Malta International Airport published its fourth sustainability report on Wednesday to coincide with World Environment Day. While the report does not focus exclusively on the company’s efforts to be environmentally responsible, Malta Airport is pleased to announce that, last year, it was successful in reaching two important environmental goals.
The report, which adheres to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards, reveals that in 2018, the company lowered its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity by 12% to reach 0.92 kg of CO2 per passenger. In parallel with this, a decrease of 11.6% in total water consumption was also registered.
These drops largely resulted from several eco-friendly measures including the installation of more efficient sanitation systems and the introduction of energy-saving lighting and air conditioning units. In addition to this, over the past three years, the company has invested more than one million euro in photovoltaic panels, and is currently in the process of determing the size of the next PV system to be installed on the airport campus.
“The writing of our sustainability report has become an important annual exercise through which we are better aligning our priorities to our core value of sustainability and the achievement of a healthy triple bottom line. We believe that we can only consider ourselves to be a responsible organisation if we strive to manage our environmental, social and economic impacts in a way which benefits the community within which we operate,” said Malta International Airport CEO Alan Borg.
Keeping its social responsibility efforts very close to home, in 2018 the company prioritised the development and overall wellbeing of its employees through the provision of over 8,800 hours of training and a better focus on mental health. Malta International Airport also supported several projects and initiatives undertaken within the local community, with community investments for 2018 amounting to more than €300,000.
With the tourism industry being Malta International Airport’s home ground, the company also sought to further enhance Malta’s tourism product through the work undertaken by the Malta Airport Foundation. 2018 was a big year for sea and underwater projects, which saw the Foundation launch a documentary to disseminate a marine conservation message, partner with eNGO Żibel for the procurement of two sea bins, and lend its support to an ongoing excavation of a Phoenician shipwreck.
These social and environmental initiatives did not detract the company from reporting another profitable year and confirming its position as a top contributor to the local economy. In fact, the economic value distributed by the company in 2018, and which includes employee wages and benefits, payments to government, payments to providers of capital, and community investments, was in excess of €68 million.