Sustainability Working Paper 1
1 Vision/Mission, focus Areas, & Goals
WP 1.1 Introduction
The Juneau International Airport (JNU) has embarked on a Sustainability Master Plan (SMP) that is supported by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grant funding through the Airport Improvement Program (AIP). A primary purpose of the SMP project is to integrate sustainability into the airport master plan process, identify areas of sustainability impact, assess baseline sustainability performance, and identify opportunities for performance improvement. The SMP will contain all of the aspects expected by the FAA for projects of this type, including:
§ Written sustainability vision, mission, or policy statement along with a description of how it is communicated to stakeholders.
§ Identification of sustainability categories, or Focus Areas.
§ Baseline inventory of aspects within each defined sustainability Focus Area.
§ Establishment of goals or targets to minimize the airport’s footprint and improve sustainability performance.
§ Identification of specific initiatives to improve the airport’s sustainability performance and achieve the established goals or targets.
§ Public participation and community outreach.
This Working Paper summarizes the first sustainability elements that were completed for the SMP. These elements also represent the initial, and formative, steps in developing a sustainability direction for the project and an overall sustainability program for JNU. The elements included in this deliverable are the following:
§ Draft vision / mission statement
§ Sustainability Focus Areas
§ Draft Sustainability Goals
WP 1.2 Draft Vision / Mission Statement
During meetings at JNU on November 13, 2014 the members of the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and Airport Board were asked to identify and list topics or ideas about the airport in order to serve as the basis for airport mission and vision statements. A draft mission statement was developed that is organized by the eight topics from the work session. A draft vision statement that includes a collection of vision statement ideas, was developed and is similarly organized under topics that from the work session. These results are output from the workshop and are statements that may be further refined as the plan develops.
WP 1.2.1 Draft Mission Statement
The draft Mission Statement is included below.
§ Gateway and Vital Transportation Hub -Juneau International Airport is a gateway to the State Capitol, and to northern Southeast Alaska. It functions as a vital regional transportation hub for passengers and air cargo, and provides a safe, dependable and welcoming facility for the residents of Juneau and Southeast Alaska.
§ Safe and Reliable Customer Service - The Airport provides a safe and reliable level of service for its users and stakeholders. It has pursued innovative navigation improvements and prides itself in placing safety foremost in its operational priorities – for commercial and private pilots, employees, and the community.
§ Fiscal Responsibility – As a municipally-owned facility, the Airport is fiscally responsible. It balances sources of public and tenant revenue, with expenditures, charges and fees, in order to provide essential services and airport improvements.
§ Sustainability – The Airport strives to incorporate sustainability, through use of innovative technology such as geothermal energy for heat and recycling waste. It works to provide maximum levels of service with minimum impacts to the community and environment.
§ Environment and Recreation - The Airport’s setting and lands surrounding the airfield are a resource highly valued by Juneau residents. Juneau balances public access with security, and works to minimize its footprint on surrounding lands and waters.
§ Operational Efficiency – The Airport provides an airport/airfield design that works well for large and small air carrier operations and for recreational pilots. It makes best use of its employees and facilities as valued assets to run an efficient airport operation.
§ Economic Development – The Airport is an economic driver for Juneau and Southeast Alaska. In supporting regional air cargo and tourism, the Airport is a hub that diversifies the local and regional economy.
§ Community Service – The citizens of Juneau and State of Alaska take pride in their airport. JNU strives to be an integral part of the community framework.
WP 1.2.2 Draft Vision Statement
The following draft statements were developed as ideas for a vision statement to be developed later in the SMP project.
Gateway and Vital Transportation Hub
§ Be the airport that customers remember when they transit, providing an efficient and high quality experience.
§ Serve as a competitive regional hub for air cargo.
Safe and Reliable Customer Service
§ Maintain reputation as a safe and technologically advanced airport.
§ Create a business environment that attracts and sustains aviation and aviation support tenants.
Community Service and Fiscal Responsibility
§ Grow with the community and regional needs, while respecting limits to growth.
§ Involve the community in airport planning and garner their support for airport improvement projects.
Sustainability
§ Maximize the full potential of lands and buildings and be able to adapt to changes in the business and natural environment.
§ Minimize the Airport’s footprint on surrounding lands, waters, and neighborhoods.
Environment and Recreation
§ Develop the airport in and balance with the adjacent wetlands environment.
§ Maintain access for recreational activities on the Emergency Vehicle Access Road as long as security of the airport can be maintained.
Economic Development
§ Become a primary driver for economic opportunity and jobs for Juneau and all of Southeast Alaska.
§ Achieve economic stability based on sustainable and responsible practices.
Leadership
§ Make JNU a great place to work; attract and retain great employees.
§ Continue to pursue innovation and technological advances.
§ Be the “best darned airport in Alaska”.
§ Serve as a model airport for Alaska.
WP 1.3 Sustainability Focus Areas
The identification of sustainability categories, or Focus Areas, for the SMP is a foundational exercise that informs the planning process and serves as a building block upon which many of the master plan and sustainability elements are built. It answers the critical question of what the sustainability priorities are for the airport and what topics the airport is impacted by or has the ability to impact. The Focus Areas are a primary aspect of the SMP as well as the airport’s overall sustainability program. Eventually, the sustainability inventory / baseline, sustainability initiatives, airport development plan, and airport layout plan will be evaluated in terms of the Focus Areas. The process of defining sustainability Focus Areas, which began early in the project, is discussed in the following sections.
WP 1.3.1 Airport Definition for Sustainability
Prior to the selection of Focus Areas, a definition for sustainability was defined for the project and Airport. This provided context for the selection of Focus Areas and captures the holistic nature of sustainability. The Project Team and JNU management and staff adopted a common definition for sustainability that is regularly used and referenced in the aviation and air transportation industry. This definition, which was developed by the Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) Airport Sustainability Committee, defines airport sustainability as:
“A holistic approach to managing an airport so as to ensure the integrity of the Economic viability, Operational efficiency, Natural resource conservation and Social responsibility (EONS) of the airport”
This four-part definition to sustainability takes the typical triple bottom line view of sustainability (i.e., social, environmental, economic) one step further by incorporating operational efficiency and captures holistic airport management. EONS is the acronym for the four functional parts and is referenced in this document and will be used throughout the SMP project.
WP 1.3.2 Focus Area List
Since the Focus Areas play a crucial role in the SMP project and sustainability at the airport, a broad range of potential Focus Areas were identified in order to allow the airport to, first, think broadly about sustainability. The list of Focus Areas was then evaluated and/or refined during subsequent steps. To capture the broadest, and most holistic, view of airport sustainability, the Project Team referenced sustainability aspects from one of the foremost guidance documents for sustainability management – the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Airport Operators Sector Disclosure (AOSD)[1]. This guidance document was reviewed along with FAA sustainability guidance[2] and used to identify potential Focus Areas. Many of the Focus Areas found in the initial list came from the GRI AOSD with additional areas identified based on FAA/SMP recent guidance and Project Team experience. The topics were then categorized under the appropriate larger EONS category.
The following comprises the full list of 23 potential Focus Areas that were considered for JNU.
WP 1.3.2.1 Economic: (EONS: Economic viability)
§ Economic performance
§ Indirect economic impacts
§ Procurement practices
WP 1.3.2.2 Operational (EONS: Operational efficiency)
§ Cost control
§ Operations and maintenance
§ Service quality
§ Business continuity and emergency preparedness
WP 1.3.2.3 Environmental: (EONS: Natural resource conservation)
§ Materials
§ Energy
§ Water
§ Biodiversity
§ Emissions
§ Effluents and Waste
§ Transport
§ Inter-modality
§ Noise
WP 1.3.2.4 Social: (EONS: Social responsibility)
§ Employment
§ Occupational health and safety
§ Training and education
§ Diversity and equal opportunity
§ Alaska Native (indigenous) communities
§ Local communities
§ Customer health and safety
WP 1.3.3 Scoring / Ranking and Prioritizing Focus Areas
The Focus Areas were scored, ranked, and prioritized over a series of workshops and meetings to come up with a manageable set to be used in the SMP. This process involved meeting with the TAC, Airport Board and other stakeholders to gather feedback and input and was completed through facilitator-led discussions and surveys. The following sections describe the process that was used to arrive at a final list of Focus Areas.
WP 1.3.3.1 Focus Areas Workshops
During meetings at the airport on November 13, 2014, the members of the TAC and Airport Board participated in an exercise to rank the importance of the Focus Areas included in the initial list. This was done through a facilitated workshop led by the Project Team.
The initial Focus Areas (including the 23 Focus Areas in Section 1.3.2) were ranked by attendees in each group. Attendees had the opportunity to write in a Focus Area under 'Other' in each EONS category and rank that area. Each attendee ranked a total of 18 Focus Areas, including any 'Other' write‐ins, leaving the rest blank. The Focus Areas were ranked (with a corresponding score) by each attendee in the following manner:
§ Rank six (6) Focus Areas as a high priority
§ Rank six (6) Focus Areas as a medium priority
§ Rank six (6) focus areas as a low priority
Focus Areas that had an average group score (TAC or Airport Board) above '1' were identified as higher ranking priorities for the airport. As a result, from the list of 23 possible sustainability Focus Areas and write-ins, the following 17 Focus Areas were identified and proposed for further consideration.
1. Economic performance
2. Cost control
3. Service quality
4. Indirect economic impacts
5. Business continuity and emergency preparedness
6. Procurement practices
7. Local communities
8. Effluents and waste
9. Operations and maintenance
10. Energy
11. Transport
12. Training and education
13. Employment
14. Materials
15. Water
16. Occupational health and safety
17. Customer health and safety
WP 1.3.3.2 Applicability to SMP Project
The list of Focus Areas was further refined to determine applicability with the sustainability portion of the SMP to allow for more in-depth analysis. The following were removed or qualified based on the stated considerations:
§ Economic performance. Decision: This Focus Area will be kept for baseline data, but will not include extensive evaluation or identification of economic initiatives. This topic is typically addressed in an airport economic impact study which is not included in a Master Plan or SMP. Therefore, available baseline information prepared by others will be presented or summarized (such as the Juneau Economic Development Plan).
§ Service quality. Decision: Removed. This is an overall goal of the SMP and will be addressed as part of the airport master planning effort. It is not included in the sustainability baseline effort or as sustainability Focus Area.
§ Indirect economic impacts. Decision: Removed. This topic is typically addressed in other airport/community studies. The Project Team will not be able to gather / develop a baseline for this topic within the project scope.
§ Operations and maintenance. Decision: Removed. This is a typical consideration for the master plan and is not appropriate as a discrete sustainability Focus Area. The SMP will identify capital projects which may impact and / or improve operations and maintenance overall at JNU. Note that, even though operations and maintenance is removed as a discrete Focus Area, sustainability will be addressed for O&M issues since the alternatives analysis and Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) will be evaluated in terms of sustainability.
§ Occupational health and safety. Decision: Removed. This topic is not a typical component of a SMP. Occupational Health and Safety is a critical component of airport plans and operational procedures and is more effectively addressed in other programs or initiatives.
§ Customer health and safety. Decision: Removed. This topic is not a typical component of a SMP. Customer health and safety is a critical component of airport plans and operational procedures and is more effectively addressed in other programs or initiatives.
WP 1.3.4 Final Focus Areas
The project started with a broad list, adopting and adding to the industry-accepted framework of GRI and FAA sustainability guidance, to cast a wide net of sustainability categories and to help the Airport Board and TAC understand the broad nature of a sustainability program. However, in SMPs and sustainability programming efforts, a refined list is identified that includes specific environmental and social areas that may not be considered in other plans, programs or policies (e.g., unlike operations and maintenance and health and safety).
The following list is the proposed final list of Focus Areas. It includes specific topics within each Focus Area that are important to JNU and its stakeholders and that will be incorporated into the next phase of work – the sustainability baseline inventory effort.
WP 1.3.4.1 Economic: (EONS: Economic viability)
§ Economic Performance
o Direct economic value generated
o Other economic data
o Identified costs and risks as a result of impacts from extreme weather or flood events or events related to climate change
§ Procurement practices
o Environmentally preferred or sustainability procurement policy (for ongoing operational purchases, equipment and assets, and for CIP, contracting, and building programs)
o Emphasis on local products and businesses
o Green building program, incorporating green building requirements into design and construction contracts and procurement of building related materials
WP 1.3.4.2 Operational (EONS: Operational efficiency)
§ Cost Control