According to Farnborough Airport CEO, Simon Geere, the dedicated business aviation hub wants its “sustainability credentials to define who we are.” Geere was talking during a press briefing at this year’s Farnborough Airshow on Monday 18 July.

The airport launched its Net-Zero Roadmap  ahead of this week’s airshow throwing down the gauntlet to its competitors and customers by establishing an ambitious target of achieving net-zero by 2030. Titled ‘Roadmap to Net Zero by 2030 – Where will you be?” the airport is committing to be net-zero across its contollable (scope 1 & 2) emissions by 2030, if not sooner, “because that’s the earliest we think we can get there,” Geere told Regional Gateway.

In the two week run up to the airshow the airport also became the first in the world to offer sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at the same price as standard Jet A-1 fuel for a trial period. The airport has seen a significant increase in requests for SAF refuellings as a result of its trial. With SAF production and purchase costs currently a significant hurdle to its wider adoption across the aviation sector, Geere is hoping its lower cost SAF trial will put the spotlight on the importance of reducing the costs of SAF and signalling its intent to be a catalyst for change across the wider aviation industry.

“When it comes to supporting the decarbonisation of the aviation industry, we want to lead the way at Farnborough Airport, which is why we have set ourselves one of the most ambitious targets in the industry, by committing to be net zero across our controllable emissions by 2030 or sooner. Put simply, we want our customers to increasingly choose Farnborough Airport because of our sustainability credentials, alongside our market leading state-of-the-art facilities and our exceptional levels of customer care,” said Geere.

The roadmap’s pathway to achieving net-zero emissions by 2030 covers the reduction of emissions from buildings, the airfield and on-site operational vehicles. By 2035, it has also committed to targeting a reduction of its controllable emissions and those it has partial influence by over 40%. This includes emissions from the landing and take-off (LTO) cycle of aircraft up to 3,000 ft and surface access emissions generated by passenger journeys to and from the airport. The airport is also currently working on ensuring the majority of its ground vehicles are powered by Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), reducing emissions by up to 90%.

Adding that the BizAv hub’s carbon footprint is smaller than that of a typical regional or UK hub airport, not only on an absolute level but also on an emissions per Air Traffic Movement (ATM) basis, Geere did concede this has primarily been achieved because the airport is catering for smaller jets with lower passenger numbers. It’s total emissions per ATM are less than 13% of a typical regional airport.

“We know where we want to be,” concluded Geere. “We are building on Farnborough’s historic and pioneering legacy and ensuring a growing and sustainble legacy the next generation can be proud of and we want to set the benchmark for environmental performance within our sector.”

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