Sustainability Master Plan (SMP) for John F Kennedy International Airport

Sustainability Master Plan (SMP) for John F Kennedy International Airport
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Abstract
JFK is a reputed international airport that serves visitors from domestic and international marketplaces. The American airport industry observed a significant gap in sustainability practices. Regulatory authorities like Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) exhibited concerns about environmental sustainability in the operational procedures of international airports. The paper identified significant issues observed regarding sustainability practices. The observation suggests that JFK is leaving carbon footprints and GHG emissions to meet economic objectives, distorting the ecological balance. JFK is recommended to engage critical stakeholders like aviation regulatory authorities, the American government, and value chain partners to improve sustainability practices. The proposed SMP is segregated into essential processes and steps. The SMP focuses on evaluating ongoing sustainability situations, sustainability vision creation, stakeholder engagement, deployment of fundamental metrics, and action plans to fulfill sustainability requirements in the operational practices. The SMP engages C-Suite as representatives to form multi-stakeholder partnerships to meet objectives.
Sustainability Master Plan (SMP) for John F Kennedy International Airport
Introduction
Sustainability is a fundamental concern for different industries that operate in a transparent business environment. Sustainability has become a critical discussion for the airport industry, particularly in the United States of America (US). The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) argued that airport sustainability is essential for meeting stakeholders’ expectations from local and international markets. FAA issued a detailed Sustainability Master Plan (SMP) to encourage different airports to accomplish economic, social, ethical, and environmental standards while delivering continuous servicescape to the visitors (FAA, 2022).
According to Sreenath, Sudhakar, and Yusop (2021), airport sustainability focuses on accomplishing United Nations (UN) Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) by improving technology integration in the servicescape. Most SMPs designed for international airports in the US focus on reducing carbon emissions and maintaining climatic balance while conducting activities (Dube, 2021). This essay will create an SMP for ‘John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK).’ The discussion would focus on sustainability issues experienced by the JFK, necessary stakeholders’ consultation, and critical steps to consider in the SMP before reaching a concrete conclusion.
Discussion
Key Sustainability Issues at JFK
Global sustainability is becoming a challenge for international airports operating in a transforming and dynamic business environment. The regulatory authorities emphasized economic, social, ethical, and environmental parameters to add value to the servicescape by accomplishing the UN’s SDGs and improving air transport productivity for the stakeholders (Dimitriou & Karagkouni, 2022). The FAA (2021) argued that airport functions must accomplish sustainability by reducing environmental impacts. According to Ramakrishnan et al. (2022), airport facilities could control ecological footprints by reducing carbon releases and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through activities. The authors further argued that airport facilities should keep quantitative track of sustainability performances to leverage operational functions for environmental stakeholders during each fiscal period. FAA (2022) also emphasized that ecological impacts are a rising challenge for international airports like JFK while accomplishing stabilized economic growth. Unfortunately, the dynamics of the business environment and the recent paradigm shift due to the global pandemic are compromising sustainable practices for JFK.
Secondly, social progress is a fundamental gap in the servicescape portfolio offered by JFK to international stakeholders. FAA (2022) claimed that sustainable airport development must conduct balanced operations by collectively accomplishing goals for the community, economy, and environment. However, most international airports have a weaker SMP to create a balance in operational function in the long run. International airports like JFK are compromising environmental standards and ecology compliances to accomplish economic objectives during each fiscal period (FAA, 2022).
JFK must understand the sensitivity of the identified sustainability challenges. In the long run, the company should improve operational guidelines and sustainability practices and deploy strict monitoring processes to accomplish the UN’s SDGs using SMP as a systematic framework. JFK’s operations are accountable to different stakeholders, particularly those focusing on meeting environmental standards. The company must update and implement green practices to overcome the rising sustainability challenges.
Stakeholders to Consult
According to Santos and Delina (2021), international airports should undergo multi-stakeholder partnerships through continuous consultation and engagement to mitigate GHG emissions and carbon footprints in operations. Airport authorities must focus on revamping energy consumption and waste management practices to improve sustainability achievements during each fiscal period. Th...