A Holistic Approach to the Environmental Certification of Green Airports

Abstract

Airports around the world are more and more environmentally concerned, increasing their efforts in reducing aviation impacts by applying environmental management, certification systems, or other types of ecological rating systems to their infrastructures and operation. Especially relevant are the airports’ efforts to manage and reduce their CO2 emissions through Airport Carbon Accreditation, the efforts made by Eurocontrol to encourage collaborative environmental management, or the increasing numbers of airports worldwide that get their terminals certified according to several world-recognized Green Building Rating Standards (GBRS). However, although these standards are state-of-the-art sustainability valuation programs, none of them fully cover all the environmental impacts of aeronautical activity at an airport. This paper presents the results of an exploratory research where the use of a GBRS into a more holistic certification scheme for airports is discussed and areas of challenge are highlighted. The paper seeks to shed some light on the value of holistic approaches from the perspective of maximizing environmental management efficiency and effectiveness, the integration of actions of individual airport partners to potentially encourage greater coordination of efforts, the challenges of dealing with both construction and operational impacts within one scheme, and the accountability difficulties.

An Analysis of the Annual Carbon Dioxide Emissions (CO2) of a Major European Hub Airport: A Case Study of Frankfurt Airport

“…As a result, many airports have implemented extensive programs and strategies to mitigate the impact of carbo dioxide (CO2) emissions have on the environment (Mosvold Larsen, 2015). Furthermore, many airports have become increasingly committed to becoming more "green," or environmentally friendly (Budd et al, 2015;Comendador et al, 2019;Sun et al, 2021).…”

Mitigating an Airport’s Carbon Footprint Through the Use of “Green” Technologies: The Case of Brisbane and Melbourne Airports, Australia

“…Noise, air and water pollution, and natural resources consumption present at an airport all have an adverse impact on the environment (Budd, 2017;Daley, 2016;Janić, 2011). In addressing their environmental impact concerns, airports are increasingly trying to become "green" or more environmentally friendly (Comendador et al, 2019;Janić, 2011). A "green airport" is an airport which has a minimal impact on the environment and is one that endeavors to become a carbon neutral facility in terms of carbon emissions, with the goal of producing zero greenhouse gas emissions (González-Ruiz et al, 2017).…”

Achieving Carbon Neutral Airport Operations By 2025: The Case of Sydney Airport, Australia

“…Airports located throughout the world are increasingly focusing on their environmental impact, and, as a result, have increased their efforts in reducing air transport impacts by applying environmental management, certification systems, or other forms of ecological rating systems to their infrastructures and operation (Comendador et al, 2019). Airports are indeed impacted by climate change and just like other industry sectors around the world, airports must provide measures to combat climate change.…”