Focus
Sustainability as it relates to the corporate strategy puts a spotlight on the long-term organisation of business activities and high standards for corporate, environmental and social responsibility.
Zurich Airport Ltd. is a diversified business and listed company that owns and operates Zurich Airport, the most important transport and meeting hub in Switzerland. The company focuses on its core activities relating to airport operations and management of commercial centers, as well as on profitably managing and further developing real estate and the infrastructure at its Zurich site. In addition, it performs these tasks via majority and minority holdings in foreign airports with the extent of the tasks varying from location to location. Its portfolio includes majority interests in the airports in Florianópolis, Natal, Vitória and Macaé in Brazil, Antofagasta and Iquique in Chile, and in the airport currently under construction in Noida, India. Zurich Airport Ltd. believes that corporate value can be maintained and increased over the long term only by adopting sustainable business practices.
This report, created in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards, provides a look at the company’s effects on the environment and society. It covers the Zurich site as well as all other sites with a majority holding, although not minority holdings and mere management contracts (see Location). The report shows both the positive and negative impacts of the Group’s business activities at its various sites and what action Zurich Airport Ltd. is taking to mitigate adverse impacts and enhance positive effects along its value chain. A reference to the requirements of the GRI standards can be found in each instance in the right-hand column.
This section represents the non-financial report of the company in accordance with Art. 964a et seq. of the Swiss Code of Obligations and gives an account of the relevant environmental, social, workforce, human rights and anti-corruption matters. The updated section on climate issues now also includes climate-related risks for the company itself. To read more about the other risks to the company, see the supplemental general information along with the Corporate profile and Risk management sections under “Annual Report”.
Guidelines and implementation
Zurich Airport Ltd. aligns its sustainable business practices to the ten principles of the UN Global Compact (UNGC), which it signed in 2021. The Group as a whole is thus committed to following the specifications of the UNGC on human rights, labour standards, the environment and preventing corruption. In the year under review, subsidiary in India also signed the UN Global Compact as a further sign of the Group’s commitment. The core document to ensure compliance within the Zurich Airport Group is the Group Code of Conduct, which is binding for all its majority-owned holdings. It is available in English, German, Portuguese and Spanish and is an integral part of the contract of employment for all employees. Infringements of the Code of Conduct may have disciplinary consequences. The subsidiaries can also adopt their own, supplemental codes of conduct that go beyond the requirements prescribed by the parent company.
The Code of Conduct stipulates the minimum requirements with respect to behaviour and reporting on non-financial matters as are described in the present report. As well as human rights as prescribed by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it also references the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the core labour standards 138 and 182 of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the ILO Child Labour Guidance Tool for Business, which the company has pledged to uphold. How the company performs due diligence in this regard is described in the Human rights section.
In addition, the company also has numerous other guidelines on specific topics. At the Zurich site, for instance, there are guidelines on sustainability, environmental protection in general, climate protection and fair treatment of employees, as well as on security and occupational safety. See the respective individual sections on each topic for further information. A new Business Partner Code of Conduct was adopted in the year under review to educate business partners on the expectations for sustainable business practices. It obliges companies that Zurich Airport Ltd. works with, particularly suppliers, to meet a set of requirements for social, environmental and ethical standards.
The Board of Directors of Zurich Airport Ltd. exercises ultimate oversight of responsible business conduct as well as compliance with the UNGC’s ten principles and the Code of Conduct. The Management Board and the various heads of divisions are then responsible for implementing the sustainability strategy. They all bear equal responsibility for ensuring that the principles and guidelines of the company are followed in their respective divisions. The head of the Finance & Services division, along with the directly subordinate Sustainability & Environment, Legal, Risk & Compliance and Financial Services departments, are responsible for coordinating and developing sustainability-related matters. Together with the head of division, representatives from these departments steer the strategy for sustainability policies draw up this non-financial report in close coordination with the relevant departments in the line organisation. Non-financial reporting is monitored by the Audit & Finance Committee. The Board of Directors exercises overall supervision of non-financial reporting.
Sustainability strategy
The sustainability strategy of Zurich Airport Group was updated in the year under review. Along with the specific ambitions, the topics of regional contribution, noise, climate, occupational and aviation safety and business ethics remain a priority, as shown in the chart below. New this year is the primary target for the Zurich Airport Group to be among the leading airport operators in the area of sustainability. It is reflected by the general ESG objective in the newly refined strategy, which provides metrics for the strategy of Zurich Airport Ltd. and its own targets in each area. The Aviation, Commercial, Real Estate and International divisions now must meet a specific ESG target. For more about the strategy map, see the Strategy section.
The strategy for the international business corresponds to that in Zurich: to reach the shared goal of net zero greenhouse gas emissions in Scope 1 and 2 without compensation by no later than 2040. At Noida Airport in India, the company is even aiming for net zero by 2030. In addition there to, each site has defined its goals in the key sustainability topics, depending on their respective situations. For Brazil in general, new sustainability guidelines have been created, overseen by an ESG Committee. The latter manages the sustainability activities at a strategic level. The airport in Florianópolis has once again been named the most sustainable airport of its category by the Brazilian aviation authority, with Vitória airport taking second place.
An overview of the five material topics and ambitions of the Zurich Airport Group is shown in the graphic below. The circular diagram is intended to underscore the fact that responsible management can only be mapped by addressing all topics as complementary. Because corporate governance is the foundation, it is shown in the center of the diagram.
Sustainability ambitions of Zurich Airport Group
