Sydney Airport Archives - SustainCase - Sustainability Magazine Insights on how you can protect the environment, maintain and increase the value of your company, through a structured CSR/Sustainability process with the use of the GRI Standards. Learn how Today's Best-Run Companies are achieving Economic, Social, and Environmental Success - and How You Can Too... Mon, 06 Mar 2023 08:17:05 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 Case study: How Sydney Airport promotes sustainability among its suppliers https://sustaincase.com/case-study-how-sydney-airport-promotes-sustainability-among-its-suppliers/ Wed, 02 Feb 2022 07:07:26 +0000 https://ccprowebs.com/new-sustaincase.com/?p=13248 Sydney Airport is one of Australia’s most important pieces of infrastructure, its international gateway and an essential part of its transport network, connecting to more than 90 destinations around the globe. , working with suppliers to effectively manage environmental, social and governance risks. This case study is based on the 2019 Sustainability Report by Sydney Airport 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/ ESG/ sustainability reporting done responsibly means. Essentially, it means: a) identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment, […]

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]]> Sydney Airport is one of Australia’s most important pieces of infrastructure, its international gateway and an essential part of its transport network, connecting to more than 90 destinations around the globe. Sydney Airport is committed to the responsible management of its supply chain  Tweet This!, working with suppliers to effectively manage environmental, social and governance risks.

This case study is based on the 2019 Sustainability Report by Sydney Airport 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/ ESG/ 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

Respecting and protecting human rights across all aspects of its operations and throughout its supply chain, building a culture to maintain high ethical standards and integrity, is a top priority for Sydney Airport. In order to promote sustainability among its suppliers Sydney Airport took action to:

  • implement a Supplier Code of Conduct
  • assess suppliers
  • combat modern slavery

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2019 Sustainability Report Sydney Airport identified a range of material issues, such as economic performance, employee attraction, retention and development, climate change, community investment and engagement. Among these, promoting sustainability among its suppliers stands out as a key material issue for Sydney Airport.

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:

“The reporting organization shall identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations and interests.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process 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 Sydney Airport engages with:

To identify and prioritise material topics Sydney Airport engaged with its stakeholders through the following channels:

Stakeholder Group                Method of engagement
Analysts and investors

 

 

 ·      Annual General Meeting

·      Roadshows, meetings and conferences

·      ASX releases

·      Investor days, presentations and briefings

·      Analyst surveys

·      Website
Business partners

 

 

 ·      Committees and forums

·      Briefings and meetings

·      Relationship managers

·      Service requests

·      InfoSyd website
Customers

 

 

 ·      Satisfaction surveys

·      Feedback channels and service requests

·      Media and advertising

·      Competitions

·      Relationship managers
Employees

 

 

 ·      Engagement surveys

·      Employee committees and working groups

·      Yammer (internal social media)

·      People leader forums

·      CEO newsletters and all staff briefings

·      Intranet
Government and regulators

 

 

 ·      Briefings and meetings

·      Industry forums

·      Submissions

·      Industry working groups
Local community

 

 

 ·      Community forums

·      Council briefings

·      Sentiment surveys

·      Partnerships with community organisations

·      Media and advertising
Suppliers

 

 ·      Supplier forums

·      Meetings

·      Assessment against the Supplier Code of Conduct
Tourism bodies and industry associations

 

 ·      Meetings

·      Participation in events and conferences

·      Industry forums

What actions were taken by Sydney Airport to promote sustainability among its suppliers?      

In its 2019 Sustainability Report Sydney Airport reports that it took the following actions for promoting sustainability among its suppliers:

  • Implementing a Supplier Code of Conduct
  • Sydney Airport’s Supplier Code of Conduct sets out how Sydney Airport manages its relationships with suppliers and its minimum expectations. It covers areas including health and safety, corporate governance, workplace conditions and human rights. Sydney Airport’s procurement spend mainly related to construction projects, security services, and facilities management services including cleaning services and baggage handling operations.
  • Assessing suppliers
  • During 2019 Sydney Airport assessed 25 suppliers against the expectations set out in the Supplier Code of Conduct. This accounts for 72 per cent of its in-scope third party spend. The majority of those suppliers met or exceeded Sydney Airport’s expectations, with six supplier improvement plans issued. The areas identified for improvement centred around:
    • Plans or initiatives supporting engagement of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander employment, business or communities
    • Coverage of bribery and corruption within submitted policies
    • Training of key policy documents (e.g. work health and safety, governance)
    • Lack of reference to Fair Work within submitted documents
  • Pleasingly, these suppliers actioned the gaps identified in their individual supplier improvement plans and all outstanding items were closed during 2019. Additionally, Sydney Airport continues to support the Business Council of Australia’s Australian Supplier Payment Code, which is designed to support the long-term viability of small businesses.
  • Combating modern slavery
  • In 2019, Sydney Airport completed a risk assessment for modern slavery in its business and supply chain, identifying high risk areas. Existing controls for these risks were reviewed, and where necessary, Sydney Airport strengthened these to make sure it is not doing business with individuals or companies that profit from modern slavery.

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:

1) Disclosure 308-1 New suppliers that were screened using environmental criteria

2) Disclosure 414-1 New suppliers that were screened using social criteria

 

Disclosure 308-1 New suppliers that were screened using environmental criteria does not correspond to any SDG.

Disclosure 414-1 New suppliers that were screened using social criteria corresponds to:

 

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started

Any size business can start taking sustainability action

GRI, ISEP, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom  (venue: London School of Economics)

  • Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
  • Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
  • Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP. 
  • Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement

See upcoming training dates.
References:

1) This case study is based on published information by Sydney Airport, 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) https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/gri-standards-download-center/

Note to Sydney Airport: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.

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]]> Case study: How Sydney Airport promotes workplace diversity and inclusion https://sustaincase.com/case-study-how-sydney-airport-promotes-workplace-diversity-and-inclusion/ Fri, 08 Feb 2019 06:35:49 +0000 https://ccprowebs.com/new-sustaincase.com/?p=8785 As Australia’s primary gateway, connecting to more than 90 destinations around the world, that celebrates diversity and recognises the value of differing ideas and perspectives. This case study is based on the 2017 Sustainability Report by Sydney Airport 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/ ESG/ 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 Supporting a diverse workforce to drive creativity […]

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As Australia’s primary gateway, connecting to more than 90 destinations around the world, Sydney Airport recognises its people are fundamental to its continuing success and is, accordingly, committed to building and maintaining a supportive and collaborative work environment  Tweet This! that celebrates diversity and recognises the value of differing ideas and perspectives.

This case study is based on the 2017 Sustainability Report by Sydney Airport 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/ ESG/ 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

Layout 1

Abstract

Supporting a diverse workforce to drive creativity and innovation, raising awareness on diversity and inclusion and making its workplace more flexible, inclusive and free from bullying and harassment, are top priorities for Sydney Airport. In order to promote workplace diversity and inclusion Sydney Airport took action to:

  • promote flexibility
  • support gender equality
  • foster cultural diversity
  • support Indigenous Australians

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2017 Sustainability Report Sydney Airport identified a range of material issues, such as access to and from the airport, customer privacy, cyber security, community engagement and investment, environmental management, sustainable procurement. Among these, promoting workplace diversity and inclusion stands out as a key material issue for Sydney Airport.

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:

“The reporting organization shall identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations and interests.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process 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 Sydney Airport engages with:  

To identify and prioritise material topics Sydney Airport engaged with its stakeholders through the following channels:

Stakeholder Group                Method of engagement
Passengers

 

 ·      Monthly passenger satisfaction surveys

·      Quarterly internationally benchmarked passenger satisfaction surveys

·      Ongoing tracking and analysis of customer feedback through all channels, including social media platforms and website

·      Competitions requesting ideas for improvement

·      Real-time reportable notification system for service requests

·      Radio and print advertising

·      Connections newsletter (quarterly)

·      Digital engagement including website, app and messaging platforms
Airlines

 

 ·      Monthly Airline Operators’ Committee

·      Quarterly Industry Consultative Forum

·      Ongoing airline satisfaction surveys

·      Quarterly Common Use Terminal Equipment User Board

·      Quarterly Airport Emergency Committee

·      Daily communications as part of operational management

·      Real-time reportable notification system for service requests

·      Ramp Safety Committee

·      Baggage Handling Forum

·      Frequent operations bulletins
Border agencies

 

 ·      Daily communications as part of operational management

·      Weekly planning and facilitation management review

·      Bi-annual border agency operational and customer focus area review

·      Ongoing strategic airport management meetings

·      Bi-annual National Passenger Facilitation Committee meetings
Retail business partners ·      Daily communication as part of retail operations management

·      Regular retailer meetings and reviews on a regular basis at store level and with senior management

·      Quarterly food safety testing for all food and beverage retailers

·      Quarterly price comparison audits against key Sydney CBD retailers and dining precincts

·      Retailer forum four times per year

·      Monthly retail customer experience scorecard prepared for each terminal

·      Ongoing tracking and analysis of customer feedback through all channels, including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, WeChat and website
Employees ·      Consultative groups as required

·      Six-weekly Safety Committee

·      Monthly staff newsletter

·      Quarterly staff briefings

·      Rebranded user-friendly intranet

·      Monthly Service Star programme

·      Employee recognition programme

·      Half-yearly performance reviews

·      Ongoing staff bulletins and emails

·      Ongoing team meetings

·      Cross functional team social interactions

·      Diversity and inclusion working group

·      Learning and development working group

·      Leadership and management development programme
Community and local government ·      Quarterly Sydney Airport Community Forum

·      Half-yearly Planning Coordination Forum

·      Annual community update in local newspapers

·      Regular website updates

·      Letterbox flyers

·      Ongoing local council briefings

·      Consultation processes as part of major development plans and master planning

·      Sentiment survey

·      Partnerships with local councils

·      Master plan consultation

·      Major Development Plan (MDP) consultation

·      Connections newsletter (quarterly)
Investors ·      Annual General Meeting

·      Bi-annual financial results announcements

·      Investor roadshows, meetings and conferences

·      ASX releases including monthly traffic statistics

·      Website (with a specific section for investors)

·      Investor days

·      Stakeholder/investor emails and webcasts

·      Investor presentations and fact sheets
Tourism bodies, industry associations and advocates ·      Attendance at relevant overseas delegations

·      Ongoing participation in tourism events and partnerships as part of a collaborative effort
to attract airline services and visitors to Sydney

·      Regular meetings
NSW and Commonwealth governments and agencies ·      Regular meetings and briefing with relevant agencies and elected representatives including:

– the National Passenger Facilitation Committee;

– International Air Services Negotiation meetings;

– government meetings regarding the Future

Freight Policy; and

– Tourism Access Working Group

·      Daily communication with Airservices Australia
Media ·      Airport tours

·      Media releases

·      Proactive outreach

·      Responses to specific requests

·      Airport access and 24-hour on-call media phone

·      Media events and press conferences
Industry bodies ·      Regular and ongoing meetings with relevant organisations, including the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities, Civil Aviation Safety Authority, Airport Coordination Australia, WorkCover, Office of Transport Security, Productivity Commission and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

What actions were taken by Sydney Airport to promote workplace diversity and inclusion?

In its 2017 Sustainability Report Sydney Airport reports that it took the following actions for promoting workplace diversity and inclusion:

  • Promoting flexibility
  • Sydney Airport’s current flexibility policies and programmes include:
    • Sydney Airport’s Flexible Work Policy, which has four types of flexibility available: flexible start and finish times, part-time work, job sharing and working from home
when appropriate;
    • A variety of leave options, including a parental leave programme and the option to purchase an additional two weeks of leave per year;
    • Access to technology that allows employees to work remotely across the airport and at home, as appropriate.
  • Sydney Airport also has a policy to support employees experiencing domestic and family violence, offering them access to additional leave to manage legal matters, moving house or other associated appointments without using annual leave.
  • Supporting gender equality
  • As a signatory of the Australian Institute of Company Directors “30% club”, Sydney Airport has set a goal of 30% female representation for its Board and management, and continues to work to increase female representation both in terms of overall staff numbers and within its Generation Y population. In 2017, Sydney Airport’s female representation increased 1.5% to 37.9%, with female managers accounting for 38.9% of all managers. To further support gender diversity, 50% of new recruits during the year were female.
  • Fostering cultural diversity
  • Committed to recruiting and retaining a culturally diverse workforce, Sydney Airport established, in 2016, its baseline ethnicity dataset, to better understand the cultural diversity of its workforce. Sydney Airport’s staff speak 35 languages, and have a collective 34 countries of origin. Celebrating this diversity and promoting a better understanding of different cultures, Sydney Airport organises events such as Harmony Day, where employees come together to share dishes from a range of cultures.
  • Supporting Indigenous Australians
  • Sydney Airport has a partnership with the CareerTrackers Indigenous Internship Programme, an organisation providing internship opportunities for Indigenous university students. Accordingly, in 2017 Sydney Airport hosted its second intern, who worked with its People and Performance team. Sydney Airport also supports the Clontarf Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation established to help Indigenous boys complete high school.

Which GRI Standards and corresponding Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been addressed?

The GRI Standards addressed in this case are:

1) Disclosure 405-1 Diversity of governance bodies and employees

2) Disclosure 405-2 Ratio of basic salary and remuneration of women to men

 

Disclosure 405-1 Diversity of governance bodies and employees corresponds to:

Disclosure 405-2 Ratio of basic salary and remuneration of women to men corresponds to: 

 

78% of the world’s 250 largest companies report in accordance with the GRI Standards

SustainCase was primarily created to demonstrate, through case studies, the importance of dealing with a company’s most important impacts in a structured way, with use of the GRI Standards. To show how today’s best-run companies are achieving economic, social and environmental success – and how you can too.

Research by well-recognised institutions is clearly proving that responsible companies can look to the future with optimism.

7 GRI sustainability disclosures get you started

Any size business can start taking sustainability action

GRI, ISEP, CPD Certified Sustainability courses (2-5 days): Live Online or Classroom  (venue: London School of Economics)

  • Exclusive FBRH template to begin reporting from day one
  • Identify your most important impacts on the Environment, Economy and People
  • Formulate in group exercises your plan for action. Begin taking solid, focused, all-round sustainability action ASAP. 
  • Benchmarking methodology to set you on a path of continuous improvement

See upcoming training dates.

 

References:

1) This case study is based on published information by Sydney Airport, 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/

Note to Sydney Airport: With each case study we send out an email requesting a comment on this case study. If you have not received such an email please contact us.

The post Case study: How Sydney Airport promotes workplace diversity and inclusion appeared first on SustainCase - Sustainability Magazine.

]]> Case study: How Sydney Airport is promoting the safety and security of airport users https://sustaincase.com/case-study-how-sydney-airport-is-ensuring-the-safety-and-security-of-airport-users/ Tue, 25 Apr 2017 15:25:28 +0000 http://sustaincase.com/?p=1247 As Australia’s primary gateway, handling over 40% of all international and 44% of all domestic and regional passengers within Australia – and an essential part of the global transport network, connecting Sydney to 44 international, 22 interstate and 22 regional destinations –, . This case study is based on the 2014 Sustainability Report by Sydney Airport published on the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Disclosure Database that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate that CSR/ sustainability reporting done responsibly is achieved by identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment and stakeholders and by […]

The post Case study: How Sydney Airport is promoting the safety and security of airport users appeared first on SustainCase - Sustainability Magazine.

]]> As Australia’s primary gateway, handling over 40% of all international and 44% of all domestic and regional passengers within Australia – and an essential part of the global transport network, connecting Sydney to 44 international, 22 interstate and 22 regional destinations –, promoting the safety and security of airport users is a key priority for Sydney Airport  Tweet This!.

This case study is based on the 2014 Sustainability Report by Sydney Airport published on the Global Reporting Initiative Sustainability Disclosure Database that can be found at this link. Through all case studies we aim to demonstrate that CSR/ sustainability reporting done responsibly is achieved by identifying a company’s most important impacts on the environment and stakeholders and by measuring, managing and changing.

From providing essential security infrastructure and a comprehensive safety management system to protecting the airspace, ensuring Sydney Airport is a safe and secure operating environment is a top priority. After measuring and setting targets, Sydney Airport took action to implement a security management system, provide “security with service”, undertake emergency planning – Sydney Airport maintains an Airport Emergency Plan (AEP) in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation and Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority regulations and standards –, introduce a revised Safety Management System (SMS) and, also, protect passengers and airline staff on board aircraft from the safety risk posed by wildlife strikes.

What are the material issues the company has identified?

In its 2014 Sustainability Report Sydney Airport identified a range of material issues, such as transparency and communication, aviation and climate change impacts, managing noise impacts on nearby communities, employee engagement, development and wellbeing. Among these, as Australia’s primary gateway, handling over 40% of all international and 44% of all domestic and regional passengers within Australia, promoting the safety and security of airport users stands out as a key material issue for Sydney Airport.

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:

“The organization should identify its stakeholders, and explain how it has responded to their reasonable expectations.”

Stakeholders must be consulted in the process 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 Sydney Airport engages with:

Stakeholder Group                Method of engagement
Passengers

 

 ·         Customer Satisfaction Survey

·         Airport Council International (ACI) Customer Quality of Service Survey

·         Posters around the terminal

·         Airport Ambassadors

·         Lost property service

·         Direct feedback via email, website, social media and phone

·         Competitions requesting ideas on improvement

·         Access to app to directly report cleaning or maintenance issues to the duty teams

·         Multi-lingual app and website
Airlines

 

 ·         Airline Operators Committee T1

·         Airline Operators Committee T2

·         Aeronautical Capital Investment Consultative Group

·         Airline satisfaction surveys

·         Joint Passenger Facilitation Meetings

·         Common User Terminal Equipment User Board

·         Airport Emergency Committee

·         Day-to-day communications as part of relationship and operational management
Employees

 

 

 ·         Staff Engagement Survey

·         Consultative groups

·         Day-to-day communications as part of operational management

·         WHS Staff Committee

·         Staff newsletter

·         Exit surveys

·         Staff briefings

·         Service Star program

·         Performance reviews

·         All staff bulletins and emails
Community and local

government

 

 ·         Sydney Airport Community Forum

·         Planning Coordination Forum

·         Community updates in local newspapers

·         Stalls at local community events

·         Letterbox flyers

·         Local council briefings

·         Informal engagement through community sponsorship programs and other initiatives
Border agencies

 

 

 ·         Day-to-day communications as part of operational management

·         Planning and facilitation management review

·         Border agency operational and customer focus area review

·         Strategic airport management
Airport service providers (incl. tenants and suppliers) ·         Communication briefings

·         Consultative groups

·         Day-to-day communications as part of operational management
Investors

 

 ·         Annual General Meeting

·         Results announcements

·         Regular briefings for institutional investors and ratings agencies

·         Investor roadshows covering Australia, Asia, Europe and North America

·         ASX releases

·         Traffic announcements

·         Institutional and Retail investor events
Tourism bodies ·         Regular meetings as part of collaborative efforts to attract airlines to Sydney

·         Participation in and partnerships with business and tourism events in Sydney

·         Overseas delegations
Industry

associations

 ·         Attendance at meetings, conferences, functions and events

·         Briefings on specific topics (where current or relevant)
NSW Government

and agencies

 

 ·         Regular meetings with relevant agencies, e.g. Emergency Services, Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) and Destination NSW

·         Briefings for Members of Parliament and/or Members of Legislative Council on topics of interest

·         Operations, major events and incidents
Australian Government and agencies

 

 ·         Regular meetings with Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development

·         Briefings for MPs and/or Senators on topics of interest

·         Day-to-day communications as part of operational management

·         Airservices Australia

·         Emergency Management Australia
Media ·         Briefings to media groups

·         Airport tours

·         Dedicated media releases

·         Liaison in response to specific requests

·         On-call media phone
Regulators ·         Regular engagement with Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

·         Civil Aviation Safety Authority

·         Regular meetings with the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development – Office of Transport Security

·         Work Cover (incident reports and investigations)

·         Airport Coordination Australia

How stakeholder engagement was made to identify material issues

The issues and related performance information included in Sydney Airport’s 2014 Sustainability Report were determined through a materiality process that was guided by the AA1000 Accountability Principles Standard (2008) and the GRI Reporting Principles of stakeholder inclusiveness, sustainability context, materiality and completeness. The process involved:

  • Interviews with representatives of each of Sydney Airport’s key stakeholder groups to understand their views of Sydney Airport’s sustainability performance and the issues of highest interest or concern to them;
  • Research and analysis by Sydney Airport’s sustainability consultants, Banarra, to identify and prioritize the sustainability issues of greatest importance to Sydney Airport’s stakeholders and greatest relevance to Sydney Airport’s operations;
  • A workshop involving Sydney Airport’s CEO and Executive Leadership Team to review and validate the issues identified through the materiality analysis and then rank these issues according to four criteria:
    • The relationship between the issue and Sydney Airport (i.e. the boundary of the issue)
    • The level of control Sydney Airport has over management of the issue;
    • The likelihood of the issue affecting the decisions and actions of Sydney Airport’s stakeholders; and
    • The significance of potential impacts related to the issue on people, the environment and the economy.
  • Using the workshop outcomes to guide the report structure and the nature and extent of reporting for each issue; and
  • Mapping each material issue against the GRI aspects and disclosures to select those of greatest relevance for inclusion within the report.

What actions were taken by Sydney Airport to promote the safety and security of airport users?

In its 2014 Sustainability Report Sydney Airport set the following targets for promoting the safety and security of airport users, based on the company’s approach to materiality – on taking action on what matters, where it matters:

  • Implementing a security management system

Security management is carried out in accordance with the regulatory obligations specified in the Aviation Transport Security Act 2004 and the Aviation Transport Security Regulations 2005. The security management system is described in Sydney Airport’s Transport Security Program (TSP). The program sets out in broad terms Sydney Airport’s security risk context, mitigation measures and emergency and contingency plans. Sydney Airport regularly reviews, updates and seeks approval from the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development for changes to the program. Sydney Airport coordinates the management of aviation security with other parties, including Commonwealth agencies that have responsibilities for, or are connected with, aviation. An aviation industry participant security guide is provided to all industry participants located on Sydney Airport with an understanding of the security management system. Sydney Airport is focused on maintaining a strong security culture, investing in regular staff security awareness programs. Specific communications were issued in response to the increase in Australia’s National Terrorism Public Alert Level in September 2014 to ensure everyone working at Sydney Airport continued to maintain the highest security standards in order to protect passengers, staff, visitors and the airport itself. The security awareness program at Sydney Airport is supported by a national aviation security awareness strategy called Airport Watch. This community approach, similar in principle to Neighbourhood Watch programs, not only focuses on identifying suspicious activity, but resolving it on a real time response basis.

  • Providing “security with service”

Sydney Airport engages a government licensed and professionally qualified security service provider. Along with passenger and checked baggage screening, the main security functions that are undertaken by Sydney Airport’s security service provider include airport perimeter patrols, airside/terminal/landside foot patrols, gate access control and general CCTV security surveillance and alarm monitoring. “Security with service” is viewed as critical to the end-to-end passenger experience at Sydney Airport. Screening officers are trained in accordance with Sydney Airport’s Service Standards. In 2014, all passenger screening supervisors attended a Customer Service Recovery Training Program focusing on conflict resolution. Sydney Airport seeks to minimise the impact on passengers and staff without compromising safety and security or compliance with legislation. In the case of matters relating to security operations, personal information, including sensitive information, may be collected in accordance with the Privacy Policy.

  • Undertaking emergency planning

Sydney Airport recognises the importance of broader community confidence in the airport’s plans for responding to emergencies and in the capabilities and readiness of emergency staff, airlines and other service providers to implement these plans. Sydney Airport maintains an Airport Emergency Plan (AEP) in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation and Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority regulations and standards. The AEP is accessible to all airlines that operate at Sydney Airport as well as state and federal emergency services. It addresses events such as natural disasters and critical systems failures, as well as casualty issues. Any disruptions or emergency events could also significantly affect service quality at the airport and these disruptions are minimized through a policy and procedure for coordinating the response with airlines, Airservices Australia and state and federal agencies where required.

  • Introducing a revised Safety Management System (SMS)

In 2014, Sydney Airport implemented a revised Safety Management System (SMS), which sets out, in broad terms, Sydney Airport’s safety risk framework. The SMS has 10 key safety elements that cover the health and safety of all passengers, visitors and airport staff:

  • Commitment to safety;
  • Strategic planning and continuous improvement;
  • Consultation and communication;
  • Risk management;
  • Contractor management;
  • Emergency management;
  • Incidence reporting and investigation;
  • Learning and development;
  • Information management; and
  • Performance review.

The SMS recognises the importance of having a robust and holistic safety management system which incorporates and integrates Sydney Airport’s approach to Aviation and Work Health and Safety, while being dynamic enough to cater for future changes in the operating environment. The SMS was designed to meet the requirements of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1998, Civil Aviation Safety Authority Advisory Circular 139.16 and the Work Health and Safety Act and Regulations 2011. It is reviewed and updated on a regular basis to ensure continuous improvement.

  • Protecting passengers and airline staff on board aircraft from the safety risk posed by wildlife strikes

Wildlife strikes can pose a significant risk to the safety of passengers and airline staff on board aircraft and managing these risks is a key priority for Sydney Airport. The Wildlife Management Program is developed in conjunction with a contracted ornithologist under the Wildlife Services Contract. The Airfield Operations Manager is responsible for delivering the wildlife management plan and the ornithologist works closely with the airfield operations team, providing expert advice and undertaking active and passive wildlife management. Regular management reports which contain short or long term recommendations are provided to the Airfield Operations Manager. In 2014, there were 58 confirmed wildlife strikes out of a total of 327,190 aircraft movements, representing a strike rate of 1.77 per 10,000 aircraft movements.

Which GRI indicators/Standards have been addressed?

The GRI indicator addressed in this case is: G4-PR1: Percentage of significant product and service categories for which health and safety impacts are assessed for improvement and the updated GRI Standard is: Disclosure 416-1 Assessment of the health and safety impacts of product and service categories

 

References:

 

1) This case study is based on published information by Sydney Airport, 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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