SAN DIEGO – June 22, 2016 – The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority has released its fourth Sustainability Report. The report covers calendar years 2014-2015, and generally highlights the Airport Authority’s activities and accomplishments in the areas of environmental, economic and social sustainability.

“Sustainability is hardly a new concept for San Diego International Airport,” said Airport Authority Board Chair Robert H. Gleason. “After all, we implemented sustainability practices ahead of most airports in the country and most agencies in our region.  However, the real challenge we face is not just practicing sustainability, but rather ingraining it into the very DNA of our organizational culture so that we are a truly sustainable organization.”

SAN defines sustainability as “building an enduring and resilient enterprise by effectively managing our financial, social and environmental risks, obligations and opportunities.”

The report is comprised of five key sections: Community, Customer, Employee, Financial and Operational. These areas align with the Airport Authority’s five organizational strategies of the same names.

“You’ll notice right away that sustainability is not one of those strategies,” said Thella F. Bowens, the Airport Authority’s President/CEO. “Rather, it’s an integral part of all of them.”

Examples of topics covered in the report include:

• A carefully thought-out financial strategy that serves as the bedrock for the Airport Authority’s four other core organizational strategies
• Updates on the Airport Authority’s water, storm water, energy and air quality management plans
• SAN’s extensive community outreach efforts in regards to major capital improvement projects, traffic and noise mitigation
• Customer satisfaction survey results and initiatives regarding security, ground transportation, concessions and more
• Efforts to attract new employee talent in the face of an aging workforce

“We invite you to read this report with a critical eye and let us know how we’re doing,” Gleason said. “We know there are challenges ahead, especially related to how we continue to meet regional air travel demand over the next 20 years through our Airport Development Plan, given our constrained 661 acre site. But these challenges can also serve as opportunities for innovation and new partnerships.”

The Airport Authority consulted the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) G4 guidelines in the production of this report. The index lists the economic, environmental and social criteria that the GRI guidelines suggest, as well as certain specific criteria from the GRI Airport Operators Sector Supplement. The report was developed in accordance with the GRI G4’s “Core” standards.

The Sustainability Report is available in digital format only and can be found at sustain.san.org.