ACI on course to welcome 100th airport to its carbon scheme as Amsterdam Schiphol achieves neutrality
Schiphol is using biodiesel in ground transport vehicles (photo: Schiphol Group)
Mon 12 May 2014 – As it nears completion of the first five years of operation, the airport industry’s Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) programme has reported that 96 airports across four continents have now been certified. Initially launched by ACI Europe in June 2009, the programme was expanded to Asia-Pacific in 2011 and Africa in June 2013. It certifies airports at four different levels of accreditation – Mapping, Reduction, Optimisation and Neutrality – and last week Amsterdam Schiphol, Europe’s fourth busiest airport, became the largest airport to achieve carbon neutrality, the highest level. With 15 airports in the Asia-Pacific region now participating in the programme, Sharjah International Airport has become the second to be accredited in the United Arab Emirates.
“With the programme focused on continuous improvement in reducing CO2 emissions, it is great to see so many participating airports advancing year after year towards carbon neutrality,” commented Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI Europe. “These airports are truly leaders in terms of addressing our industry’s impact on climate change. It shows what can be done in less than five years when CO2 reduction is deemed a top priority and embedded in corporate culture.”
To qualify for the Neutrality level, an airport must have analysed all its emissions, drawn up effective reduction programmes and implemented them successfully, and compensated for any remaining emissions. Schiphol joins all ten airports within the Swedavia group, SEA’s Milan Linate and Malpensa airports, Avinor’s Oslo and Trondheim airports, and Eindhoven in the Netherlands at the Neutrality level.
Examples of environmental measures undertaken by Schiphol include the use of biodiesel, reducing commuting by employees by encouraging them to work from home and promoting electric transport. From late 2014, a fleet of more than 100 fully electric taxis will be deployed for passenger taxi services at the airport. Electric buses will also be used to ferry passengers to and from aircraft.
To conserve energy, the terminal and car parks have been fitted with LED lighting and Schiphol is conducting smart operation tests with LED lighting on the apron where aircraft are parked so that lights are only switched on when needed. Schiphol also uses 100% recycled asphalt on its roads.
With the recent first-time accreditations of Venice, Treviso, Naples and Groningen Eelde airports, 80 European airports are now accredited under the ACA scheme. A number of other airports have also succeeded in moving up a level of certification.
Sharjah International has been certified at the first Mapping level, with Taiwan’s Kaohsiung Airport entering at the Reduction level, joining Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, which has upgraded to that level. Incheon International in South Korea has been certified at the Optimisation level, the highest certification without using carbon offsets, alongside India’s Kempegowda (formerly Bengaluru) International and Indira Ghandi International airports.
Next month, the final results of the carbon reduction achieved for Year Five will be announced at ACI Europe’s Annual Assembly hosted by Fraport in Frankfurt, the very first airport to become certified by the programme.
