CEO talks future of sustainable aviation at one of the world’s busiest airports

Jul 3, 2025

In this enlightening discussion, Paul Griffiths, the CEO of Dubai Airports, shares his intriguing journey from musician to airport executive. He emphasizes the need for the aviation industry to reduce carbon emissions while managing the soaring demand for travel. Griffiths outlines Dubai's innovative sustainability initiatives, including solar panels and waste management efforts. The conversation also covers the challenges of sustainable aviation fuel and the ambitious plans for a more eco-friendly airport future, showcasing a progressive vision for travel.

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ADVICE

Solar Energy for Emission Cuts

Implement solar PV systems extensively to capitalize on local abundance of sunshine.
Replace conventional energy use with solar energy and efficient lighting to reduce carbon emissions significantly.

INSIGHT

SAF Critical But Scaling Needed

Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is key to decarbonizing existing aircraft engines.
The main challenge is scaling production to meet the vast daily global jet fuel consumption.

ADVICE

Mandate and Fund SAF Production

Governments should coordinate global mandates for SAF production and use.
The increased costs of sustainable fuel must be accepted by the industry and consumers for meaningful reductions.

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As many of our listeners embark on summer vacations and the US heads into a busy travel weekend for the Fourth of July holiday, we’re talking with the chief executive of one of the world’s busiest airports.

Paul Griffiths is CEO of Dubai Airports, which owns and manages the operation and development of Dubai International (DXB) and Dubai World Central - Al Maktoum International (DWC) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

In this episode of the All Things Sustainable podcast, Paul shares the path that led him from training as a musician to working with Sir Richard Branson to leading an airport that served more than 92 million travelers in 2024.

Paul explains the initiatives Dubai Airports has undertaken to become more sustainable and to decarbonize. He talks about how to balance rising demand for travel while also ensuring the sustainability of airport operations.

“There is a growing realization that the industry has to clean its act up as far as carbon emissions are concerned,” Paul says.

This episode is the latest in our Terra Carta Series of the All Things Sustainable podcast, a collaboration with the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI). Throughout 2025, we’ll be interviewing SMI member CEOs like Paul from around the world and across industries about how they’re approaching sustainability challenges and opportunities.

About the SMI and Terra Carta Podcast Series: The SMI is a network of over 250 global CEOs across finance and industry. It facilitates private sector diplomacy with the ambition of making sustainability the driving force of global markets and value creation. S&P Global is a proud SMI member.

We’re calling this the Terra Carta Series based on the SMI’s Terra Carta mandate. This is the guiding mandate for the SMI and sets out ambitious and practical actions to help the private sector accelerate progress toward a sustainable future. The name Terra Carta is a play on the historic Magna Carta.

Listen to previous episodes in the Terra Carta Series:

How the Sustainable Markets Initiative convenes the public and private sectors to drive solutions: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/how-the-sustainable-markets-initiative-convenes-the-public-and-private-sectors-to-drive-solutions?utm_source=All+Things+Sustainable+podcast&utm_medium=libsyn&utm_campaign=Patch+CEO&utm_id=All+Things+Sustainable+podcast

How climate tech company Patch works to build integrity of carbon markets: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/how-climate-tech-company-patch-works-to-build-integrity-of-carbon-markets

How tech solutions, AI can drive the business case for sustainability: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/how-tech-solutions-ai-can-drive-the-business-case-for-sustainability

Learn about energy transition data and services from S&P Global Commodity Insights: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/solutions/energy-transition?utm_source=All+Things+Sustainable+podcast&utm_medium=libsyn&utm_campaign=methane&utm_id=All+Things+Sustainable+podcast

This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1, a part of S&P Global.

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