For business aviation companies, a successful sustainability plan must be conceived with end goals in mind, according to Scott Cutshall, Clay Lacy Aviation’s senior v-p of development and sustainability. To be able to measure any progress, a CO2 emissions baseline must first be established.

Speaking yesterday at AIN’s Building a Sustainable Flight Department forum in Los Angeles, he said companies interested in expanding sustainability goals must first answer one simple question—why?—before formulating a plan. “If you don’t know why you are pursuing sustainability, it’s really hard to focus on what you are going to do to operate more sustainably,” he told the audience. To him, he said being the right thing to do weighs heavily.

Aircraft charter, management, MRO, and FBO provider Clay Lacy has been in the vanguard of the industry sustainability movement, and with the threat of possible sustainability mandates, Cutshall believes the proper strategy is to be proactive rather than reactive. He noted that some airport FBO leases, such as the one the company recently signed at John Wayne Orange County Airport, are including sustainability clauses. “It’s in our lease at John Wayne Airport that we must use the Energy Star portfolio to report to the airport authority every year on our [energy] consumption,” he explained. “This stuff is coming.”

While there are not yet any established norms for such programs in the industry, Cutshall said getting ahead of any regulations has provided intangible benefits, as new hires have mentioned the company’s sustainability goals as a factor in them joining the company.

Starting next month, the Van Nuys Airport-based company will expand its efforts with the launch of a sustainability team consisting of members from each of Clay Lacy's business divisions to further the involvement of the entire staff.