Strategies for Sustainable Operation at Western Sydney Airport

This report focuses on the sustainability strategies for the Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport. It begins by highlighting the growing importance of environmental consciousness in the aviation sector and the need for sustainable business operations. The report proposes four key strategies: the use of alternative fuels (specifically biofuel), educating consumers about responsible flying, eliminating single-use plastics, and controlling waste generation through the use of recyclable materials. The report references existing sustainable practices of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines as a benchmark. It also discusses the limitations of these solutions, primarily the need for substantial financial resources and a skilled workforce. The report concludes by reiterating the potential for Western Sydney International Airport to achieve sustainability goals, while acknowledging the challenges in implementation. The report also includes supporting figures related to GHG and waste generation rates.

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WESTERN SYDNEY INTERNATIONAL (NANCY-
BIRD WALTON) AIRPORT: SUSTAINABILITY

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Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 3
Proposed solution ....................................................................................................................... 3
Limitation of the solution........................................................................................................... 7
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 8
Reference list ............................................................................................................................. 9

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Introduction
Over the time of technological development, people have become more conscious of the
environment and its underlying factors. Especially after the covid-19 pandemic circumstances,
the health-oriented lifestyle and environmentally friendly business operation have become a
key trend in the history of human civilization. According to IATA (International Air Transport
Association), the aviation sector individually emits nearly 900 million tons of Co2 every year
(CO2 emissions from commercial aviation, 2018). Therefore the aviation industry is highly
required to adopt sustainable business operation protocols to pose a less negative impact on the
environment.
The paper aims to propose some key strategies by focusing on the business operation protocol
of Western Sydney International airport to become the most sustainable company in the
industry and influence others to do the same. The paper will also discuss the limitation of such
solutions and will finally be concluded by summarising the key discussions.
Proposed solution
Following the global issue of sustainability, a total of four key strategies have been prepared
for the Western Sydney International airport from the beginning of the operation. The airport
is currently under construction and will be on track by 2026. The strategies are below,
Use of alternative fuels
The first and foremost solution for the airport is to completely change the use of traditional
fossil fuels to fly aircraft. Instead, they can utilize biofuel as the main resource for flying
aircraft. The airport is suggested to formulate and implement a new energy resource program
just like the KLM Royal; Dutch Airlines (The 6 Most Sustainable Airlines for 2022 –
LeafScore, 2022). As of IATA ratings, KLM airport is one of those airports which has actually
understood the concept of sustainability and influenced others also. To be the most sustainable

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airport in the entire aviation industry, the Western Sydney International airport is also
suggested to use Biofuel as a primary resource (Baxter, 2020). According to the last
environmental assessment report produced by the airport, nearly 10 different working areas
were obtained in the sector from where Co2 emits. The annual emission report was about
129,462 tons (Western Sydney Airport – Environmental Impact Statement – Volume 2 Air
quality and greenhouse gases, 2022). Further, the annual greenhouse gas emission rate was
about 2,524,504. Therefore the requirement of a biofuel-based operational plan for aviation is
highly important. The program will not only assist the airport to become more sustainable but
will also assist in reducing the carbon footprint via operations. So from here, it can be clearly
stated that the strategy will assist the business to gain more consumers from the target market
segment by promoting this environmentally friendly business operation and influencing the
environment-conscious consumers (Aviation Fuel Supply Corridor Options Report: Western
Sydney Airport, 2022).

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Figure 1: GHG and Carbon emission rate from the airport
(Source: https://www.westernsydneyairport.gov.au/sites/default/files/16-volume-2-chapter-
12.pdf)
Educate consumers in the aviation sector to fly responsibly
Further from the by taking the reference to the KLM airport Fly Responsible program, the
Western Sydney International airport is also suggested to incorporate a leadership &
development program for both consumers and wage workers in the airport (The 6 Most
Sustainable Airlines for 2022 – LeafScore, 2022). Under this program, the corporation will
conduct a separate training program for wage workers within the workforce for teaching them
how their behaviours can influence sustainability in airports. For example, they will be taught
on controlling the waste they generate daily in the airport surroundings. Further, those workers
will also be taught how to reuse any type of materials for different purposes so that the wastes
can be controlled. Same, that knowledge will also be forwarded to the consumers via social
media campaigns and placing posters in the airport sector. Through this process, the awareness
related to sustainability at the airport both among consumers and workers can be increased
hugely (Kim, Lee & Roh, 2020). In terms of posters, some eye-catchy segments or two-liner
contexts will be placed at the airport so that consumers can easily identify them and become
alert about their actions. Those posters will not be placed by focusing on controlling the waste
but also other key habits of consumers like throwing away plastics and materials will be placed
at the core of the posters so that consumers can fly responsibly.
Eliminate the use of a single plastic product from the cafeteria of the airport
One of the key issues in the entire process of influencing sustainability in the aviation sector is
the use of plastic across cafeterias. As mentioned by Roy (2021), non-biodegradable plastics
are the most significant issue that is not only impacting the environment but also impacting the
ecology system. If this impact continues then in the end circumstances the earth will be left

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only with plastics. Therefore the Western Sydney International airport urgently needs to
eliminate the use of a single non-biodegradable plastic product in their cafeterias (Sebastian
and Louis, 2021). As of the last period of operation, the cafeterias use plastic materials in a
huge order therefore the elimination of the use will not only assist the airport to step towards a
sustainable future but will be able to gain the tag of the most sustainable airport across the
global region.
Control the waste generation rate and use recyclable materials
According to the last report submitted by the airport regarding the waste generation rate, it can
be obtained that nearly 202,500 tons have been generated in a single year (Western Sydney
Airport – Environmental Impact Statement – Volume 2 Resources and waste, 2022). This entire
rate is the combination of the general and solid waste produced by both the passengers and the
airport authority itself combined. So it is clear that the rate is significantly higher and further it
is impacting the entire ecosystem as well as the environment in a negative manner. To become
a sustainable airport, these waste generation statistics need to be reduced via wise full
utilization of the resources and use of reusable materials (Özbay, İ. and Gokceviz, 2022).
Through the use of reusable materials the waste generation rate can be reduced in a huge
manner which can account for more than 50% of the entire waste. Further to use the hard
resources wisely the airport is required to change its leadership approach and incorporate
transformational leadership. Through the use of transformational leadership, the consumers and
workers can be influenced to control their water generation rate and the statistics can be reduced
in a much higher manner. So from here, it can be stated that the strategy will have a significant
impact on placing the airport at the top position from the perspective of sustainable operation
protocol.

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Figure 3: Waste generation rate
(Source: https://www.westernsydneyairport.gov.au/sites/default/files/29-volume-2-chapter-
25.pdf)
Limitation of the solution
Though the approaches and strategies have the potential to eliminate the sustainability issue
from the operation protocol of Western Sydney International airport still there are some
limitations obtained in practically executing the strategies. The limitation will mainly be
obtained in gaining high financial resources and a sufficient number of skill-full workers. To
implement the alternative fuel strategy a huge amount of financial resource investment will be
required as in the airport currently the construction work is ongoing which has already attracted
much more investments and further there are numerous aircraft obtained for which a large
amount of biofuel production units are required. Further to control the water and eliminate the
use of single plastic products, there is the requirement of skill-full labourer groups which is
hard to find in a high quantity (Warning aviation worker shortage threatens reopening of air
travel, 2022).

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Conclusion
In conclusion of the report, it can be stated that the concept of sustainability can be achieved
by the Western Sydney International airport but some limitations or difficulties are obtained in
achieving this. The report has suggested four key strategies which are, alternative fuel
utilization, eliminating the use of plastic, controlling the waste, and educating consumers and
workers to behave responsibly in the airport. To apply those strategies the key limitations are,
skill-full workers shortage and financial resource shortage.

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Reference list
Aviation Fuel Supply Corridor Options Report: Western Sydney Airport.
www.westernsydneyairport.gov.au. (2022). Retrieved 9 June 2022, from
https://www.westernsydneyairport.gov.au/sites/default/files/Fuel_Supply_Corridor_Options_
Report_Feb2018.pdf.
Baxter, G. (2020). The use of aviation biofuels as an airport environmental sustainability
measure: The case of Oslo Gardermoen Airport. MAD-Magazine of Aviation
Development, 8(1), 6-17. https://ojs.cvut.cz/ojs/index.php/mad/article/view/6038/5666
CO2 emissions from commercial aviation - International Council on Clean Transportation.
International Council on Clean Transportation. (2018). Retrieved 9 June 2022, from
https://theicct.org/publication/co2-emissions-from-commercial-aviation-2018/.
Kim, Y., Lee, S. S., & Roh, T. (2020). Taking another look at airline CSR: How required CSR
and desired CSR affect customer loyalty in the airline industry. Sustainability, 12(10), 4281.
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/10/4281/pdf
Özbay, İ. and Gokceviz, N.A., 2022. Towards zero-waste airports: a case study of Istanbul
Airport. Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management, 24(1), pp.134-142.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10163-021-01308-2
Roy, A. S. (2021). Improper Disposal of Non-Biodegradable Chewing Gum is One of the
Biggest Threats to Our Ecology: A Review. Current World Environment, 16(3), 916.
https://search.proquest.com/openview/94d4dd1fb50e1fe3ad458ddb485e438e/1?pq-
origsite=gscholar&cbl=2035006
Sebastian, R.M. and Louis, J., 2021. Understanding waste management at airports: A study on
current practices and challenges based on literature review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy
Reviews, 147, p.111229.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032121005165

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The 6 Most Sustainable Airlines for 2022 - LeafScore. LeafScore. (2022). Retrieved 9 June
2022, from https://www.leafscore.com/blog/most-sustainable-airlines-flying-out-of-jfk-and-
lax/#klm.
Warning aviation worker shortage threatens reopening of air travel. 9news.com.au. (2022).
Retrieved 9 June 2022, from https://www.9news.com.au/national/coronavirus-international-
travel-australia-reopening-at-risk-aviation-worker-shortage/b71e4c43-fe98-431c-93e7-
3e6c4575faa2.
Western Sydney Airport – Environmental Impact Statement – Volume 2 Air quality and
greenhouse gases. www.westernsydneyairport.gov.au. (2022). Retrieved 9 June 2022, from
https://www.westernsydneyairport.gov.au/sites/default/files/16-volume-2-chapter-12.pdf.
Western Sydney Airport – Environmental Impact Statement – Volume 2 Resources and waste.
www.westernsydneyairport.gov.au. (2022). Retrieved 9 June 2022, from
https://www.westernsydneyairport.gov.au/sites/default/files/29-volume-2-chapter-25.pdf