We’re thrilled to be attending Airports Going Green this year! Airports Going Green (AGG) is the aviation industry’s leading forum on sustainability, led by the Chicago Department of Aviation and co-hosted by American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE). 

Airport leaders know that a rapidly changing climate demands resilience and adaptability. To address this challenge, we recognize sustainability as a strategy that helps catalyze airports’ ability to achieve their core mission. Airlines and passengers are signaling a desire for resilient operations and sustainable travel experiences. 

We’re looking forward to chatting with the brilliant professionals tackling some of the most pressing sustainability issues in the aviation industry today, and we’re excited to hear from the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) – an organization with which we recently worked.

Airline and Airport Partnerships  

Thursday, November 14th, 2:30 pm

Emmy Waldhart, Sustainability Manager at the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC), is a featured panelist during the Airline and Airport Partnerships session, moderated by Verdis Group’s Belyna Bentlage. The panelists will discuss how airlines and airports can work together to make progress on their sustainability goals, waste, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), electrification of fleets, engagement, ESG, and more.

The Airline and Airport Partnerships session will feature the following panelists: Emmy Waldhart, Kelly Lauber of Delta Air Lines, and Gary Weinstein of John F. Kennedy International Air Terminal, LLC.

Change Management in the Aviation Industry

Sustainability is a way of thinking and acting that recognizes the interconnected and dynamic nature of life. Our clients that had previously relied on purely technical solutions (solar panels, energy efficiency, central plant upgrades, etc.) were always left short of system-wide change and wondering, “How do we engage our people across divisions? Across our organization? How do we increase our team’s capacity for integrated systems thinking?”

People participate in what they create, and we see a huge opportunity for a human-centered approach to change management in the aviation industry. We’ve seen firsthand through our work with organizations like the MAC that change management can create a transformational impact across an organization.

Living Systems at the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC)

Over the past five years, the MAC has leveraged a Living Systems framework to create momentum toward its sustainability goals.

Knowing that living systems evolve with feedback, we have helped the MAC develop new feedback loops to engage MAC staff through surveys, interviews, focus groups, and workshops. Additionally, we helped establish an Executive Steering Committee (ESC), an active and engaged working group comprised of MAC staff leadership that applies lessons on resilience and adaptability from natural living systems to the MAC’s ongoing sustainability work. 

Complementary to the ESC are three other working groups staffed by subject matter experts and focused on emissions, water and waste.

The living systems framework provides a foundational structure and language to communicate and reach consensus. Among other qualities, living systems are interdependent, filled with feedback loops, in a state of constant change, and become more diverse as they evolve. By examining the organization through the lens of a living system, we have seen the MAC form new connections, innovate new ideas, and accelerate climate action.

Staff continues to engage more people in new ways in sustainability efforts. Combined with a proactive mindset, the MAC is positioned well to make continued progress on achieving its 2030 sustainability goals.

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About Verdis Group

Verdis Group is a facilitator of transformational climate strategies dedicated to helping organizations realize and achieve their sustainability visions. Our resiliency-focused

approach is people-forward and driven by data, allowing our clients to create climate action that counts. Founded in 2009, Verdis Group is a certified B Corp that provides consulting services for climate action planning and implementation for airports, zoos and aquariums, cultural organizations, healthcare, higher education, municipalities, the financial services industry, and more. As a B Corp, Verdis Group meets rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency.