(Finance) – Airports Council International (ACI) World has published the guide entitled “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Management Best Practice”, to help airports to define the parameters and conditions aimed at future growth. “As airports continue to recover, they face the pre-pandemic challenge of investing in infrastructure to meet future air traffic demand, while ensuring that they design, build and operate in an economically sustainable, inclusive and socially responsible and for the environment. environment – underlines ACI World – Therefore, airports are increasingly adopting a ESG reporting framework to meet the dynamic needs and information requests of their investors on performance and risk mitigation, while also building an inclusive institutional framework that achieves good governance, compliance and management. Areas of growing ESG focus include public health, climate, diversity, equity and inclusion“.
“Airports now have the opportunity to take the lead and define key airport ESG factors they anticipate and respond to the needs of the financial market, customers and the community. An early ESG focus by airports can help standardize important factors for capital projects and operations, allowing airports to set, track and report on internally agreed parameters, instead of responding to growing and varied requests from investors , accounting and / or auditing agencies, “says ACI World.
“Although many airports already report ESG performance, a strengthened approach to new ESG factors can offer airports theaccess to much needed capital for a faster recovery and long-term sustainability – he said Luis Felipe de Oliveira, ACI World Director General – The rebuilding of airports and economies meets the growing interest of ESG investors and airports for solutions that act urgently to combat climate change and social inequalities, which have been amplified during this global pandemic. “
“Airports should seek to define and provide the detailed, data-centric ESG disclosures that investors, credit rating agencies and accounting firms increasingly demand,” he added. limiting the airport’s future investor demand on capital markets“.
The “ESG Management Best Practice” seeks to answer the most common questions among airports looking to initiate, improve or expand their ESG reporting, including: how ESG reporting differs from sustainability reporting, how airports report, why investors are interested and how airports can adopt the framework. The guidance was developed by the ESG Reporting sub-group of the ACI World Environment Standing Committee.