Bristol Airport announced its collaboration with British airline easyJet at the end of last week, with the new partnership intended to develop and strengthen low-carbon solutions in pursuit of achieving net-zero operations.
Under the partnership, the companies will trial ways of reducing waste and decarbonising operations, with Bristol Airport to act as a test-bed for novel technologies such as sustainable aviation fuels. It is anticipated that any solutions proven to be successful will be rolled out across easyJet’s network of 150 airports across 35 countries.
In a statement, easyJet’s director of sustainability Jane Ashton said: “easyJet takes sustainability seriously, already offsetting the carbon emissions from the fuel used on all our flights as an interim measure while we continue to champion the development of new technology.
“We will continue to optimise our operational fuel and carbon-efficiency and review what further measures we can take to reduce emissions across our operations,” she added. “This partnership with Bristol Airport is a good example of how we can look at every aspect of our operations, really challenging how we do things by implementing the newest technological solutions across a series of decarbonisation and waste reduction trials over the coming months.”
Projects will reportedly focus on areas including; electric Ground Power Units, recycling and waste management and employee carbon-saving initiatives – to name a few.
Bristol airport has previously said it intends to reach carbon neutrality later this year, and to become Britain’s first net zero airport by 2030. In a press release on the latest partnership, sustainability and corporate affairs director Simon Earles commented:
“As an airport we are taking our commitments to address climate change seriously and we have made great progress already. By the end of 2021 we will be a carbon neutral airport for emissions under our direct control, exceeding our own target, four years ahead of schedule.”
The UK airport has simultaneously launched a new fund – dubbed the Aviation Carbon Transition Programme – supporting innovative decarbonisation projects across the aviation sector. The scheme will make investments of up to £50,000 into organisations undergoing research and development of low-carbon solutions, and contributing to the airport’s wider mission of helping the aviation industry reach its carbon abatement targets.
