Our contribution to attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals

By aligning their business strategy with sustainability, companies can make an important contribution to achieving the United Nations (UN) global development goals. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was adopted by member states of the UN in 2015. At its heart are 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 accompanying targets, with the aim of all member states attaining these goals by 2030. Switzerland and the other countries in which Zurich Airport Ltd. operates have pledged to support Agenda 2030 and the SDGs. The ways in which the company enhances positive impacts and mitigates adverse ones are set out below. Contributions to 15 of the 17 SDGs were identified as relevant, of which six directly associated with the five material topics defined in the sustainability strategy were additionally prioritised.

More on the six prioritised SDGs:

Safeguarding the health and well-being of everyone at its airports is a top priority for Zurich Airport Ltd. Accidents and other incidents with adverse health consequences must be avoided. The company achieves this by instilling a culture of rigorous safety management, establishing high-quality infrastructures and offering opportunities and programmes to improve the health of employees. In addition, the company takes steps to eliminate or minimise potentially harmful emissions such as noise, air pollutants, waste or wastewater. And not least, airports also contribute to public healthcare, for example by providing the necessary infrastructure for speedy and safe air freighting of medical products.

By providing flight connections for passengers and freight, airports help stimulate business growth in their region. In addition, the airports operated by Zurich Airport Ltd. themselves make a major contribution to regional wealth creation. They offer employment and a source of income for variously skilled employees, and award contracts to other businesses. Zurich Airport Ltd. is a reliable and responsible employer which also invests in training and helping people join the workforce in all its majority-owned subsidiaries.

The Zurich Airport Group builds, maintains and operates high-quality, durable infrastructures. It develops forward-looking concepts and works together with local industry to implement them. This applies both to innovative building materials as well as to systems or solutions for its operations. The development of the airports favours the creation of additional durable and sustainable infrastructure such as railways, energy production or wastewater treatment plants that benefit sustainable industrialisation.

Airports are part of the basic infrastructure of cities and stimulate regional dynamism. As well as contributing to the economy, Zurich Airport Ltd. contributes generally to raising the amenity value for people living in the vicinity of its airports by meeting environmental and social needs. These airports perform an important everyday role in peopleʼs lives – as workplaces, as transport hubs, or simply as places for meeting and shopping. At Noida, the company is planning further investment in building additional infrastructure for the local population, for example medical facilities, schools, drinking water supplies, roads and street lighting.

The aviation industry is in the spotlight as a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in industrialised and developing countries. As airports also emit greenhouse gases as a result of their vehicle fleets and electricity, heating and cooling requirements, Zurich Airport Ltd. has been successfully working on reducing greenhouse gas emissions for many years. These efforts focus on measures to lower energy needs for both buildings and vehicles. The aim is to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions from all its locations by 2040 at the latest. Moreover, Zurich Airport Ltd. works closely with partner firms at its airports to reduce greenhouse gases across the entire spectrum of airport operations, for example by installing aircraft ground power systems.

The Zurich Airport Group conducts business fairly and acts in accordance with the law. By working transparently and cooperating with the authorities in the countries in which its airports are located, it helps to strengthen institutions and prevent corruption.