Corporate responsibility is about operating in a way that satisfies the demands of our passengers, our business partners, our employees, our owners, as well as our communities around Heathrow. Despite the many positive benefits the airport brings to the local area and national economy, it also has many negative impacts.  We need to balance the interests of our many stakeholders, to enhance the positive benefits and minimise the negative impacts. We do this in various ways.

While we don’t operate the aircraft at Heathrow, we do work very closely with airlines and industry partners to find new ways to keep noise to a minimum. This includes fining aircraft that break the noise limits and ensuring good track keeping. In 2007 we launched a new website for people who want to know more about aircraft noise, which includes a WebTrak facility. This enables users to view flight tracks of aircraft over their area that are arriving and departing from Heathrow.

Our community investment programme has continued to focus on benefiting communities worst affected by Heathrow’s operations. This includes schemes that mitigate the effects of noise and blight. We are also working with airport employers to ensure that local people benefit from the considerable employment and career opportunities that exist at Heathrow.

Being responsible also means running a safe and secure airport, 24 hours a day. This year we have recruited over 1,000 new security staff and provided new security lanes and equipment. However, we know that we still have a lot of work to do to improve the customer service experience at Heathrow. Over the next five years we will be investing £4.8 billion in the refurbishment and renewal of Heathrow’s facilities.

In 2007, the Government published its consultation on the Future of Air Transport. We believe there is a strong case for growth at Heathrow but this should not go ahead at any cost. Growth and sustainability are not incompatible if we can balance the social and economic benefits of the airport with the environmental costs. This report demonstrates the steps we have been taking towards this during 2007.