Aviation has been identified as one of the contributors towards climate change: through greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft in flight and on the ground, and to a lesser extent through the energy used by airport buildings and ground operations.

At Stansted we recognise this important issue and we are committed to reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at the airport. We also have a part to play in addressing emissions from aviation in general, and this is considered in a wider national and international framework. Our approach is to work through BAA and our trade associations to influence this wider agenda, while focussing on managing the impacts we have greater direct control over here at Stansted.

BAA has worked actively since 2002 in developing the best approach to emissions trading. We expect to see legislation passed in 2008 to bring aviation into the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. We believe that this, together with improvements in aircraft technology, is the best approach to reducing total levels of carbon emissions.

In this section we focus on CO2 emissions that we have direct control over: from energy use in our buildings and infrastructure. Energy used at Stansted is provided by gas and electricity, both of which – directly and indirectly - cause the generation of CO2.

For more information on BAA's approach to climate change, and the national and international efforts that are being made to tackle this issue, please see the climate change section of the BAA corporate responsibility report.

Our approach
We are committed to supporting BAA’s group energy strategy to reduce the total CO2 emissions from fixed assets, including the airport buildings and ground infrastructure, by 15% by 2010 compared to 1990 levels and to improve this reduction to 30% by 2020. For more information on BAA’s overall CO2 reduction targets, including our 2010 and 2020 commitments, please see the global environment section of the BAA Corporate Responsibility report (PDF).

Our strategy to manage energy use at Stansted is to:

• Seek efficiency improvements to our heating and ventilation systems used within the terminal and satellite buildings
• Improve understanding of our options to better manage the running of the additional facilities at the airport
• Explore the potential to use new technologies for future buildings and feasibility to retrofit this technology to existing buildings
• Work with other stakeholders to share best practice.

More on... climate change and energy 

Our performance
Our plans