Key issues and priorities

BAA Scotland believes that the growth of air transport and airports should only be undertaken where it is aligned with key national sustainability objectives. We continually strive to find the right balance between the social and economic benefits to the UK and its communities and the environmental impacts of aviation. While there are real environmental issues which require a clear specific response, such as the Earth’s capacity to handle greenhouse gases, it is also necessary to recognise economic and social costs and benefits. This is particularly important to communities around airports, which enjoy significant employment and economic benefits, but are also subject to impacts such as noise disturbance.

There are a number of environmental, social and economic issues that are particularly important across BAA Scotland. The environment and our impact on our communities remains a key priority, with issues such as noise, air quality and climate change high on our agenda. These priority issues have been identified through dialogue with local stakeholders and a clear recognition of global environmental issues and sustainability.  For some of these issues, we have direct or significant control, for others, we need to exert influence and leadership, working with other stakeholders, including our airline customers and other business partners. In the following sections, we discuss in more detail in relation to each issue how we seek to manage it.

The BAA Corporate Responsibility policy is available at:
www.baa.com/corporateresponsibility

We are part of the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) which brings together organisations throughout the air transport chain that are committed to addresssing challenges facing the industry. You can also find out more about aviation and the environment by visiting www.enviro.aero, a cross-aviation-industry initiative that redresses the balance in the debate. The website demostrates that aviation is serious about the environment and is taking practical measures to limit emissions.