A comparison of sustainability theory with UK and European airports policy and practice

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

There are three main theoretical difficulties involved in relating sustainability to aviation, and which a research agenda for sustainable aviation needs to address. The first is uncertainty regarding the critical thresholds of global environmental systems. The second is a lack of protocols for allocating permissible environmental consumption shares to, and hence targets for, individual enterprises or sectors. The third is differing value judgements of what natural features should be sustained. For the time being, these difficulties preclude determination of the degree of sustainability or unsustainability of any individual airport with respect to global environmental systems. Nevertheless, at this stage it can at least be said that since most economic activity has an adverse environmental impact, airports with higher throughputs of material and people will tend to be less sustainable than smaller-scale airports given similar technologies and regulatory compliance. This is theoretically supported and illustrated with waste arising as an indicator at reviewed airports. Despite governmental policies of sustainable mobility, there is a disjunction between EU and UK policy on airports and individual airport practice, and environmental sustainability theory. In the UK and EU, airport practice and governmental policy is to mitigate the impacts of aviation, but not at the expense of its aviation growth. This mitigation practice is summarised for the reviewed airports and presented in a framework that accounts for the suggested, interim approach to sustainability assessment.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Environmental Management
Volume63
Issue number3
Pages (from-to)237-248
Number of pages12
ISSN0301-4797
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01.11.2001
Externally publishedYes

DOI

Recently viewed

Publications

  1. Cuba and Cultural Relations in Challenging Times
  2. Altersversorgung, betriebliche
  3. §31 Windenergie Offshore
  4. Risk or Resilience? The Role of Trade Integration and Foreign Ownership for the Survival of German Enterprises during the Crisis 2008-2010
  5. Novel Magnesium Based Materials
  6. Eschatologie
  7. Tritheismus
  8. Dehnen und Beweglichkeitstraining
  9. Der Embryo – eine öffentliche Sache?
  10. Geschlechtsbewusste Gewaltprävention
  11. Perspectives on new venture creation
  12. 4. Personal initiative
  13. UNESCO Chair in Higher Education for Sustainable Development
  14. Psychologie
  15. Dealing with Climate Change
  16. Wer berichtet, wird besser
  17. Netzbasiertes Outsourcing in kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen : eine transaktionskostentheoretische Analyse unter Berücksichtigung des Application Service Providing als innovative Bankdienstleistung
  18. Fish & Chips
  19. Natural clay as a sorbent to remove pharmaceutical micropollutants from wastewater
  20. Analyse von Gruppen in Organisationen
  21. Magic Mushrooms
  22. Environmental capacity of aviation
  23. Illusion Fortschritt - Wissen und Vergessen in der Pädagogik
  24. Einblicke - Ausblicke
  25. Informationstechnologien zur Optimierung von Geschäftsprozessen, heute und morgen
  26. PISA weitergedacht
  27. KOPRA- Kompetenzentwicklung im Praxisjahr
  28. "Become a Backchannel Icon!"
  29. Die Geschichte des Fahrstuhls
  30. Umwelt (Umweltpolitik)
  31. De la Guerre à l'art de gouverner
  32. Stakeholder engagement
  33. Barrel Finishing of Magnesium Alloys
  34. Zur Auseinandersetzung mit der Gender-Perspektivität
  35. Musik/Video
  36. Gegen Engel kämpfen
  37. Stromzugang im Globalen Süden