ESG Initiatives

Learn about our environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives, and how we bring those values to life. (Revised July 2026)

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Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

For more information regarding our ESG initiatives, please check out Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport’s investor relations and sustainability sites.

Environmental, Social, and Governance

2025 ESG Report. The City of Atlanta (City) is focused on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (Airport). In June 2026, the City’s Department of Aviation (Dept. of Aviation) released its fifth Environmental, Social and Governance Report, highlighting performance, risks, and opportunities across 164 criteria. The Report aligns with the Airports Council International (ACI) – North America 2024 White Paper on ESG Reporting. The Dept. of Aviation received a second party opinion on its Green Bond Framework for the second consecutive year, confirming the Airport’s Green Bond Framework is impactful, net-zero aligned and conforms with Green Bond Principles. The Airport’s Sustainability Program also received national recognition being awarded “Outstanding Sustainability Program” at American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) Airport’s Going Green Conference. The Report is available at ATL.com/Sustainability.

Environmental. The ESG report highlights the Dept. of Aviation’s progress on environmental goals targeting net zero emissions by 2050, 100% clean energy by 2035, and 90% waste diversion from landfills by 2035. In 2025, the Dept. of Aviation advanced environmental sustainability efforts by achieving an estimated 5.9% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions per passenger compared to three-year rolling average, initiating Whole-Building Life Cycle Assessments for four major capital Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) projects, and continuing to track potable water use and maintain environmental compliance.

Social. The Dept. of Aviation continues to demonstrate its social impact through commitment to employees, passengers, and the Metro Atlanta community, as it has for a century. In 2025, the Report highlights safe and efficient travel advancements through anti-human trafficking prevention and improved accessibility via updates and modifications to gates at Concourse E and F. The Report showcases progress in workforce development, business engagement, as well as national and international relations. Customer service initiatives have maintained the Airport’s Level 3 of the ACI’s Airport Customer Experience Accreditation Program for the past two years.

Governance. The City’s Dept. of Aviation operates the airport through a stable and responsive governance structure. The Airport General Manager is a member of the Mayor’s cabinet and is accountable to the public. The Atlanta City Council provides oversight of the Dept. of Aviation and has authority to pass legislation related to the Airport. The Airport is subject to federal regulations and applicable State law. ATL earned two major recognitions for innovation and sustainability in capital development, including the “Georgia Engineering Excellence State Award” from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Georgia and the AAAE Award for “Outstanding Sustainability Infrastructure Development”. Green Bonds accounted for approximately 95% of the project costs funded and was the largest Green Bond issuance to date. All proceeds from the 2025 Green Bond issuance were fully allocated to four projects independently verified as Green Bond-eligible.

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Department of Watershed Management

The City’s Department of Watershed Management has a proud history of managing the City’s comprehensive drinking water and wastewater systems, providing high quality drinking water and wastewater services to the City’s businesses, residents, and wholesale customers.

Under the leadership of Commissioner James “Gregory” Eyerly, the Department of Watershed Management has received a rating increase from S&P Global Ratings to “AA” from “AA-” for its senior lien revenue bonds and a rating increase to “AA-” from “A+” for its subordinate lien revenue bonds and continues to serve a burgeoning service area.

Sustainability

The Department of Watershed Management (DWM) has made significant strides in advancing its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) approach through the implementation of innovative energy conservation measures (ECMs). Key initiatives include biosolids reuse and the replacement of ultraviolet (UV) disinfection systems, both of which demonstrate DWM’s commitment to sustainability, operational efficiency, and environmental stewardship.

A cornerstone of this effort is the biosolids reuse program at the R.M. Clayton Water Reclamation Center, which processes approximately 90,000 wet tons of biosolids annually. In partnership with NORESCO, DWM implemented an alternative treatment solution that eliminates the need for incineration or direct landfilling. Instead, a new biosolids processing facility produces material that meets Class A standards under the federal 40 CFR Part 503 regulations for the safe use or disposal of sewage sludge.

This initiative delivers substantial environmental and economic benefits. It reduces truck traffic by up to 65 percent, lowering greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 194 tons of CO₂ equivalent each year. Additionally, it is projected to divert up to 1.5 million wet tons of waste from landfills over a 15-year period, resulting in more than $90 million in avoided material handling and disposal costs. The program also supports carbon reduction efforts by generating approximately 2.19 metric tons of carbon credits per metric ton of Class A biosolids produced—potentially totaling 43,800 metric tons annually. Collectively, these outcomes position the City of Atlanta as a national leader in sustainable wastewater management.

Complementing this effort, DWM upgraded its UV disinfection systems by replacing four existing Trojan UV4000 units, which relied on medium-pressure, high-output lamps, with advanced TrojanUVSigna models. The new system significantly enhances energy efficiency, using up to 80 percent less energy while maintaining effective disinfection of facility effluent.

Together, these initiatives reflect DWM’s strong ESG commitment by reducing environmental impact, improving operational performance, and delivering long-term value to the community.

Financing for certain designated sustainable capital program projects have included portions of the Water and Wastewater Subordinate Lien Revenue Bonds, Series 2024 (Sustainability Bonds) ($390.9M par); and the Water and Wastewater Subordinate Lien Revenue and Revenue Refunding Bonds, Series 2026 (Sustainability Bonds) ($1.1B par).

Second Party Opinions

• Kestrel Second Party Opinion (Series 2024 Sustainability Bonds)
• S&P Global Ratings Second Party Opinion (Series 2026 Sustainability Bonds)

Annual Reports

• Kestrel Annual Report dated March 4, 2026 (Series 2024 Sustainability Bonds)

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Office of Sustainability and Resilience

• 100% Clean Energy by 2035
• Net-Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2050

In the last decade, the City has established itself as a model for sustainability and climate action through its programs, policies, and partnerships that advance environmental justice through green workforce opportunities, healthy neighborhoods, sustainable development and climate resilient communities. The Mayor’s Office of Sustainability and Resilience (the “Office”) is responsible for developing and leading implementation of the City’s sustainability plans, goals, policies, and programs. In 2026, the Office released the City’s first climate resilience action plan known as “Climate Resilient ATL”. This new, comprehensive plan updates the City’s sustainability-focused goals and strategies and provides a roadmap for how the City must prepare its neighborhoods, infrastructure, and local systems to withstand and recover from its primary climate impacts, extreme heat, flooding and drought, over the next 3-5 years. Climate Resilient ATL highlights the City’s current sustainability goals such as transitioning Atlanta to 100% clean energy community-wide by 2035, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 59% by 2030 towards Net Zero by 2050 and, ensuring 100% of residents have fresh food access within walking distance (.5 miles) by the end of 2030, reducing energy burden for 10% of the most burdened households and supporting a more connected, resilient and low-carbon transportation system. This plan was developed over 18+ months of stakeholder engagement in partnership with our community-led Climate Resilience Advisory Board and received over 2,000 recommendations to influence the City’s implementation priorities. The Office also developed a Climate Vulnerability and Risk Assessment which identifies the populations, neighborhoods, and systems most at risk from climate-related hazards by assessing exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity. This analysis integrates environmental conditions, socioeconomic indicators, infrastructure quality, and historic patterns of inequity to determine where climate impacts are likely to be most severe.

By aligning the issuance of the City’s General Obligation Public Improvement Bonds, Series 2022A-1 (Social Bonds) (the “Series 2022A-1 Social Bonds”) to support projects and attract social good investments that help advance the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, equitable access to services, climate action, sustainability, resilience, and biodiversity, the City is continuing to build on its long-standing strategic focus on environmental, social, and governance criteria.

Guiding Policy

Climate Resilient ATL: The City’s first Climate Action Plan was developed in 2015. While many of the recommendations still inform priorities today, “Climate Resilient ATL”, the City’s first community-led and data-driven climate resilience action plan, recognizes that our climate has significantly changed over the last decade and that the City needed a comprehensive plan that reflects latest climate science. Climate Resilient ATL brings all these reflections together and elevates research that shows climate impacts are being felt differently on the neighborhood level and people experience these challenges differently across the Atlanta metropolitan area. To ensure that the policies, programs, and initiatives defined in the Climate Resilient ATL result in safer, healthier, and more resilient neighborhoods for all Atlantans, we partnered with the LS Whitehead Group (LSWG) to analyze the intersection of climate change and environmental justice in an Atlanta-specific context. This analysis formed the basis of the City’s Climate Vulnerability and Risk Assessment (CVRA) and an Environmental and Climate Justice Resilience Index (ECJRI)*. Collectively, the assessment and resulting index reflect the City’s understanding that climate resilience cannot be achieved without addressing the social, cultural, built, environmental, and political factors that shape climate vulnerability and that solutions must be data-driven, community centered and rooted in environmental justice. The CVRA concludes with a set of “Strategies to Advance Environmental Justice” including recommended policies covering community engagement, transportation, housing, economy, health and food insecurity. Climate Resilient ATL also serves as the required update to the Clean Energy Plan, which was originally designed to be refreshed every three years.

Net Zero by 2050: Reaching net zero emissions is a cornerstone of Atlanta’s vision for a healthier, more resilient city. Recognizing the risk that climate change poses to its citizens, the City is acting now to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its government operations and the community at large. Initial reduction targets established in the 2015 Climate Action Plan have been updated to align with Science Based Targets Initiative guidance. The interim target for the net zero emissions goal is 59% reduction by 2030. This new milestone and updated goal is included in the Climate Resilient Action Plan with 20 recommended actions covering common-sense approaches and cutting-edge policies that the City is uniquely positioned to implement. Through coordinated efforts across energy, buildings, transportation, and community systems, these actions can reduce utility consumption and associated energy costs, create local jobs, improve air quality, and in many other ways benefit the City and its residents for years to come.

Clean Energy Atlanta Plan: The City Council passed Resolution No. 18-R-3783, adopting the Clean Energy Atlanta Plan to transition the City to 100% clean energy by 2035, adding interim targets of 10% by 2020, 30% by 2025, and 50% by 2030. The City’s 100% clean energy plan provides benefits communitywide, creating local jobs, reducing electricity bills, providing public health savings, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and increasing gross regional product. The Office worked in partnership with City departments and external community stakeholders to ensure the plan to transition the City to 100% clean energy prioritized affordable and equitable access to clean energy through ownership and benefits such as job training and business growth opportunities in the clean energy sector that intended to reach historically marginalized communities. The City is committed to making the investment in this goal for its municipal operations and established a community-led Clean Energy Advisory Board to encourage and facilitate local community participation in helping Atlanta achieve a 100% clean energy future.

*An Environmental and Climate Justice Resilience Index (ECJRI) identifies the neighborhoods and populations most at risk. The Atlanta ECJRI was developed using geospatial data that was equally weighted across three domains of Sensitivity, Exposure, and Resilience. https://climateresilientatl.com/storymap.html

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Social Bond Framework

The City of Atlanta prepared its Social Bond Framework (the “Framework”) to document certain processes and commitments relating to the issuance of the Series 2022A-1 Social Bonds. The City believes that the “Social Bond” designation of the Series 2022A-1 Social Bonds is aligned with the generally accepted Social Bond Principles: Voluntary Process Guidelines for Issuing Social Bonds June 2021 (with June 2022 Appendix 1, published by the International Capital Market Association), which has been confirmed by the Second Party Opinion obtained from Sustainalytics in connection with the issuance of the Series 2022A-1 Social Bonds. The City issued the Series 2022A-1 Social Bonds to fund a portion of the Moving Atlanta Forward: 2022 Infrastructure Program.

The net proceeds of the Series 2022A-1 Social Bonds are expected to be used for the purpose of providing funds to pay, or to be applied or contributed toward, all or a portion of the cost of, among other things, (i) the construction, reconstruction, renovation, repair, improvement, critical capital maintenance and equipping of public safety fire facilities, buildings and equipment for use by fire and rescue and emergency medical services (EMS) departments, and parks and recreational facilities, including, but not limited to recreational, aquatic and greenhouse facilities, and related public improvements and the cost of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 for such facilities and improvements and (ii) the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, renovation, repair, planning, design, improvement, critical capital maintenance and equipping of roads, sidewalks, pathways, trails and related transportation, park and playground improvements, including, but not limited to, public sidewalks, traffic control infrastructure and equipment, curbing, bridges, viaducts, greenway systems, playgrounds, pools, trails, paths, bicycle and transit lanes, and safety lighting and the cost of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 for such facilities and improvements.

The Framework defines the social eligibility criteria of these projects in three overarching categories:

1. Socio-economic Advancement and Empowerment
2. Affordable Basic Infrastructure, and
3. Access to Essential Services

The City engaged Sustainalytics, a globally recognized provider of ESG research, ratings, and data, to review the Framework and provide a second-party opinion on the Framework’s social credentials and its alignment with the Social Bond Principles. Sustainalytics also concluded that the use of the proceeds of the Series 2022A-1 Social Bonds is expected to contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015, specifically “Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities” and “Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities”.

This Framework is solely related to the Series 2022A-1 Social Bonds.