Manifesto
Our commitment to sustainability
SACBO’s vision of sustainability is set out in our “Sustainability Manifesto” and reflects the profound sense of responsibility that has always characterised our approach to the communities we relate with on a day-to-day basis.
Manifesto
Global explorers. This is what we are.
It is the very uniqueness of the world that, day after day, inspires us to fly a little further, exploring something new, unknown and beautiful.
And, just like an explorer who, having found a new island, feels a certain sense of belonging, for every inch of the world we fly over, we experience happiness, enthusiasm and love, but above all we feel a profound sense of responsibility.
We have been given a whole world to explore, and it is our duty to look after it, to preserve its beauty and its uniqueness, to highlight the forms of diversity that we provide access to.
A home to populations, a coming together of cultures, a river of experiences, the Earth is our responsibility. It is our duty to demonstrate our love.
Our current commitment to the planet follows four paths.
They are long, they are delicate, and they are challenging, but above all they are positive.
Environment
Culture
Community
Corporate
Welfare
Environment
Safeguarding the environment has always been an integral part of our corporate policy. We are constantly implementing strategies that aim to reduce environmental impact, promote sustainable behaviour and create an eco-friendly airport system.
Culture
We believe that culture can contribute to the environmental, social and economic development of the territory, both in material and immaterial terms. For this reason, every year we promote and collaborate on numerous cultural initiatives related to the Bergamo area.
Community
SACBO’s commitment is not limited to the airport community. As managers of an infrastructure, we are aware that what we have been entrusted with forms part of a much larger territorial system; it is our duty to ensure the best possible living conditions for local communities and citizens living in the areas surrounding the airport.
Corporate Welfare
SACBO’s actions to ensure the well-being of all its employees.
Every year we implement a series of initiatives, programmes and services with the declared aim of improving the quality of work and life of those who contribute on a daily basis to making Milan Bergamo Airport an excellence in the airport sector.
No poverty
Goal description
End poverty in all its forms everywhere.
Poverty is more than the lack of income and resources to ensure a sustainable livelihood. Its manifestations include hunger and malnutrition, limited access to education and other basic services, social discrimination and exclusion as well as the lack of participation in decision-making. Economic growth must be inclusive, with the aim of creating sustainable jobs and promoting equality.
Sacbo’s commitment
We are open to initiatives aimed at achieving this goal. Do you have a suggestion? Write to us at [email protected].
Zero hunger
Goal description
End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.
Right now, our soils, freshwater, oceans, forests and biodiversity are being rapidly degraded. Climate change is putting even more pressure on the resources we depend on, increasing risks associated with disasters such as droughts and floods. A profound change is needed in the world’s agricultural and food system, rethinking how we grow, share and consume food.
Sacbo’s commitment
As sponsors, we take part in events that enhance agriculture and promote respect for the territory through a sustainable approach.
AgriTravel is the supporting trade fair for rural tourism with a focus on food and on sustainable agricultural models. Another event in which we are a partner is FORME: the fair that, by focusing on our local dairy produce, highlights the results of a process to recover traditions that were in danger of being lost, bringing new life to mountain areas suffering depopulation.
Good health and well being
Goal description
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
Ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being at all ages is essential to sustainable development. Major progress was made in improving the health of millions of people. Significant strides were made in increasing life expectancy but more efforts are needed to fully eradicate a wide range of diseases and address many different persistent and emerging health issues.
Sacbo’s commitment
Through educational courses developed with the help of specialised personnel, and through the activation of a welfare package that also offers health support, SACBO is an active promoter of a health policy founded on the well-being of employees and their families.
Among the special initiatives to support staff, SACBO provided a psychological support service during the COVID-19 pandemic period. The airport operator is also a promoter of healthy and virtuous behaviour; one of the many initiatives in this regard is the provision of a fleet of electric bicycles to operators. Furthermore, in May 2012 SACBO entered into an agreement with the Bergamo Local Health Authority, entrusting it with the definition and management of protocols, procedures and activities necessary for an epidemiological study on the state of health of residents in the municipalities within which the airport is located, with the primary purpose of understanding whether and how the airport’s presence may affect the population’s state of health. The study was updated in 2018.
Quality education
Goal description
Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning.
Obtaining a quality education is the foundation to improving people’s lives and sustainable development. Major progress has been made towards increasing access to education at all levels and increasing enrolment rates in schools particularly for women and girls. Basic literacy skills have improved tremendously, yet bolder efforts are needed to make even greater strides.
Sacbo’s commitment
Everyone is entitled not only to education, but also to receiving it in a safe and comfortable environment. Whether it is through scholarships for the most deserving students, the hosting and tutoring of students to offer them valuable training through work experience courses, or the provision of funds for the renovation of school buildings, SACBO is open to contributing to the community for the realisation of a quality school and education system.
Gender equality
Goal description
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.
Providing women and girls with equal access to education, health care, decent work, and representation in political and economic decision-making processes will fuel sustainable economies and benefit societies and humanity at large.
Sacbo’s commitment
We are open to initiatives aimed at achieving this goal. Do you have a suggestion? Write to us at [email protected].
Clean water and sanitation
Goal description
Ensure access to water and sanitation for all.
Access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene is the most basic human need for health and well-being. There is sufficient fresh water on the planet to achieve this. But due to bad economics or poor infrastructure, every year millions of people, most of them children, die from diseases associated with inadequate water supply, sanitation and hygiene.
Sacbo’s commitment
Without water there is no life. Awareness of consumption of this precious resource at SACBO takes the form of accurate and constant monitoring of the quality not only of water for human consumption, but also of domestic waste and storm water, in order to ensure an environmentally friendly water cycle.
Affordable and clean energy
Goal description
Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.
Energy is central to nearly every major challenge and opportunity the world faces today. Be it for jobs, security, climate change, food production or increasing incomes, access to energy for all is essential.
Sacbo’s commitment
The need for conscious consumption of environmental resources takes the form of choices that are both simple and vital. 50% of the electricity that allows the entire airport system to function properly comes from renewable energy sources. Purchases of new vehicles and equipment for aircraft support are oriented towards low-consumption and, where possible, electrically powered products. The car fleet for in-airport staff transportation is constantly being enhanced with electric vehicles. The terminal lighting is provided by LED lighting units.
Decent work and economic growth
Goal description
Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all.
In many places, having a job does not guarantee the ability to escape from poverty. This slow and uneven progress requires us to rethink and retool our economic and social policies aimed at eradicating poverty, reducing inequality and ensuring decent work.
A continued lack of decent work opportunities, insufficient investments and under-consumption lead to an erosion of the basic social contract underlying democratic societies: that all must share in progress.
Sacbo’s commitment
Over the years, airport-related activity has generated significant collateral value, positively affecting the quality of life not only of its employees and their families, but also that of the suppliers and business partners with whom the airport maintains relations in various form.
The decision to involve social cooperatives for carrying out some activities responds to the moral need to act for an inviolable good: the dignity of the person.
Industry, innovation and infrastructure
Goal description
Build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.
Investments in infrastructure – transport, irrigation, energy and information and communication technology – are crucial to achieving sustainable development and empowering communities in many countries. It has long been recognized that growth in productivity and incomes, and improvements in health and education outcomes require investment in infrastructure.
Sacbo’s commitment
From the very beginning, Milan Bergamo Airport has pursued development and growth objectives based on innovation. As the airport structure has evolved, so has the surrounding area and with it the local economy. The development plan for 2030 envisages an improvement in the efficiency of the airport infrastructure from a systems point of view (e.g., photovoltaic field and trigeneration plant) and a further improvement in mobility with a view to sustainable development, which will benefit not only the passengers passing through the airport, but the community as a whole.
In 2022 Milan Bergamo Airport was also the first airport in Europe to obtain Bike Friendly certification for its activities in support of bicycle-based mobility.
Reduced inequalities
Goal description
Reduce inequality within and among countries.
The international community has made significant strides towards lifting people out of poverty. However, inequality still persists and large disparities remain in access to health and education services and other assets.
Additionally, while income inequality between countries may have been reduced, inequality within countries has risen. There is growing consensus that economic growth is not sufficient to reduce poverty if it is not inclusive and if it does not involve the three dimensions of sustainable development – economic, social and environmental.
Sacbo’s commitment
We are open to initiatives aimed at achieving this goal. Do you have a suggestion? Write to us at [email protected].
Sustainable cities and communities
Goal description
Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
Cities are hubs for ideas, commerce, culture, science, productivity, social development and much more. At their best, cities have enabled people to advance socially and economically.
However, many challenges exist to maintaining cities in a way that continues to create jobs and prosperity while not straining land and resources. Common urban challenges include congestion, lack of funds to provide basic services, a shortage of adequate housing and declining infrastructure.
Sacbo’s commitment
In its relations with local communities and institutions, SACBO acts not only as a partner for dialogue, but also as a company that intervenes directly in support of the community to ensure more sustainable public facilities, such as schools, gyms and sports fields. The development of infrastructure that facilitates access to the terminal also benefits the surrounding area. In addition, the airport is active in implementing various initiatives and services to support PRM (passengers with reduced mobility).
Responsible consumption and production
Goal description
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
Sustainable consumption and production is about promoting resource and energy efficiency, sustainable infrastructure, and providing access to basic services, green and decent jobs and a better quality of life for all. Its implementation helps to achieve overall development plans, reduce future economic, environmental and social costs, strengthen economic competitiveness and reduce poverty.
Sacbo’s commitment
The evolution of technology and science is an extraordinary asset for the development of new solutions for sustainable growth.
SACBO contributes to supporting research and, in general, to the general raising of awareness of the scientific world, beginning with its own community. It has been a partner for a
number of editions of BergamoScienza, the cultural event that each year brings the best international scientific minds to the stages of Bergamo and involves the entire municipal and provincial student network.
SACBO also participates in the “Imprese e sviluppo sostenibile” (Enterprises and Sustainable Development) workshop as part of the “Laboratori d’Imprese” (Enterprise Labs) project promoted by the University of Bergamo.
Climate action
Goal description
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
Climate change is now affecting every country on every continent. It is disrupting national economies and affecting lives, costing people, communities and countries dearly today and even more tomorrow. People are experiencing the significant impacts of climate change, which include changing weather patterns, rising sea level, and more extreme weather events.
But climate change is a global challenge that does not respect national borders. Emissions anywhere affect people everywhere. It is an issue that requires solutions that need to be coordinated at the international level and it requires international cooperation to help developing countries move toward a low-carbon economy.
Sacbo’s commitment
In 2019, SACBO signed the NetZero2050 Resolution, with which the European airport industry commits to a net zero CO2 emission level by 2050. Through a rational policy of raising awareness at all levels and the implementation of targeted procedures, SACBO strives on a daily basis to reduce its carbon footprint. Since 2019, there has been a constant reduction of CO2 emissions; level 3 of Airport Carbon Accreditation, the most important certification in this field, was reconfirmed for 2022, involving the various stakeholders of the SACBO group in the programme to reduce emissions.
Life below water
Goal description
Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources.
The world’s oceans – their temperature, chemistry, currents and life – drive global systems that make the Earth habitable for humankind.
Our rainwater, drinking water, weather, climate, coastlines, much of our food, and even the oxygen in the air we breathe, are all ultimately provided and regulated by the sea. Throughout history, oceans and seas have been vital conduits for trade and transportation.
Careful management of this essential global resource is a key feature of a sustainable future.
Sacbo’s commitment
Since 2019, SACBO has been lending its support to a project that aims to reduce, recycle and reuse plastic. Thanks to the installation of plastic bottle compacting machines, there has been a remarkable increase in separated waste collection. A commitment that has a positive impact on reducing the presence of microplastics in water, contributing to the safeguarding of the marine environment.
Life on land
Goal description
Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss.
Forests cover 30 per cent of the Earth’s surface and in addition to providing food security and shelter, forests are key to combating climate change, protecting biodiversity and the homes of the indigenous population. Thirteen million hectares of forests are being lost every year while the persistent degradation of drylands has led to the desertification of 3.6 billion hectares.
Deforestation and desertification – caused by human activities and climate change – pose major challenges to sustainable development and have affected the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in the fight against poverty.
Sacbo’s commitment
Attention to the environment has taken the form not only of an attentive operating procedure oriented towards reducing the impact on the local bird population, but has also resulted in the planting of some areas bordering the airport and the granting of the use of areas of land pertaining to the airport for the creation of a bee farm (40 beehives) whose value, given the central role of bees in the preservation of the ecosystem, goes beyond mere food production.
Peace, justice and strong institutions
Goal description
Promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies.
Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals is dedicated to the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, the provision of access to justice for all, and building effective, accountable institutions at all levels.
Sacbo’s commitment
SACBO acts both within its own structure and through the development of relationships and opportunities for discussion on the subject of legality. As part of the process of resolving critical issues, whistleblowing is encouraged, guaranteeing the anonymity of those who report complicated situations and at the same time allowing the airport management company to intervene promptly to resolve critical situations.
Partnership for the goals
Goal description
Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.
A successful sustainable development agenda requires partnerships between governments, the private sector and civil society. These inclusive partnerships built upon principles and values, a shared vision, and shared goals that place people and the planet at the centre, are needed at the global, regional, national and local level.
Sacbo’s commitment
SACBO is part of an extensive network linked to the common membership of the airport world. Within this system of relations, the various airport teams around the world discuss issues such as safety and security, develop shared analysis projects that are renewed periodically, refer to guidelines shared by associations such as ICAO, and engage in the dissemination of good practices and actions at all levels to raise awareness of sustainability issues.