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8 This study was designed to build upon and expand the results of ACRP Synthesis 53: Outcomes of Green Initiatives: Large Airport Experience but with the focus on small airports. ACRP Synthesis 53 examined sustainability initiatives at 15 large airports. This Synthesis examines sustainability initiatives at 303 small airports nationwide. Small airports, as defined in this report, include general aviation (GA), reliever, and nonprimary commercial service. This study is intended to fill the gap in the available literature by focusing on sustainable initiatives at small airports. To synthesize current sustainability practices at small airports, it was important to define the popula- tion for this study. Using the 2015â2019 National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems (NPIAS) Report, the categories of GA, reliever, and nonprimary commercial service were selected as the population for this study. Although these were the airports decided upon for this study, the findings presented here may also benefit small hub and nonhub airports. As of the 2015â2019 NPIAS, there are 2,553 GA airports, 264 reliever airports, and 125 nonprimary commercial service airports, resulting in a total population of 2,942 airports appropriate to this study (Table 3). With the total population determined for each region, a sample size of 340 airports was deter- mined. A sample of airports was randomly selected from each region and the states within each region. Once specific airports to be included in the study were determined, the region-specific Air- port Facility Directory was used to ascertain telephone numbers for the airport manager of each selected airport. Two data collection instruments were developed for this study. First, a survey questionnaire was developed for the purpose of gathering the bulk of the data for this Synthesis. The survey ques- tionnaire aimed to determine the degree to which airports had pursued sustainable initiatives and the drivers and outcomes associated with those projects. The survey also aimed to determine why airports had not pursued sustainable initiatives, including what might encourage airports to pursue such initiatives in the future. For the purpose of this study, sustainable initiatives were grouped in the following categories: ⢠Economic viability (E) â Economic vitality ⢠Operational efficiency (O) â Operational efficiency ⢠Natural resource conservation (N) â Air quality enhancement/climate change â Energy conservation/renewable energy â Noise abatement â Water quality protection and water conservation â Land and natural resources management â Land/property use â Pavement management â Materials use and solid waste reduction/recycling â Hazardous materials and waste management/reduction â Surface transportation management â Buildings/facilities chapter two STUDY METHODOLOGY
9 ⢠Social responsibility (S) â Socioeconomic benefits and community outreach/involvement (GRI 2011; Thomson and Delaney 2014). Because of the number of airports to be contacted and the detail desired in their responses, a deci- sion was made to conduct a telephone survey, rather than a more commonly accepted online survey (see Appendix A). Second, a telephone interview script was developed. The survey questionnaire was designed to gather broad findings from the entire sample, but the telephone interview script was developed to guide data collection that would lead to the development of a small number of case examples (see Appendix B). The 13 airports and one state aeronautics division selected to highlight as case examples were chosen based on their innovative sustainable projects, drivers and outcomes, and lessons learned. All telephone calls were made during June, July, August, and September 2015. In total, 340 airports were randomly contacted according to this methodology, and the managers of 303 airports agreed to participate in this study. This represents an 89% response rate. With this high response rate, results may be generalized to the population of 2,942 small airports across the United States. Airport Type Population Size General aviation (GA) 2,553 Reliever 264 Nonprimary commercial service 125 Total 2,942 Source: National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems Report 2015â2019. TABLE 3 POPULATIONS OF SMALL AIRPORTS FOR STUDY