Here at the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust Enterprises, we recognise that, in our day-to-day operations, our business impacts the environment in many ways. And we are determined to make clear, measurable, and positive changes to the way we work.
We need to understand our current environmental impact before we identify the areas is need of change. So, starting with our 2022 show, we measured the impact of everything. From the number of visitor cars, energy and water used across the event to waste food. This has given us a solid foundation upon which we can base our future policies and action plans - safe in the knowledge that they will be targeted and effective.
Our objectives were:
- To showcase the technology and sustainability innovations in Aerospace being made by our stakeholders, sponsors, and partners
- Develop a plan to reduce the impact of event traffic, both by contractors and visitors on the local area
- To create an event waste management plan to minimise waste and maximise recycling
- To monitor and measure all aspects of the event for continued development
- To communicate with, engage and inspire our stakeholders on sustainability and show leadership within our supply chain
To read our sustainability policy in full click here
On the showground you will have begun to see how we are making positive changes with the support of our sponsors, suppliers, and exhibitors. We have been talking to them about our aspirations for the show and understanding how we can achieve them together.
Our waste contractor, MJ Church, diverted all event waste from landfill by sorting the waste to remove all recyclable items. Anything that couldn't be recycled was then taken to the waste for energy plant where the energy was recovered as electricity.
Our generators across the site were run on 100% HVO fuel, and our catering outlets were asked to ensure that all packaging materials were recyclable. We tried to eliminate single-use plastic, encouraging our volunteers and visitors to bring their own reusable water-bottles which they were able to refill at our water points. This simple change to the way we are working will mean that we are not buying and then disposing of around 30,000 disposable water bottles each year that were used by our staff and volunteers at previous events. Our volunteer jackets were made from 100% recycled materials too.
Our focus for the 2022 show was measuring our impact, and, with that done, we look forward to sharing our plans with you for 2023 and beyond as we further develop our strategy.
