The London airport will invest more than £250 million to reduce its carbon emissions by 2030, by moving to an electric vehicle fleet and replacing gas boilers and refrigerants with low carbon alternatives.
The airport will also continue to reduce overall energy use, invest in on-site renewable energy and source renewable electricity through Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).
The announcement came as part of the airport’s 2022 financial results, which saw Gatwick return to profit of £196.5 million after more than £830 million of losses from 2020 and 2021.
However, the airport said it remains "cautiously optimistic" about a full recovery, given the current economic uncertainty and inflationary pressures.
"Looking back at 2022, the gradual removal of travel restrictions, and the return of discipline to UK airport slot regulations put Gatwick in a good position," the airport said.
"As widely reported the rapid upturn in demand during Q2 2022 drove significant operational challenges across the aviation sector.
"In response, Gatwick took early and decisive action working closely with the airport’s partners, including the airlines, to ensure passenger disruption was minimised during the peak summer months."
Passenger demand was at 70.4% of pre-pandemic levels, with 32.8 million passengers passing through the airport in the year ending 31 December 2022.
Revenue was recorded at £776.6 million, driven by a "strong and steady" recovery in passenger numbers throughout 2022.
Further investment will see a fully redeveloped airport train station completed later this year, work beginning to upgrade its north Terminal international departure lounge and the continuation of the preparation of its planning application to bring its existing northern runway into routine use.
Its short haul network was the first to show strong recovery in 2022 and now serves 156 destinations, with easyJet flying 72% of those routes.
Short haul is at 92% of flights flown pre-pandemic, while long-haul connectivity is taking longer to recover but has bounced back "robustly" in recent months, and now boasts 47 long haul routes – 76% of the number flown pre-pandemic.
Stewart Wingate, chief executive officer for Gatwick, said: "The decisive actions we took early last year allowed us to offer good levels of service to passengers who travelled through Gatwick.
"While we still have some way to go to reach a full recovery, we know long-term sustainable investment is critical to the future of our airport and provides a significant boost to the regional and national economy.
"Central to this is our commitment for our business to be net zero for scope 1 and 2 by 2030. The aviation industry is addressing the challenges, and we are working closely with our stakeholders to ensure we create a sustainable airport for the future."
