Riva (Mundys): “Green airports as energy hubs”

“The aviation sector it is one of the most complex in terms of ecological transition as technology is currently being developed to achieve the progress already evident in other mobility sectors”. As Katia Rivachief sustainability officer of Mundys (Italian parent company active in infrastructure and transport, which controls companies such as Abertis, Aeroporti di Roma, Telepass and Yunex). The comparison is above all with the automotive sector, in which electric vehicles have already been a reality for some time and are gaining increasing weight. “This shouldn’t exempt all of us who work in the sector from the effort to identify all possible solutions to reduce polluting emissions and help build a more sustainable future. It’s not just the community regulations that require it, but also the corporate responsibility that guides our growth strategies in the medium to long term”, he underlines.

While awaiting technological developments, in which there is great confidence given the numerous experiments on alternative materials and fuels, it is essential for Riva to join forces. “A shared effort of the whole ecosystem is needed: those who produce airplanes, those who use them and those who manage the airports. All together, each with their own skills, we can help design developments in the sector, which is destined to attract a growing number of users, given that mobility needs continue to grow unabated”.

As for the airportsamong the priorities is the development ofelectrification not only in view of a near future in which the planes themselves will be powered by electricity, but also to respond to the current needs of users, from travelers arriving at the airport using plug-in vehicles to ground vehicles moving through the airport and who can already count on this type of power today. In this scenario, Mundys was chosen by World Economic Forum to coordinate the discussion table on the design of tomorrow’s airports, in particular as regards the financing aspects of the huge investments required. “We will work on strategies to transform airports into real ones energy hubcapable of self-producing, accumulating and distributing clean energy and we will focus on strategies to accelerate theadoption of the Saf (acronym that stands for sustainable aviation duel) on a large scale”, says the manager. This involves not only an effort to design the solutions and coordinate the inputs that come from other players, but also dialogue with the subjects who are key to financing the transformation of the sector.

The role entrusted to Mundys, by virtue of his experience as an infrastructure operator, is of corporate leader for the financial aspects of the project “Airports of Tomorrow”, to which some of the main international operators in the sector participate – including airports such as Aeroporti di Roma, Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur, Dallas Fort Worth and London Heathrow; aircraft manufacturers such as Airbus and Boeing; fuel manufacturers such as Neste and LanzaJet. The aim is to identify industrial solutions and forms of hybrid financing that accelerate the green transition of airportsuntil’zero emissions by 2050. Around 18,000 civil airports around the world will be able to take advantage of the guidelines for financing decarbonisation, which will be defined during the project led by the Italian group of infrastructures and integrated mobility. “The work will begin immediately: the goal is to arrive at COP 28, the annual United Nations conference on climate change which will take place in December, with a detailed plan of interventions”, adds Riva.

The choice fell on Mundys in the light of the results achieved by the parent company in terms of management and sustainable development of infrastructures and sustainable finance practices. On the last front, the Italian company was among the first in its sector to adopt one sustainable finance framework (The Sustainable Financing Framework), linking the financial collection to the industrial and development objectives defined in its own Climate Action Plan. It has also linked all of its bank debt (3 billion euros) to the green. A path consistent with the sustainable growth strategy outlined on 15 March, the day of the launch of Mundys, by the president of Edizione Alessandro Benetton, the company’s major shareholder together with Blackstone’s partners. “The World Economic Forum itself estimates the resources needed to eliminate the impact of aviation by the middle of this century at around 5 trillion euros. This is undoubtedly an ambitious goal, but it can be achieved if we are able to pool energy, knowledge and public and private financial resources”, concludes Riva.