Manchester Airport Group (MAG) has launched a sustainability education program to educate thousands of young people about the future of flying, as part of its commitment to a more sustainable future.
Starting in the next academic year, Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands Airports will deliver ‘Jet Zero Education’ lessons at each of their on-site Aerozones to dozens of schools from their surrounding areas. Through the use of interactive technology, the curriculum will primarily focus on the role sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) will play in the decarbonization of aviation. Students will learn how SAF is produced, and the benefits it will bring in reducing aircraft emissions which will help meet the aviation industry’s target of net zero by 2050.
MAG’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Strategy ‘Working together for a brighter future’ is supporting the group to make its own operations net zero by 2038, in line with the 2040 target set by the UK government in the Jet Zero Strategy in 2022. The announcement of the Jet Zero curriculum comes as the UK government marks one year since the publication of its Jet Zero Strategy, which MAG supported by creating five Jet Zero Pledges, including Jet Zero Education, to support the industry’s decarbonization targets.
Alongside its commitment to an education program, the group’s Jet Zero Technology competition is offering five years’ free landing fees to the first zero-emission aircraft operating transatlantic flights. The group has also made significant progress with its Jet Zero Airspace pledge which saw London Stansted and Manchester Airport pass the ‘Stage 2’ gateway of the government’s airspace modernization scheme. MAG’s other pledges included Jet Zero Research, which will fund three PhD projects focused on aviation decarbonization, and Jet Zero SAF, which will create a financial incentive to encourage airlines to exceed the UK’s SAF mandate.
Neil Robinson, CSR and airspace change director at MAG, said, “I am pleased to announce today that our Jet Zero Education program will start at all our airports in the new academic year. Our Aerozones work with young people from an early age to educate and inspire them about the world of aviation and the opportunities it could present to them. This initiative is a valuable extension of that, teaching the future generation of aviation professionals about the importance of a transition to net zero air travel, and inspiring them about the role they can play in delivering that.
“The Jet Zero Strategy continues to play an important part in bringing the sector together and, as today’s announcement shows, MAG is wholly committed to delivering on all of the pledges we made 12 months ago. As a founding member of the Jet Zero Council, we are proud to be working collaboratively with the government to drive the industry’s transition to net zero by 2050.”
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