Manchester Airports Group awarded Gold ESG rating

The UK’s largest airport operator, Manchester Airports Group (MAG) has been awarded a Gold rating for its Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) by global assessor EcoVadis. 

A Gold rating places the group in the top 5% of more than 130,000 companies assessed globally against sustainability criteria. MAG, which operates Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports, achieved this accolade, the highest possible rating on the ESG platform, despite this being its first submission to EcoVadis.

EcoVadis is one of the world’s leading  providers of business sustainability ratings and  evaluates companies around the globe based on environmental, social and ethical performance. During the assessment, MAG scored over the industry average in all four categories: Ethics, Sustainable Procurement, Environment and Labour & Human Rights. In addition to this, MAG was also praised for having advanced management systems for environmental, labour & human rights and ethics issues.

Following its gold ESG rating, MAG is working to enhance the sustainability credentials in other areas of its business. In line with one of its key strategic objectives – creating a sustainable future for all – the Group is currently working to transform its approach to supply chain management, to ensure that its procurement processes  are  compatible with the sustainable future it is working towards.

In 2023, the Group launched a procurement transformation programme with one clear aim: to digitally assess the sustainability performance of its  supply chain.

Using the EcoVadis platform, MAG’s procurement team  has asked its third party suppliers to complete a sustainability assessment that evaluates their organisation’s performance across the platform’s four key metrics.  Initial indications show that many of the Group’s suppliers are achieving high scores in their assessments, and MAG will continue working them to  further enhance their sustainability performance.

Neil Robinson, MAG Chief Sustainability Officer said:

“Our EcoVadis gold rating demonstrates the robust and credible approach MAG has to creating a more sustainable future of our business and the wider aviation sector.

“I am proud that we have achieved the highest possible ESG standard during our first assessment cycle, but know that MAG’s commitment to continuously improving its sustainability credentials means we are finding ways to reach this same high standard across all areas of our operations.

“Working with our procurement team, I am confident that we can implement changes that will ensure our supply chain is sustainable for years to come.

“Our partnership with EcoVadis means that our sustainability credentials will continue to be assessed , and allow MAG to ensure its approach to ESG remains fit the future.”