Managing airports’ environmental footprint key to sustainable growth
ICAO Seminar on Green Airports, held in cooperation with ACI, kicks off in Lima, Peru
Lima, 8 May 2019 – As the global demand for air service continues to surge, Airports Council International (ACI) World today emphasized that airports should continue to reduce their environmental footprint in support of the sustainable growth of aviation.
Welcoming delegates at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Seminar on Green Airports, held in cooperation with ACI, today in Lima, Peru, ACI Deputy Director General Michael Rossell highlighted the concrete steps ACI and its members have been taking to becoming green through the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme, and other measures.
“In the last decade, ACI members have worked very hard to reduce airports’ environmental footprint,” said Michael Rossell. “This has been achieved predominately through the ACI Airport Carbon Accreditation programme, which helps airports assess and reduce their carbon footprint and that of their stakeholders.
“As of late, more than 10 airports have joined the programme in the Latin-America and the Caribbean (LAC) region. The number of accredited airports in the region has grown from 4 in 2015 to 20 as of date. We must recognize the efforts of AERODOM, in the Dominican Republic, which certified its 6 airports at mapping level this year.”
Another tool for airports is the ACI Airport Carbon Emission Reporting Tool v.5.1 (ACERT), initially designed on behalf of Transport Canada, which enables any airport to measure and manage their CO2 emissions even airports that do not have an environmental expert on staff. The outputs from ACERT can then be used as a basis for application to the ACI Airport Carbon Accreditation programme.
Further, the recently released Airport Ground Energy Systems Simulator (AGES-S) enables airports to quantify the environmental and economic benefits of reducing the use of aircraft auxiliary power units by replacing them with a ground-based energy system. The tool was designed by Zurich Airport to help our members create business cases for investment.
Both ACERT and AGES-S are distributed free of charge to ACI members.
The Seminar is being held in conjuncture with the ICAO Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection Working Group 2 – Airports and Operations, and the joint ACI World and ACI LAC Environment Committees.
“It is only by working together that we can craft a sustainable way forward,” Rossell added. “The Environment Seminar and meetings taking place in Lima this week are the fruits of the 2016 ICAO and ACI’s Memorandum of Cooperation on environmental initiatives.
“While airport environmental stewardship is a global matter that affects all regions, it is also a very local one dependent on the unique factors that make up the location of each airport. A such, airports must continue to collaborate with all aviation stakeholders, at the local, regional and international level.”
Notes for editors
- Airports Council International (ACI), the trade association of the world’s airports, was founded in 1991 with the objective of fostering cooperation among its member airports and other partners in world aviation, including the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Air Transport Association and the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization. In representing the best interests of airports during key phases of policy development, ACI makes a significant contribution toward ensuring a global air transport system that is safe, secure, efficient and environmentally sustainable. As of January 2019, ACI serves 646 members, operating 1,960 airports in 176 countries.
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