A commitment to sustainability

Building on the legacy of Heathrow 2.0, which has evolved into the Connecting People and Planet sustainability strategy, the airport has reiterated its support for protecting and enhancing local biodiversity and the nature positive transition under Nature Positive Airport. This included the preparation of a visionary and comprehensive Nature Positive Plan (NPP) and support for a nature network around the airport, demonstrating continued leadership in environmental stewardship.

In 2023, the airport set out to deliver the NPP plan. Heathrow’s commitment to supporting the nature positive transition responds to significant developments concerning biodiversity net gain, new disclosure frameworks, community involvement and passenger experience. The commitments ensure focus on supporting nature recovery across direct operations and the broader value chain, ensuring a holistic plan that considers our broader touchpoints with nature. 

Facing the environmental challenge

Heathrow faced a complex challenge: to thoroughly understand and mitigate its impact on nature using a new and holistic methodology specifically for understanding nature-related impacts and dependencies. The airport needed a comprehensive plan that would build on its solid foundations concerning biodiversity management and community engagement, whilst also addressing its dependencies and impacts on nature, identify material risks, and seize opportunities to support the nature positive transition.

Innovative solutions and strategic planning

Our Nature Advisory team stepped in to help Heathrow to navigate this commitment. The journey began with a TNFD gap analysis to evaluate Heathrow’s alignment with the 14 recommended disclosures, focusing on governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets. This initial analysis evolved into a meticulous LEAP assessment, which mapped Heathrow’s dependencies and impacts on nature, covering the main airport site and surrounding biodiversity areas under ownership.

Informed by these insights, WSP helped develop the Heathrow Nature Positive Plan, published in December 2024. This visionary plan, shaped by the gap analysis and LEAP assessment findings, set out a clear vision for the airport’s contribution to nature recovery and resilience. It laid the foundation for Heathrow’s ambition to support the nature positive transition, centered around taking action at the airport, around the airport and across the broader value chain.

Our collaboration with Heathrow was rooted in a shared vision for environmental leadership. We worked closely with cross-functional teams, including sustainability leads, biodiversity experts, and operational managers, to co-develop a Nature Positive Strategy that aligns with Heathrow’s long-term goals. This involved a series of workshops, stakeholder interviews, and iterative feedback sessions to ensure the strategy was both ambitious and actionable.

This collaboration extended beyond the initial plan. We supported Heathrow in developing a value chain map and conducting a high-level nature assessment across its upstream and downstream activities. This pioneering work established a replicable framework for identifying and assessing risks and opportunities across multiple sustainability themes, supporting Heathrow in its environmental risk management.