San Diego County Regional Airport Authority Releases Annual Sustainability & DEI Report

Nov. 9, 2023

November 8, 2023 – The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority (Airport Authority) is pleased to release its 2022-2023 Sustainability and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Report.The report serves as a barometer for San Diego International Airport’s (SAN) relationship to the environment, the traveling public, its stakeholders, and the greater San Diego community.

“This year marked the 20th anniversary of the Airport Authority, and we’re busier than we’ve ever been,” said Kimberly Becker, the Airport Authority’s President and CEO. “We’ve been focused on the ongoing construction of SAN’s new Terminal 1 and ensuring that the project moves forward in a responsible manner. The New T1 epitomizes our commitment to focusing on the environmental, social, and economic influence we have on our region, and we strive to ensure that each step we take leads us toward a more sustainable and prosperous tomorrow."

Beginning with this year’s report, the Airport Authority reports out on our DEI efforts, which ensures that the Authority’s business practices and operations are assessed through a DEI lens in addition to other standards.

The report is organized into three sections: Environmental, Social, and Economic.

The Environmental section focuses on ways in which the Airport Authority is building towards a climate resilient future through seven programmatic areas including water stewardship, carbon neutrality, clean transportation, climate resilience, zero waste, biodiversity, and sustainable energy.

The Social section reviews ways in which the Airport Authority demonstrates industry and regional leadership across all our operations; that fosters a sense of belonging for everyone; that exceeds our customers’ expectations; and that attracts, retains, and develops our employees.

The Economic section focuses on ways in which the Airport Authority strives to grow and efficiently manage its capacity for future demand, both landside and airside, including international facilities, while remaining deeply committed to including small, local, veteran-owned, and minority-owned businesses in the economic opportunities at the airport.

The yardsticks for measuring our progress include the Airport Authority’s Organizational Strategic Plan (OSP), which sets forth goals and strategies for the next five years; and our Sustainability Management Program (SMP), which provides a framework for tracking how we preserve precious environmental resources. Additionally, the Airport Authority uses the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) G4 guidelines in the production of the report. The index lists the environmental, social, and economic criteria that the GRI guidelines suggest, as well as certain specific criteria from the GRI Airport Operators Sector Supplement. The report was developed following the GRI G4’s “Core” standards. The Airport Authority included the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which allows us to track the level of success that our programs have in ensuring that we exceed those goals for the benefit of people and the planet.

The DEI metrics are spread across the three sections, and focus on the Employee, Environmental Justice, the Arts Program, and Business Engagement which includes Procurement and the Small Business Program.

The 2022-2023 Sustainability Report is, for the first time, available to download as a PDF. This format will provide readers with ease of access to our progress in creating a sustainable future at the Airport Authority. To view/download the 2022-2023 Sustainability Report, please visit san.org/sustain.