Aerozone set to hit milestone as CSR report highlights community work
• Special event to welcome 25,000 visitors to the airport’s Aerozone set to take place later this month.
• The education centre has gone from strength-to-strength since opening in 2015.
• Milestone comes as the airport publishes its annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Report, which reveals scale of benefits the airport brings to the local community.
London Stansted’s Aerozone education centre is ending the year on a high as it gets set to welcome its 25,000th visitor later this month.
To celebrate the milestone, the airport is hosting a party at the centre for 30 children from Stansted Mountfitchet’s Forest Hall School on November 28.
The centre is an aviation-themed educational facility for children aged between 4 and 18 located at the airport.
It offers interactive STEM activities and workshops designed to engage and educate young visitors about the aviation industry.
The centre has become an extremely popular destination for schools, and community organisations and is already fully booked for the rest of the school year.
Marcella M’Rabety, Head of Social Sustainability, said:
"We are immensely proud to reach this incredible milestone of 25,000 children visiting our Aerozone.
“The centre is a unique educational facility which continues to have a positive impact on young people, supporting them to develop STEM skills and giving them an insight into the different career options across the aviation industry.
“The Aerozone sits alongside our other education and employment facilities, including our on-site Employment Academy and Stansted Airport College, a first for a UK airport.
“These trailblazing facilities complement our graduate and apprenticeship programmes to help people find work, bridge the current skills gap and provide a pipeline of future talent.”
The Aerozone is just one of the areas featured in the airport’s latest CSR Report, which also details the work it has done over the past year to benefit communities and the planet, as well as ambitious targets it has set for the future.
"Sustainability is a core pillar of our corporate social responsibility strategy ‘Working together for a brighter future.’
“We are committed to reducing our environmental impact and making a positive impact in the communities that we serve.
“We want to make sure that our operations contribute to a greener and more sustainable future and continue to invest in projects and initiatives that support education, sustainability, and community engagement,” added Marcella.
Other highlights from the annual CSR Report include:
• Launching the Jet Zero Curriculum at the Aerozone, teaching the next generation about the role of Sustainable Aviation Fuel.
• Seeing another 500 students complete their further education studies in aviation at Stansted Airport College (More than 7,700 students have graduated into jobs at the airport since the college first opened).
• Welcoming the first cohort of aspiring pilots on the Pilot Enrichment Programme at the college, the first of its kind in the country.
• Launching the public consultation for our latest Noise Action Plan.
• Donating more than £180,000 to local charities and community groups through the airport’s Community Fund.
• Generating more than £1.5m for local SMEs through the Meet the Buyer event.
• Hosting an industry-first Youth Summit, bringing together all three of MAG’s Youth Forums to take views from young people about sustainability.
• Supporting more than 240 people with skills and employment training at the airport’s academy.
MAG CEO Ken O’Toole said:
“Through the achievements we have published today in our annual CSR Report, it is clear that creating a sustainable future for all is a central commitment at MAG.
“I am proud of the programmes and initiatives we continue to deliver on an annual basis, as well as always finding new ways to enhance our work to decarbonise our sector, inspire the next generation of aviation professionals and support our local communities.
“It is testament to the hard work and enthusiasm of colleagues right across our Group that we are able to offer such a comprehensive sustainability programme, and for that approach to be independently recognised as at a five-star standard.
“It is clear to me that our business has the ability to make a real impact on the lives of young people who are exploring their career options, and I look forward to continuing this work that will create a pipeline of young, talented individuals starting work in the aviation sector.
“As we develop our new five-year CSR Strategy, we will continue to develop our commitment to sustainability, to ensure that our industry can continue to thrive into the future.”
The CSR Report is in an accessible format, ensuring accessibility for all. It is also fully compatible with screen reader technology.
Click here to access the latest CSR report.