Airport unveils first-ever Environmental, Social and Governance Report

The Airport Advisory Commission heard a briefing on the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport’s first-ever Environmental, Social and Governance Report at its regular meeting Sept. 13.

The report, which was published in May, is a review of the organization’s impact and performance with regard to environmental impacts, social responsibility and corporate governance. The report is an important part of future airport business, particularly in its quest to secure bonds to pay for future expansion projects.

Somer Shindler, AUS chief officer for planning and development, told the commission that the report is a significant benchmark for investors “as we try to achieve sustainability, ethical practices, and long-term value creation for all of our stakeholders.”

The report’s introduction notes that the airport “has seen incredible challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic that were then followed by record-breaking increases in enplanements and challenges that come with speedy growth.”

In terms of governance, the report acknowledges the work underway to expand capacity of the Barbara Jordan Terminal, including a new outbound baggage handling system, the three-gate expansion, improved ticketing processing and expanded security checkpoints, as well as new passenger amenities.

The airport is also focused on risk and emergency management – especially the increasing risks associated with climate change and cyberattacks. This includes maintaining 100 percent employee awareness of cybersecurity, implementing multifactor authentication for all employees accessing the cloud, as well as storing and backing up system configurations and data weekly.

The airport is also working on what the report refers to as social aspects of its operations. Essentially, AUS is managing a slew of staff-related initiatives, including the hiring of a new chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, bolstering its minority-owned or woman-owned business program, improving employee diversity and retention and efforts to support employee health and wellness.

Hiring and retention is a particular area of concern. Since 2018, the airport’s retention rate has dropped 6 percent. “The airport acknowledges and has been actively working to address the evolving challenges and to improve,” the report reads.

With regard to the environment, the airport is “actively mitigating climate change risk in its planning for the future,” the report reads. To that end, the airport expansion project includes a new substation, Central Utility Plan, alternative water uses and additional electric feed. The airport is also working to electrify its vehicles, increase the use of reclaimed water and reduce the embodied carbon components of future airport projects.

The report outlines the airport’s efforts to reduce its environmental impact, mitigating climate change risk, aligning with Federal Aviation Administration and other climate and waste action goals. Additionally, the report describes AUS’s strategies to assess and mitigate potential risks, such as creek flooding and extreme weather events.

In response to a question from the commission, Shindler said the airport is currently reviewing its sustainability goals and does not have a current sustainability master plan in place.

BJ Carpenter, aviation department project manager, explained that intention to complete a master plan went on the back burner so that the team could focus on the ongoing development project. The airport had to work to enshrine those goals into the development standards for the project and the development guidance manuals necessary to proceed.

Carpenter said, “Master plans generally are a higher level and are kind of compared to the Climate Equity Action Plan of the city where you have goals, like carbon net zero by 2040 and zero waste by 2040. We’re focusing right now on development and trying to get the concrete goals inside the development projects, which vary widely right now in the process.”

This story has been corrected to clarify that the chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer will be hired by the city, not the airport.

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