Investigating Environmental Practice Adoption at Small European Airports
Lead Research Organisation:
Loughborough University
Department Name: Architecture, Building and Civil Eng
Abstract
All airports, regardless of size, have detrimental environmental impacts, contributing to issues such as "noise pollution, energy consumption, water pollution [and] waste management" (CAA, 2015; Boiral et al., 2017, p. 1). Small airports account for the majority of airports in the world and have significant collective environmental impacts (ANNA.AERO, 2019; FAA, 2019). Despite their impacts, research has shown that "specific measures for sustainability are almost non-existent in small airports" (Boiral et al., 2017, p. 7). Therefore there is a need to examine how small airport engagement with environmental practices can be increased to reduce and control their environmental impacts.
To address this issue, this research aims to investigate small European airport engagement with environmental practices (EPs) with the view to make recommendations to encourage small airport engagement with EPs. The research will achieve this aim through the following objectives:
1. Understand the issues associated with small airport engagement with EPs
2. Explore existing EP engagement at small European airports
3. Examine the factors affecting EP engagement at small European airports
4. Develop recommendations for future policy and practice to encourage small airport engagement with EPs
To meet these objectives, the research seeks to answer the following research questions:
I. What EPs do airports employ?
II. What affects small airport engagement with EPs?
III. What EPs do small European airports presently employ?
IV. Why do they employ the practices they have employed? (i.e. What about these practices makes them attractive/feasible to small airports?)
V. What factors affect small European airport engagement with EPs?
VI. Why do these factors affect engagement? (i.e. What is it about the identified factors which drives/hinders practice adoption?)
VII. How can the identified factors be used to inform policy and practice to encourage small airport engagement with EPs?
Research questions I and II are addressed with a review of the literature; questions III and V are addressed with an online survey; questions IV and VI are addressed using semi-structured interviews; and question VII is addressed by combining the results from the survey and interviews and making recommendations based on the analysis and results. The research employs Tornatzky and Fleischer's (1990) Technology, Organisation and Environmental Framework to investigate this area and the study presents the first use of the TOE framework in an aviation context and so develops the framework for use within this specific setting. The developments made from this research seek to improve decision making and future policy for small airports operators to make them more environmentally sustainable, relating to the EPSRCs operational research area.
To address this issue, this research aims to investigate small European airport engagement with environmental practices (EPs) with the view to make recommendations to encourage small airport engagement with EPs. The research will achieve this aim through the following objectives:
1. Understand the issues associated with small airport engagement with EPs
2. Explore existing EP engagement at small European airports
3. Examine the factors affecting EP engagement at small European airports
4. Develop recommendations for future policy and practice to encourage small airport engagement with EPs
To meet these objectives, the research seeks to answer the following research questions:
I. What EPs do airports employ?
II. What affects small airport engagement with EPs?
III. What EPs do small European airports presently employ?
IV. Why do they employ the practices they have employed? (i.e. What about these practices makes them attractive/feasible to small airports?)
V. What factors affect small European airport engagement with EPs?
VI. Why do these factors affect engagement? (i.e. What is it about the identified factors which drives/hinders practice adoption?)
VII. How can the identified factors be used to inform policy and practice to encourage small airport engagement with EPs?
Research questions I and II are addressed with a review of the literature; questions III and V are addressed with an online survey; questions IV and VI are addressed using semi-structured interviews; and question VII is addressed by combining the results from the survey and interviews and making recommendations based on the analysis and results. The research employs Tornatzky and Fleischer's (1990) Technology, Organisation and Environmental Framework to investigate this area and the study presents the first use of the TOE framework in an aviation context and so develops the framework for use within this specific setting. The developments made from this research seek to improve decision making and future policy for small airports operators to make them more environmentally sustainable, relating to the EPSRCs operational research area.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Andrew John Timmis (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Grace Crowley (Student) |
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP/N509516/1 | 01/10/2016 | 30/09/2021 | |||
| 2238938 | Studentship | EP/N509516/1 | 01/10/2017 | 31/03/2021 | Grace Crowley |
| Description | An online survey was conducted, sent to all small airports in the European Common Aviation Area (n=413), which received a response rate of 26.4%. The purpose of the survey was to investigate the range of environmental practices that are currently employed at small European airports and explore the factors affecting their adoption. The results found that the environmental practices most commonly adopted by small airports related to waste management and noise reduction, and the least common were emissions reductions and the design of green buildings. Regarding the factors affecting environmental practice adoption, consumer pressure, regulatory intervention, and airport size were found to positively affected the adoption of environmental practices at these airports, while practice complexity, perceived relative advantage and human resource factors were found to negatively affect adoption. Airports were then clustered according to their level of environmental practice engagement. In doing so, three distinct groups of airports became evident; a group which was minimally engaged with environmental practice adoption, a group which was attempting engagement and a group which were identified as industry leaders, as they were most engaged with environmental practices. The majority of airports fell within the group attempting to engage with environmental practices. Grouping airports like this allows for future bench-marking activities. By identifying the factors which affect environmental practice adoption at small airports, policies and practices can be designed and employed to encourage environmental practice engagement and reduce the environmental impact of airport operations. Further studies being undertaken under this award seek to develop the findings of this survey, however that part of the research is still ongoing and findings are yet to be reported. |
| Exploitation Route | From a non-academic standpoint, the outcomes from this study have the potential to allow policy makers to create relevant, targeted and appropriate policy and practice recommendations for small airports to allow them to effectively mitigate their environmental impacts. Additionally, individual airport operators have the potential to benchmark their own airport against others in the European region, identify further opportunities for environmental impact reduction and also identify examples of best practice. From an academic standpoint, the study adds to the limited body of literature focusing on small airports and their environmental behaviours and examines a new geographic area (Europe.) In adding new knowledge, comparisons can be drawn between the existing and new literature and create new avenues of focus for future research and studies. It is hoped that drawing attention to such an under-researched area will stimulate greater interest in the future. |
| Sectors | Aerospace, Defence and Marine,Environment,Transport |