Sustainability Mission and Vision
Sustainability Mission
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority ( the “ Authority ”), as the operator of the airports in the nation ’ s capital region and the Dulles Toll Road , is committed to managing its operations in a manner that balances environmental sustainability , operational resiliency , and fiscal responsibility . We strive to be a good neighbor to our surrounding communities , a responsible employer to our employees , a valued partner to our tenants and concessionaires , and a welcoming host to our airport customers .
Sustainability Vision
Sustainability has been defined as “ meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs .” 1 For the Authority , we intend to demonstrate our commitment to sustainability by focusing on the following six overarching goals :
� Reduce fuel use through electrification of our transportation systems � Increase efficiency of our built environment � Increase water use efficiency � Reduce the amount of municipal solid waste we generate and send to landfills � Develop and maintain a culture of sustainable administration � Encourage efficient use of public transportation .
We believe that these goals will be easily understood by our customers and employees while also giving us flexibility both in terms of the individual actions we undertake to meet these goals and which ones we choose to focus on at different points in time . This flexibility is particularly important now given the recent and dramatic decline in airline traffic due to COVID-19 and the negative impacts on our financial position . As a result , in the near term , we will focus on continuing those activities that we are doing already such as glycol recovery and LED lighting retrofits , initiating new activities that have a relatively low cost of implementation such as additional education and training related to recycling , and leveraging outside funding for more capital-intensive investments such as the electrification of our passenger transfer vehicles ( PTVs ). Conversely , while increasing the use of public transit is an important goal for the Authority , the impact of COVID-19 on the region currently makes it a lower-priority focus area for us in the near term . Finally , as we pursue these six goals under the Sustainability Plan , we will reduce our impacts on the surrounding natural environment , improve local air quality , become more resilient , and reduce our emissions of global greenhouse gases . Many of these goals will be further supported in the updated Airports Authority Design Manual so that as we invest in new infrastructure across our facilities , we are designing and building with higher minimum sustainability standards , anticipating a more electrified future , and clearly communicating our priorities to our partners , contractors , and service providers .
1 United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development ( Brundtland Commission ). 1987 . Our common future . Oxford : Oxford University Press .
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