London Gatwick set to deliver low carbon expansion as it becomes world’s first airport to achieve globally leading standard for carbon management in construction
- London Gatwick has received PAS 2080:2023 Carbon management in buildings and infrastructure certification, focused on reducing carbon across the entire asset lifecycle
- The achievement demonstrates London Gatwick’s commitment to rethinking how it designs, builds and operates its facilities
- The UK Government recently approved the airport’s plans to bring its existing Northern Runway into routine use alongside its Main Runway
London Gatwick has become the world’s first airport to achieve a globally recognised certification for cutting carbon emissions when designing, delivering and operating new buildings and infrastructure - setting itself up to deliver low carbon assets as part of expansion.
Published by the British Standards Institute, PAS 2080:2023 focuses on reducing carbon across the entire asset lifecycle — from planning and design to construction to operation — and encourages smarter, more efficient low carbon solutions through collaborative ways of working when delivering capital projects.
As part of the Northern Runway planning application, London Gatwick committed to becoming PAS2080 certified. To achieve this, the airport has embedded carbon management across its construction activities - including changes to decision-making processes and how the supply chain is engaged.
The new approach has been independently audited by BSI and certified to PAS 2080:2023, demonstrating the airport’s approach to managing construction-related carbon meets the highest industry standards.
This landmark achievement has taken almost two years to achieve and demonstrates the airport’s commitment to tackling climate change by rethinking how it designs, builds and operates its facilities.
Alasdair Scobie, Capital Programmes Director, London Gatwick said: “We’re incredibly proud to lead the way in delivering low-carbon airport infrastructure. This certification proves that we’re serious about reducing our carbon impact, including preparation for delivering our Northern Runway plans.”
What is PAS 2080?
PAS 2080 is a global leading standard which provides a robust framework that helps organisations manage and reduce carbon emissions in infrastructure projects. It promotes collaboration across the supply chain and ensures whole life carbon emissions are measured and shared transparently at every stage.
Why it matters
Significant carbon greenhouse gasses come directly from the construction, maintenance and operation of UK infrastructure. By meeting PAS 2080 standards, London Gatwick is helping to change that — cutting carbon, saving costs and setting a new benchmark for the industry.
With 43m annual passengers, London Gatwick is the UK’s second largest and one of Europe’s top ten airports. It is a vital piece of national infrastructure that drives both the national and regional economies by generating £5.5bn GVA and supporting over 76,000 jobs (2023). Almost 60 airlines fly from the airport to over 150 short-haul and more than 50 long-haul destinations. With a declared capacity of 55 movements an hour, London Gatwick is the most efficient single runway airport in the world.
The airport is located 28 miles south of the UK capital and is extremely well-connected, with more than a quarter of England’s population (15m people) – including all of London – less than one hour away by road or rail. A six-year, £2bn sustainable growth programme includes an ambitious plan to be a net zero airport by 2030 and to increase capacity by bringing the airport’s existing Northern Runway into routine use, alongside its Main Runway. VINCI Airports owns a 50.01% stake in the airport, with Global Infrastructure Partners managing the remaining 49.99%.
VINCI Airports, as the leading private airport operator in the world, manages the development and operation of more than 70 airports located in 14 countries. VINCI Airports draws on its expertise as a comprehensive integrator to develop, finance, build and operate airports, leveraging its investment capability and know-how to optimise operational performance and modernise infrastructure while bringing about their environmental transition. In 2016, VINCI Airports became the first airport operator to commit to an international environmental strategy, setting itself the aim of reaching zero net emissions (scope 1 and 2) across the network by 2050 while supporting the territories’ local climate transition.
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Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a part of BlackRock, is a leading infrastructure investor that specialises in investing in, owning and operating some of the largest and most complex assets across the energy, transport, digital infrastructure and water and waste management sectors. With energy pragmatism central to our investment thesis, we are well positioned to support the global energy transition.
GIP’s scaled platform has over $170bn in assets under management. We believe that our focus on real infrastructure assets, combined with our deep proprietary origination network and comprehensive operational expertise, enables us to be responsible stewards of our clients’ capital and to create positive economic impact for communities. For more information, visit www.global-infra.com.
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London, UK, 14 May 2025
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