards zero environmental impact operations, to reach carbon neutrality by 2030 for all the signatories. Paris Aéroport has already reduced by 71% its CO2 emissions per passenger over the 2009-2019 period. Outside France, six of the group’s airports (Izmir, Ankara, Antalya, Delhi, Hyderabad and Amman) have already achieved carbon neutrality as part of the ICA Airports Carbon Accreditation of ACI (Airports Council International);
- Actively participate in the aviation sector’s environmental transition efforts and, when applicable, provide solutions airside. For instance, Paris Aéroport is already working for the arrival of alternative sustainable fuels and hydrogen-powered aircraft, to enable the advent of carbon-free aviation by the middle of the century;
- Promote the integration of each airport into a local resource system: enable short routes, promote circular economy and spread production of resources on site (geothermal power station in France, solar panels in Bodrum, etc.);
- Reducing the environmental footprint of airport planning and development projects (sober design, low carbon construction and renovation of infrastructures and building).
The signatories airports are convinced that the balanced and sustainable development of airport activities need to be intertwined with the creation of value for local communities and thus to investment in human development at a local scale, with a special focus on the youth people.
Improving the airport’s territorial anchoring is a factor of innovation and collective performance in the long-term. Therefore, the signatories have committed to four ambitions:
- Be an active contributor in the improvement of the living conditions of local populations an in the noise exposure reduction;
- Build a long-term relationship of trust with the territories and local stakeholders;
- Spread the benefits of the airport activity for local communities (particularly in terms of training integration and employment);
- Federate the airport community and act together to maximize the positive impacts of airport activity.
The “Airports for Trust” charter is fully in line with the rationale adopted in 2020 by Groupe ADP: “to welcome passengers, operate and imagine airports, responsibly and throughout the world”.
As members of the world’s leading airport network, these 23 airports consider that their social and environmental responsibility is not only limited to their teams, passengers, customers, suppliers and airport industry players, but also concerns all stakeholders in the countries where the group is present.
“The 'Airports for Trust' charter embodies a common vision of the future of our airport industry. At a time when air transport as a whole is facing some of the hardest challenges in its history with the fight against global warming, it can seize this opportunity to reinvent its industrial model in depth, and imagine and apply more efficient and responsible processe. For Groupe ADP, this means reducing its carbon footprint and strengthening ties with local stakeholders. Groupe ADP and its partners are already world's leading airport network and, with the signing of this charter, we aim to become the world's first sustainable airport community.”
Despite the biggest crisis in the history of air transport, Groupe ADP and its partners are convinced that this period can make it possible to build a more sustainable and responsible future, and thus restore the confidence of citizens, through resolute action to serve the environment and territories.
Through the charter, the signatories also acknowledge the need to assess the environmental and socio-economic footprint of their airports and to monitor progress with transparency on all the targets mentioned. They set themselves the goal of advancing the entire network through the sharing of experiences and the exchange of best practices.
This article was originally published by Groupe ADP.
