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ESG and airports: The benefits and risks of ESG reporting for US airports
Journal of Airport Management,
17
(3),
248-265
(2023)
Abstract
The subject of ESG — environmental, social and governance — disclosure and how airports are responding to the issues presented by these factors has become of great interest in the last few years. This paper will help familiarise airport managers and others with the concepts behind ESG and what these factors mean at an airport; discuss the reasons why an airport might want to provide ESG guidance to a wider audience; and review the potential risks and liabilities associated with ESG reporting, including a review of the application of US securities laws to disclosure regarding ESG, either formally through an official statement in connection with an issuance of bonds or less formally through an ESG report or by other means. ESG reporting has been driven, in large part, by the growth of funds and other investors who are seeking to invest primarily in securities issued to finance sustainable infrastructure and/or in entities that are working to achieve socially driven goals. It provides a very different scope of review of an airport's operations, focusing primarily on the external impacts of those operations on the environment, on affected communities and on how the entity operates within its regulated environment.
Keywords: ESG; environmental; social; governance; airports; airport management
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
David Y. Bannard is a partner with Kaplan Kirsch & Rockwell LLP based in the Boston office. He has nearly 30 years of experience in representing airports on a wide variety of matters, including regulatory compliance, airport financings, use and lease agreements and rate-setting ordinances, airline and other tenant bankruptcies, defence of administrative actions before the FAA and the negotiation of concessions agreements. He regularly counsels airports on compliance with federal grant assurances and development of air service incentive programmes, and he is currently representing several airports in negotiation of new use and lease agreements with the airlines. Dave has also represented airport owners in novel public–private partnerships. He is an experienced bond attorney, having served as bond counsel to airports and other issuers, counsel to borrowers and underwriters and disclosure counsel, as well as issuer's counsel, in many transactions. Prior to returning to private practice, he served as Deputy Chief Legal Counsel for the Massachusetts Port Authority, where he oversaw all transactional legal matters. Dave was Massport's legal liaison to the ‘Big Dig’ project. Prior to his legal career, Dave was a freelance classical trumpet player for many years.
