Transforming London Stansted Airport

14

WORKING WITH OUR COMMUNITIES

Over the last five years, we have made great strides working with our communities to ensure they benefit from having an international airport on their door step, while at the same time making sure we are responsible in the way we manage our impacts. Ground-breaking schemes like the Aerozone education centre have been hugely successful, welcoming over 9,000 young people since it opened in 2015. Innovative partnerships with our airlines, such as Performance Based Navigation (PBN) have also helped to reduce the impacts of aircraft noise on local communities. As the airport grows we want to build on these achievements, focusing on the issues that matter most to our communities with the aim to create lasting and collaborative relationships. Protecting the environment We recognise strong environmental management is important to our communities We are looking to expand PBN to additional departure routes, and introduce more

stringent fines for noisy and off-track aircraft. We are also investigating the use of steeper approaches to keep planes higher for longer, helping to reduce the noise impacts on our neighbours. Supporting local businesses We recognise that small businesses make a significant contribution to the local and regional economy and are committed to sourcing locally when we can. To support the growth of these businesses, the airport facilitates an annual ‘Meet the Buyers’ event which enables local businesses to pitch their products and services to senior buyers from large organisations. The 2016 event generated £5 million of new contracts for local businesses and our future growth plans will open up more exciting supply chain opportunities.

and we have a responsibility to manage this sensitively. In 2017, Stansted became the first airport in the UK to be accredited to the energy management standard ISO 50001. We also join MAG’s other two airports with carbon neutral status and have never breached our air quality limits – a specific measure we want to maintain as we grow. We understand aircraft noise can be disruptive for those living near the airport. Last year in partnership with our airlines and Consultative Committee we fully introduced the use of modern PBN techniques for departing aircraft which enable them to fly flight paths more accurately. The majority of departures from Stansted now use this procedure, which has led to an 85% reduction in the number of people overflown in the Hatfield Heath and Hatfield Broad Oak areas to the south of the airport.