Major airports in east Asia sign a declaration to promote environmental best practices and improvements
Fri 25 Sep 2009 – Ten major airports from China, Japan and Korea that form the East Asia Airports Alliance (EAAA) have signed a ‘Green Airport Declaration’ in which they will adopt a number of measures to accelerate voluntary environmental improvements. The aim is to build up common strategies through information exchange between the members; disseminate information on best practices to all airport stakeholders, including airlines, concession operators, government agencies and communities in order to encourage environmentally regulated activities; setting up systematic approaches to heighten environmental awareness; and promote day-to-day environmental responsibility amongst staff.
The declaration was signed at the recent EAAA annual meeting held at Incheon International Airport in Korea. The alliance hopes that it will contribute towards the aviation industry’s commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
With a theme entitled ‘EAA Green Airports: Engines for Green Growth”, presentations on environmental best practice were given by Incheon International Airport Corporation, Airport Authority of Hong Kong and Japan Airport Terminal, along with other international aviation specialists. Angela Gittens, Director General of Airports Council International, gave a speech on ‘Green Airports for Sustainable Growth’.
Dr Deng Jun, chairman of CAM, the company operating Macau International Airport (MIA), said resource optimization and the protection of the environment were now integrated into his airport’s planning, with environmental protection measures being built into the procurement of equipment and facility and infrastructure construction.
He said over the coming years, MIA would set up an environmental supervision committee, further improve the efficiency of energy conservation measures, enhance water quality management and air quality, reduce waste, increase employee awareness and upgrade the company’s management policy on environmental protection.
MIA, he said, would cooperate with experts and academic institutions in developing energy-saving and emission-reduction measures, and would set up a ‘green airport’ channel on the MIA website to convey its green activities. Dr Deng Jun said the airport would seek international accreditation for upcoming projects to ensure its green commitment.
