Saturday, March 30, 2024
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Last week, a groundbreaking event took place, gathering young individuals from different regions to envision a greener future for the aviation industry. The Manchester Airports Group (MAG), owner of Manchester, London Stansted, and East Midlands Airports, organized its first-ever Youth Summit. This unique assembly brought together members from the Youth Forums of each airport for the first time, with about 70 participants engaging in discussions on aviation’s decarbonization, the importance of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), and their contributions to shaping MAG’s Sustainability Strategy for the upcoming five years.
The summit occurred on Wednesday, 20th March, at the Leonardo Hotel near East Midlands Airport, where discussions also covered how the attendees and MAG could influence policy decisions to ensure the aviation industry stays on course to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Following the summit, the participants unanimously reported an increased understanding of aviation sustainability and felt more equipped to share their perspectives on the industry’s future. They were optimistic that MAG would consider their input in finalizing its new Sustainability Strategy.
Over the past year, the focus of the Youth Forums has been on aviation decarbonization, exploring topics such as SAF, carbon capture and removal, and technologies for zero-emission flights. These forums were established as part of MAG’s effort to expand its stakeholder consultation and community engagement around its airports, enhancing diversity and inclusion in these discussions.
“Zero Carbon Airports” is a key component of MAG’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Strategy, titled “Working together for a brighter future.” The group has emerged as a frontrunner in the field of aviation decarbonization, with a commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions from its operations by 2038. In a novel approach to promote sustainable aviation, MAG has also proposed converting household waste collected by local councils into SAF.
Adam Freeman, MAG’s Decarbonisation and ESG Director who spoke at the Summit, said: “We are totally committed to playing a leading role within the industry to make aviation sustainable. Our airports were the first in the UK to target and achieve carbon neutral status and we have cut emissions by 87% compared to a 2006 baseline – but we know there is much more we need to do to achieve and maintain net zero operations.
“Involving today’s youth to help us solve tomorrow’s challenges is really exciting, providing challenge to our thinking and creative, innovative ideas which can help us shape our Sustainability Strategy for the next five years.”
