AGS Airports Ltd’s ongoing commitment to balance the social and economic benefits it delivers with its climate change responsibilities has once again been recognised by a global sustainability benchmarking organisation.
The Group’s three airports in Glasgow, Southampton and Aberdeen were ranked second, third and fifth respectively in the UK panel of airports in the 2022 annual assessment by the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) Infrastructure Asset Benchmark Report.
Described a mission-driven and investor-led organisation, GRESB provides standardised and validated Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) data to the capital markets.
In the wider EU panel of airports Glasgow was ranked third, Southampton fourth and Aberdeen seventh. In the global panel of airports Glasgow came fifth, Southampton sixth and Aberdeen twelfth.
GRESB marks each participating company out of 100 and Glasgow, Southampton and Aberdeen scored 96, 95 and 90 respectively. The average score for participating companies was 79. Glasgow and Southampton also received five-star ratings for sustainability performance and were classed as aviation transport sector leaders.
Derek Provan, chief executive of AGS Airports Ltd, said: “To see Glasgow, Southampton and Aberdeen ranked in the top five best performing UK airports, and to also place highly in the European and worldwide panels, underlines our commitment to embedding sustainability at the core of AGS.
“As one of the country’s largest airport groups, we are acutely aware that operating such important pieces of critical transport infrastructure comes with responsibilities to our people, our local communities and to the environment.
“Our Sustainability Strategy launched last year details not only the significant progress we have made to date to reduce our direct carbon emissions, it also sets out the Group’s target to achieve net-zero carbon for our direct emissions by the mid-2030s.
“We cannot achieve this alone and that is why AGS Airports Ltd is committed to working with the wider aviation industry and our governments to support the sector to achieve net-zero emissions by 2045.”
Each year, GRESB assesses and benchmarks the ESG performance of assets worldwide, providing clarity and insights to financial markets on complex sustainability topics.
The GRESB Assessments are guided by what investors and the industry consider to be material issues in the sustainability performance of asset investments and are aligned with international reporting frameworks, goals and emerging regulations. The GRESB ESG Benchmark grew this year to cover more than USD 8.6 trillion of assets under management, up from USD 6.4 trillion the year before.
GRESB data is used by hundreds of capital providers and thousands of asset managers to benchmark investments across portfolios and to better understand the opportunities, risks and choices that need to be made as the industry transitions to a more sustainable future.
Sebastien Roussotte, CEO of GRESB, said: “Looking at this year’s benchmark, the industry’s embrace of ESG continues to be reflected in our strong participation numbers and increased data coverage, signalling that real asset investors and managers alike remain steadfast in their commitment to sustainability.
“With more fund managers and asset owners reporting to GRESB than ever before, we are proud to see the global real assets industry deepen its commitment to ESG transparency and pave the way for a more sustainable future.
“This year’s participation growth across the real estate and infrastructure benchmarks underscores the continued and unwavering commitment of the global real assets industry to ESG transparency and sustainability.”