Case study: How AOT promotes airport safety and security
As a public company managing six of Thailand’s international airports, with 119,923,998 passengers and 1,407,507 tons of cargo carried in 2016, actively promoting airport safety and security in compliance with international standards is a top priority for AOT (Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited).
This case study is based on the 2016 Sustainable Development Report by AOT published on the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Disclosure Database that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate what CSR/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, economy and society, and b) measuring, managing and changing.
Abstract
Abstract
AOT is focused on guaranteeing airport safety and stability Tweet This!, through various measures and operational procedures. In order to promote airport safety and security AOT took action to:
- implement security solutions
- conduct emergency exercises
- prevent accidents from bird strikes
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With this case study you will see:
- Which are the most important impacts (material issues) AOT has identified;
- How AOT proceeded with stakeholder engagement, and
- What actions were taken by AOT to promote airport safety and security
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What are the material issues the company has identified?
In its 2016 Sustainable Development Report AOT identified a range of material issues, such as growth/expanding operation to meet demand, access to airport areas, dialogue and relations with stakeholders, business ethics and integrity, noise pollution control. Among these, promoting airport safety and security stands out as a key material issue for AOT.
Stakeholder engagement in accordance with the GRI Standards
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) defines the Principle of Stakeholder Inclusiveness when identifying material issues (or a company’s most important impacts) as follows:
Stakeholders must be consulted in the process s of identifying a company’s most important impacts and their reasonable expectations and interests must be taken into account. This is an important cornerstone for CSR / sustainability reporting done responsibly.
Key stakeholder groups AOT engages with:
| Stakeholder Group | Method of engagement |
| Customers
| · Customer satisfaction survey · Joint meeting with airlines · Customer relation management · Call center and other channels for complaint and opinion · Information counters at the airports · Organizational electronic media channels · one-on-one executive Interview |
| Business Alliances
| · Business partner meeting · Customer relationship management programs · Call Center and other channels for complaints and opinions · one-on-one executive’s representative Interview |
| Shareholders and investors
| · Analyst meeting · Information is provided to stakeholders and asset managers including local and overseas investors · Annual Meeting of Shareholders · Call Center · Electronic media channel · Shareholders’ Corporate site visit · Conference Call |
| Government/Regulators | · Meet and join meeting with regulators · Effective business operations and assessment by regulators |
| Community and Society | · Conduct field study to collect information on impact from business operations and on community’s needs · Distribute accurate and fast news through various channels |
| Executives and Officers | · The President meets with officers and employees and communicate through internal PR system · Board of Directors · Survey on employees’ relationship and satisfaction of the organization · Communications Direct and indirect communication channels; social media and internal electronics system |
How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues
To identify and prioritize material issues AOT conducted interviews with specialized external stakeholders.
What actions were taken by AOT to promote airport safety and security?
In its 2016 Sustainable Development Report AOT reports that it took the following actions for promoting airport safety and security:
- Implementing security solutions
- To promote airport safety, AOT implements security solutions consisting of standard-based security state regulations, training programs, and performance checking regarding the safety of passengers, airline crews, customers and those working in the airport. Additionally, AOT collaborates with other agencies – such as the National Intelligence Agency – for information and knowledge exchange.
- Conducting emergency exercises
- To promote emergency preparedness – regarding, for example, bomb threats, earthquakes or aircraft accidents – AOT carries out, in every one of the six airports it manages, full scale and partial emergency exercises. These exercises cover Aviation Safety and Aviation Security, as recommended by ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization).
- Preventing accidents from bird strikes
- In 2016, AOT established a committee to set measures for preventing aircraft accidents from bird strikes in all six AOT airports. Accordingly, the committee determined the appropriate equipment and technologies – for example, repelling equipment – to be used to prevent bird strikes. In addition, AOT created a department supervising the prevention of bird strikes (Bird Control Unit-BCU) in line with government regulations and ICAO standards, to systematically deal with bird strike problems.
Which GRI indicators/Standards have been addressed?
The GRI indicators/Standards addressed in this case are:
1) G4-PR1: Percentage of significant product and service categories for which health and safety impacts are assessed for improvement – the updated GRI Standard is: Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories
2) G4-PR2: Total number of incidents of non-compliance with regulations and voluntary codes concerning the health and safety impacts of products and services during their life cycle, by type of outcomes – the updated GRI Standard is: Disclosure 416-2 Incidents of non-compliance concerning the health and safety impacts of products and services
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References:
1) This case study is based on published information by AOT, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original, please revert to the original on the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database at the link:
http://database.globalreporting.org/
2) http://www.fbrh.co.uk/en/global-reporting-initiative-gri-g4-guidelines-download-page
3) https://g4.globalreporting.org/Pages/default.aspx
4) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/
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