Our contribution to attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG for short) with 169 targets are at the heart of Agenda 2030, which the member states of the United Nations (UN) passed in 2015. All member states are committed to reaching the goals by 2030. However, the SDGs are also intended for companies, which can contribute to achieving the goals with sustainably designed business practices. Zurich Airport Ltd. reviewed an analysis of its sustainability topics and subsequently identified contributions to 15 of the 17 SDGs as relevant. As a next step, it prioritised six of these that relate directly to the five key topics defined in the sustainability strategy.

More on the six prioritised SDGs:

The well-being and good health of everyone at its airports is priority number one for Zurich Airport Group. 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.

By providing flight connections for passengers and freight, airports help to stimulate business growth in their region. In addition, the airports operated by Zurich Airport Group 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 local companies. Zurich Airport Group is a reliable and responsible employer which also invests in training and helping people join the workforce at all its sites.

The Zurich Airport Group builds, maintains and operates high-quality, durable infrastructures. It develops forward-looking concepts, such as technical installations or plans for sustainable energy supply, and works together with local industry to implement them. 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 belong to the basic infrastructure of cities, as they meet long-distance mobility needs for society in general. They also provide an economic boost. As well as contributing to the economy, Zurich Airport Ltd. helps to generally raise 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 people’s lives – as workplaces, as transport hubs, or simply as places for meeting and shopping. At the Noida site, once operations are in full swing there are plans to invest in construction and upgrades of infrastructure for the local population, including medical facilities, education, drinking water, road building and lighting.

The aviation industry is in the spotlight as a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in industrialised and developing countries. Airports generate greenhouse gases due to their consumption of power, heat, cooling and fossil fuels. For this reason, Zurich Airport Group aims to reduce its own greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2040 (Scope 1 and 2) without compensation. Together with its airport partners, Zurich Airport Ltd. also aims to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions in Scope 3, such as from stationary aircraft energy supply on the airfields, or via its commitment to the use of sustainable aircraft fuels.

As holder of the operating licence awarded by the Confederation, Zurich Airport Group depends on open, reliable collaboration with official agencies and institutions. Compliance with laws, respect for these institutions and cooperation with the agencies is essential, and is ensured by the Group.