Airport & the Environment

Marshall Airport Cambridge recognises that corporate responsibility and sustainability is an integral part of being a successful business and its care for the environment is a critical part of this responsibility. Consequently the Directors, management and personnel of Marshall Airport are committed to the principles of corporate sustainability and the environmental stewardship of the company, as outlined in our Sustainability Policy. (Click here to download a copy).

Given the commitment and importance that Marshall Airport place on the environment, a number of initiatives and steering groups are in place to manage and mitigate the environmental impact of the business. The company also continues to invest in new initiatives to monitor and understand the effect of the company´s activities on the environment with the ultimate goal of trying to reduce their impact.

The Marshall Airport Environmental Management Committee is chaired by the Chief Executive, Mr Martin Broadhurst, with a remit to continuously review the Environmental Management System (EMS), to maintain environmental permits, as well as reviewing initiatives on air, water, land, energy, waste and transport, environmental audit activity and ongoing training. The Marshall Airport Committee reports on a regular basis to the Marshall Group of Companies Environmental Committee which the Chairman, Mr Michael Marshall, actively participates in - underpinning the importance that the Group places on its environmental responsibilities.

Key ongoing activities include:

• Having a dedicated environmental team to actively monitor the day-to-day running of environmental activities, whilst maintaining regulatory and legislative compliance and minimising pollution by:
  • Controlling emission to air, land and water.
  • Reducing the consumption of energy.
  • Managing waste to maximise recycling.
  • Improving the awareness of, and training to, employees in environmental best practice.

• Maintenance of an established EMS which operates to the requirements and guiding principles of ISO 14001 maintained by the Environmental team to identify the aspects and impacts from our activities and implement measures to control their environmental effects.
• Having in place emergency procedures established to respond to and mitigate foreseeable environmental incidents.
• Marshall Aerospace is a signatory to the Government sponsored Sustainable Aviation Strategy. This commits the company to the goals and requirements for sustainable aviation, promotion of best practice, stakeholder dialogue, supply chain engagement and annual reporting of environmental performance.
• Membership of the Society of British Aerospace Companies´ (SBAC) Environmental Working Group.
• Participation in the annual Cambridgeshire Travel for Work Partnership travel survey. The survey monitors how the company´s employees travel to and from work and the impact on the local transport infrastructure and environment.
• Following a workplace travel plan to manage the environmental impact of travel to work and company transport activity. The plan is maintained by the Marshall Group of Companies Transport Steering Group.
• Having good communication with the company´s many stakeholders.
• A strong training programme for all employees.

Some examples of environmental improvement measures that Marshall Airport has undertaken over the last few years include:

• Improved management of waste including a £116,000 investment on a centralised storage facility to maximise recycling and minimise the requirement for use of "landfill for waste".
• Recycled waste amounts to around 850 tonnes per annum – greatly reducing the amount of waste taken to landfill. The majority of this is metal from CNC machining activities, and the company has adopted swarf management techniques to increase the material recycling efficiency – 80% reduction in road transport movements and subsequent CO2 savings through advanced equipment.
• The removal of combustion boiler plant to reduce air pollution and the installation of natural gas heating to improve energy efficiency.
• Actively pursuing an energy efficiency programme to increase the energy efficiency rating of plant, products and services to reduce CO2 emissions.

A number of initiatives for 2008 are already underway including:

• Reduction and management of waste.
• Better utilisation of raw materials.
• Energy resources and water supplies.
• Employment of re-use and recycling techniques.
• Providing transport choice through the promotion of alternative travel modes.

Additionally, an Energy sub-committee has been formed to examine ways of reducing the impact of Marshall Airport´s energy use on the environment and to ensure that the consumption of energy by the company is efficient and cost effective.

The Marshall Group of Companies is also assessing a methodology to measure the carbon footprint of the Airport site. Once this methodology has been agreed, it will be rolled out to assess and calculate the carbon footprint of the Marshall Group. A multi-disciplinary carbon working group has been formed to work on this project.