Supporting Bristol Airport’s sustainability growth strategy

Bristol Airport dates to the 1950s and serves passengers travelling to and from the South West of England and South Wales. According to its latest statistics, the airport handles more than eight million passengers a year. In 2017, stakeholders and the public gathered to discuss the future of Bristol Airport and to help shape a masterplan extending to 2050. Concurrent to the masterplan, the airport’s first practical step towards long-term sustainable growth is set out in the planning application submitted to North Somerset Council in 2018. If successful, the airport will be equipped to handle up to 12 million passengers a year by the mid-2020s.

RSK, hired for its extensive experience and delivery of bespoke solutions, produced a sustainable growth strategy to support the planning application. Our strategists considered each of the major environmental issues at the airport, including carbon, air quality, noise, waste, water, biodiversity, surface access and socioeconomics. We wrote chapters devoted to each of these key areas that further outlined the current issues and work done set against the political and regulatory context of the proposed project submitted for planning approval. Long-term impacts and mitigation strategies were then proposed, including targets and action plans up to 2030. Climate change mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation/resilience were key focuses of the strategy.

Owing to our commitment to a low-carbon economy and determination to afford our clients similar opportunities, we produced a carbon road map for the project outlining several measures the airport could take to become carbon neutral. The recommendations included airside and landside low-emission zones, electric vehicle priority passes and parking, increasing fixed electrical ground power use over auxiliary power units, increasing on-site generated renewable energy and purchasing renewable electricity tariffs from suppliers.