UK air traffic control service provider NATS’ environmental strategy and targets cover both airspace and on the ground. In the air, the Operational Service Enhancements Project (OSEP), which delivers small-scale airspace changes, has cumulatively delivered annual CO2 savings of almost 33,000T since 2021, with Operational Deployment (OD) 8 going live in February 2023. This is equivalent to the emissions from the energy usage of over 9,300 homes per year.
Performance against estate emissions reduction targets stayed on track. The annual target for 2023-24 was to achieve a 29% reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions and the same level of reduction across limited scope 3 emissions (categories 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7) compared to the baseline year of 2018/19. Both targets were achieved and overall, there was a 35% reduction in emissions sources sitting under NATS’ validated near-term science-based target.
This progress, alongside broader work to embed sustainability into all areas of the business, led to the award of an ‘A’ rating by CDP (formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project) in the 2023 disclosure. This put NATS in the top 2% of companies globally for leadership in corporate transparency and performance on climate change. NATS was also the top ranked company in the Financial Times and Statista listing of Europe’s Climate Leaders.
Employee development
NATS has seen progress in its ED&I programme, with the Early Careers team winning the Best Onboarding Experience at the National Graduate Recruitment Awards; and the launch of the ‘Future Minds’ programme, an educational outreach initiative for young people. The company also published its first disability pay gap report, in addition to gender and ethnicity reports.
This year, the newly named Community Fund was overhauled and benefited from an in-creased budget; NATS now provides £130k annually to the Fund, which allows it to support at least ten individual community projects every month, with an additional £10k per annum to support teambuilding charitable activities. Employees donated £230,000 to more than 130 charitable causes through payroll giving and NATS was awarded the government-backed Platinum Quality Mark for the Payroll Giving scheme in recognition of outstanding levels of involvement and participation.
Company support for NATS’ two long-term charity partners continued. Corporate financial donations to the Jon Egging Trust and Aerobility totalled more than £180k; eight workplace visits for JET’s ‘Blue Skies’ students were hosted and facilitated; and a team of air traffic controllers took on a motorcycling challenge that raised £69k for both Aerobility and Prostate Cancer UK.
NATS CEO Martin Rolfe said: “Looking back over the year since we last reported on our collective and ongoing work to be a more responsible business, I am really pleased at the progress we have made. It’s our people who will always make the biggest difference, and employee power has made the past year into one of real achievement.”
