London Gatwick Airport has published its 2021 Decade of Change sustainability report.
The policy tracks the airport’s progress against 10 goals that were set over a 10-year period (2021 to 2030) by looking back at the airport’s performance for 2021. Gatwick reported that 58% of flights flown over this period were performed by the quietest aircraft available, 99.6% of its electricity came from renewable sources and 45% of flights used the cleanest available aircraft (by the ICAO eight standard).
Additionally, 2,460 individual laboratory tests on the airport’s water were successfully completed across 18 test sites. Similarly, zero untreated waste went to landfill for sixth consecutive year. The airport also set an ambition for 40% of its leadership team to be female by the end of 2026 and committed to supporting its charity partners, Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust SASH Charity and Air Ambulance Kent Surrey Sussex for two extra years.
Alongside the report, the airport opened registration for businesses interested in becoming suppliers to six more postcode areas across the southeast of the UK. The new postcode areas were selected following roundtable feedback from key regional stakeholders. Gatwick’s supply chains support its construction, facilities management, IT, workwear, utilities, distribution and HR services, among other business activities.
The airport launched its supplier registration scheme in November 2021 to enable local businesses to register their interest in working with Gatwick as a supplier and sign up to future newsletters, via a form on the airport’s website. Gatwick reported that it spent £48.9m (US$59.9m) with local and regional suppliers in 2021, and £113.7m (US$139.4m) in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Expanding the airport’s supplier registration scheme, therefore, means that more small and medium-sized businesses located in the qualifying postcode areas can now benefit from airport spending. The move is part of Gatwick’s new strategy – following the Covid-19 pandemic – to improve targeting by the airport’s procurement and supply chain spending of businesses based in the region – thereby supporting a local economy. The initiative also drives Vinci Airports’ aim to contribute to the prosperity of the regions served by airports in its network. The airport has also improved its spending in the local postcode closest to the airport, with 18% of the airport’s total spend benefiting suppliers in this region in 2021, compared with 11% in 2020. This percentage marks £32.2m (US$39.4m) of the airport’s total spend, which is £175.2m (US$214.9m).
Stewart Wingate, CEO of Gatwick Airport, said, “Doing what we can to support a thriving local economy is an objective we all share in the Vinci Airports network. Our ambitions purposely cover a wide range of issues that together mean our airports can operate and grow sustainably while limiting their impact on the environment as well as supporting its local communities, local economy and our workforce. Sustainability objectives integrated across Gatwick Airport’s entire business, including in our business plans and governance systems at the highest level. We know there will be difficult challenges ahead, but the results achieved so far give us confidence that we can realize our sustainability goals over the next decade.”