Page Summary
The CAA recognises that aviation must, like other sectors, be responsible towards our environment.
Main Content
CAA undertakes numerous activities that have an environmental dimension across all of our groups covering: policy advisory; noise modelling and impacts; safety and standards; airspace management; and incentives and metrics. This page provides an overview and links to further sources of information.
Contact us for more information about our work and advice on how to make an environmental complaint.
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Our sustainability objectives |
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| CAA sustainability strategy | To meet our sustainability objective as part of our five-year Strategic Plan we intend to coordinate and communicate the CAA’s environmental work, to ensure that colleagues and external stakeholders better understand our environmental role. |
| CAA and the Environment: Improving Aviation's Sustainability Now and for the Future | In this consultation document the CAA sets out the key role it has to play in helping aviation to improve its environmental performance and details its approach to developing its expertise to support that goal. |
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Working with Government |
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| Helping to develop a UK aviation policy framework | We are using our extensive evidence-base and expertise to aid Government and stakeholders in developing the Government’s sustainable aviation policy framework. |
| CAA's Air Passenger Duty response | The CAA’s response to HM Treasury's consultation on reform of APD dated 17 June 2011. |
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Aircraft operations - aircraft noise |
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| Our technical role |
An introduction to the work of the CAA's Environmental Research and Consultancy Department. |
| Aircraft noise monitoring | The collection and analysis by the CAA of aircraft noise, flight path and other operational data. |
| Aircraft noise mapping | Aircraft noise maps, which show contour lines joining points of equal noise, are a powerful tool for illustrating the impact of aircraft noise around airports. |
| Aircraft noise certification |
Application and guidance information associated with aircraft Noise Certificates. |
| Aircraft noise exemptions | Operations at UK airports by jet aircraft that are not "Chapter 3 compliant" are not permitted unless specifically exempted by the CAA. |
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Aircraft operations - aircraft emissions |
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| Emissions and climate change |
The environmental impacts arising from exhaust emissions from aircraft engines. |
| The EU Emissions Trading System |
The EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) for aviation came into force on 1 January 2012. This page sets out the role of the CAA and the ETS regulators. |
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Aircraft operations - cabin air quality |
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| Cabin air quality | A CAA report on research to address the effect of cabin air contamination on a pilot's ability to operate an aircraft safely. |
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Airspace |
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| The airspace change process | The CAA plays a key role in deciding how the UK’s finite airspace is used. In taking decisions, we seek to ensure that the reasonable needs of users are met while minimising the sector’s environmental impacts (for example CO2 and noise). |
| Future airspace strategy (FAS) | FAS is intended to create a policy structure leading to a modernised air traffic management system providing safe, efficient airspace that has the capacity to meet reasonable demand, balances the needs of users and mitigates environmental impacts. |
| The NATS flight efficiency metric |
NATS (En Route) plc (NERL) in collaboration with airlines and the CAA has developed a flight efficiency metric and incentive regime. Flight efficiency is important as it impacts on flight time, fuel efficiency and consequently airline costs and CO2 emissions. The CAA has modified the NERL Licence to enable the introduction of the metric from 1 January 2012. See "Within CP3 amendments" on our NATS Licence webpage. |
| Performance-based Navigation |
The Performance-based Navigation (PBN) concept has been developed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to move aviation to a system based on airborne navigation technology, including global navigation satellite systems. PBN can have environmental benefits through the potential for direct routings, thus saving fuel and reducing CO2 emissions. |
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Renewable energy projects |
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| Solar panels | Interim CAA guidance on the installation of solar panels near UK aerodromes. |
| Wind energy | Interim CAA guidelines to assist those involved in the development of windfarms. |
| Wind farm preplanning | Information regarding the CAA's role in the preplanning consultation process for potential wind turbine developments. |
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CAA response to environmental events |
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| Volcanic ash | Our role during volcanic ash crises. |
| Birdstrikes | Outlining the threats, data and reporting of aircraft collisions with birds.. |
