Written by Christine Akrofi, Aerospace Regulatory Manager at ADS
Following the “Supermeet” (an annual event whereby all of the ADS environmental working groups meet to discuss objectives and achievements) in February 2019, the Environmental Sustainability Working Group (ESWG) hosted a Deep Dive Session on the UN Sustainability Development Goals (SDG). The main topic of discussion was on Goal 13 Climate Action which aims to mobilise US$100 billion annually to address the needs of developing countries to both adapt to climate change and invest in low-carbon development.
The session was hosted by Dr Sam Healy (QinetiQ) and Dr Andy Clifton (Rolls-Royce) at the QinetiQ offices in Farnborough back in November. 20 people attended the workshop representing companies from the defence and aerospace sectors.
The goal for the session was to raise awareness on Climate Action according to the UN SDG. Members explored their understanding of Net Zero, celebrated success stories and recommended some best practices. QinetiQ provided an overview of their new carbon target and Thales and BAE Systems also shared corporate documents highlighting how their businesses have linked their strategies to the SDG goals.
The group was then split into smaller groups in a workshop style format. The session provided an open environment for members to evaluate their understanding of climate change, the key drivers and stakeholders and the organisational reasons driving the need for climate action. We also looked at the different requirements within each sector (aerospace vs defence).
ADS is committed to supporting environmental sustainability through events, to sign post members to relevant sources of information and to provide industry level best practices. Immediate feedback from the attendees showed the need for a further deep dive session, which is likely to be on Goal 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). In addition, we are collaborating with the Business Ethics Network who will be running an SDG deep dive in the next few months. ESWG also aim to publish industry tips and to support other SMEs by sharing the lessons learnt from these sessions. If you are interested in participating, please contact our membership team.
