Newcastle Airport is nearing the halfway mark on its journey to Net Zero, as it continues to lead the way in building a greener, more sustainable future.
The Airport has published its 2025 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, showcasing the significant progress it has made over the past year in collaboration with local communities and regional partners to achieve its sustainability goals by 2035.
Key takeaways from the report include:
- The Airport reduced carbon emissions from its own operations by 19% between 2024 and 2025, contributing to a 46% reduction compared with 2019 - bringing it close to the halfway point towards Net Zero.
- Its on-site solar farm produced more than 2,500,000 kWh of renewable energy in 2025, enough to power up to 900 average UK homes for a year.
- More than 30% of Airport vehicles are fully electric.
- The use of Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) to power non-electric vehicles reduced transport carbon emissions by almost 60% in 2025.
- A total of 17,072 trees have been planted across the region, including 16,353 near Corbridge in Northumberland which will remove over 4,000 tonnes of CO₂ over its lifetime – enough to power more than 6,000 homes for a year.
- The Airport exceeded its 45% recycling rate target.
- It maintained Level 4 status in the Airport Carbon Accreditation scheme, which independently assesses how airports manage and reduce their emissions.
- The Airport achieved a 100% score in the 2025 Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) assessment - ranking the business first in its sector for carbon reduction, biodiversity and sustainable travel initiatives.
Alongside these achievements, the report highlights the Airport’s continued commitment to delivering a positive social impact across the region.
- £34,346 was raised for the Airport’s official charity partner True Colours Theatre – an organisation that empowers young people through performing arts.
- 12 local organisations, including sports teams and youth initiatives, were supported through the Airport’s Community Fund – each receiving £250 grants.
Alice Andreasen, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Newcastle Airport, said: “We are proud of the strong progress we are making towards achieving Net Zero by 2035.
“This report showcases the meaningful steps we’ve taken across the business and with our partners to drive lasting change, while continuing to work closely with our local communities to support initiatives that make a real difference.
“By reducing our carbon emissions, even as passenger numbers continue to grow, we are clearly demonstrating that sustainability and growth can go hand in hand.
“We now look forward to building on this success and delivering the next stages of our Net Zero roadmap to push us closer towards achieving our goals.”
The full ESG report can be viewed here.