ACI EUROPE Sustainability Strategy - In Action!

ACI EUROPE Sustainability Strategy for Airports is the "one-stop shop" for guiding airports towards enhanced societal value. 

• UN Sustainable Development Goal 7 and 13 – Affordable and Clean Energy and Climate Action - Schiphol example

  

  Amsterdam Airport Schiphol runs 100% on Dutch wind power
  

  Since 1 January 2018, all Royal Schiphol Group airports including Amsterdam run entirely on Eneco Dutch wind power. This is in line with the airport group’s ambition to be an emission-free airport operator in 2030.
  

  Royal Schiphol Group made an agreement with Eneco to be provided with 100% sustainable electricity: wind power generated in the Netherlands. Eneco constructed new wind farms especially for Royal Schiphol Group to power Schiphol, Rotterdam The Hague Airport, Eindhoven Airport and Lelystad Airport. The first one to open was Autena in Vianen. There, two windmills provide 10% of the energy that all these airports need. These windmills were given a name by two primary schools in Vianen: 'Flying Electric' (Egbertus primary school) and 'Green Tower' (OBS Tijl Uilenspiegel).
  

  New wind farms
  

  The long-term contract with Royal Schiphol Group enables Eneco to invest in new wind farms. This means Schiphol will not be drawing power from the existing sustainable energy network. It will also increase the total supply of sustainable power in the Netherlands.

  How much of a difference does it make?
  

  Altogether, the airports consume around 200 GWh of electricity. Using 100% sustainably generated energy equates to a 92 million kilogram CO₂ reduction annually, which is comparable with the consumption of 60,000 households, e.g. the size of Haarlemmermeer or Delft.
  

  The decision to use new wind farms means that Schiphol will not be drawing power from the existing sustainable energy network. It will also increase the range of sustainable power options in the Netherlands, fostering access to affordable and clean energy, in line with UN SDG Goal 7.

  Find out more in their excellent video.

• UN Sustainable Development Goal 12 - Responsible Production and Consumption - Gatwick example

  

  Gatwick Airport sends zero untreated waste to landfill! 

  A key part of advancing UN SDG 12 - Responsible Production and Consumption is preventing waste from ending up in landfills. The latter are responsible for the pollution of eco-systems, create bio-hazards and, last but not least, emit large amounts of greenhouse gases, a by-product of waste decomposition. To avoid these harmful processes we need to close the loop and promote circularity. This is at the heart of Gatwick Airport's waste management process, through which they aim to reuse or recycle most of the waste produced on its site and convert the rest into energy. 

  First airport waste plant in the world

  Gatwick Airport, in partnership with DHL, has become the first airport in the world able to dispose of Category One waste on site and convert it into energy.

  Category One waste forms the majority of waste from non-EU flights and is defined as food waste or anything mixed with it – such as packaging, cups, meal trays - from international transport vehicles.

  Its disposal is governed by strict rules that usually require specialist processing offsite to protect against the potential spread of disease and infectious material. Gatwick Airport has invested £3.8million in the construction of a state-of-the-art processing plant able to dispose of this waste safely on site, and also convert it - and all other organic waste - into energy to power the new plant and heat the North Terminal.

  Towards zero waste

  Gatwick collects discarded materials from around 2,000 bins across the airport every day – in the terminals, offices and car parks. Through the signage on the bins, the airport asks passengers and staff to help the recycling drive. When they empty the bins, they undertake further sortation at Gatwick’s onsite Recycling Facility to maximise reuse, recycling and recovery of the embodied materials. Gatwick has invested substantially in a systematic ‘circular’ approach to reduce waste and maximise reuse and recycling.

  Since 2016 Gatwick Airport has achieved Zero waste to landfill in their operations each year; and increased reuse/ recycling from 52% in 2016 to 71% in 2019. Their circular system comprises redesigned airport waste collection and transport logistics; onsite Mixed Recycling Facility where general recycling including from EU flights is sorted and separated; and onsite dryer and biomass boiler to convert food scraps into renewable heat used at the facility. They also recover the grey water from the system and reuse it at the facility. 
  

  Find out more about Gatwick Airport's unique circular approach to waste management and other sustainability initiatives here. 

   

• UN Sustainable Development Goal 15 - Life On Land - Dublin Airport example

  

  A quarter of a million Irish dark native honey bees have their home beside the Dublin Airport campus

  Bees and other pollinators, such as butterflies, bats and hummingbirds, are increasingly under threat from human activities.

  Pollination is, however, a fundamental process for the survival of our ecosystems. Nearly 90% of the world’s wild flowering plant species depend, entirely, or at least in part, on animal pollination, along with more than 75% of the world’s food crops and 35% of global agricultural land. Not only do pollinators contribute directly to food security, but they are key to conserving biodiversity.

  Dublin Airport's bee hives

  Preserving biodiversity and promoting SDG 15 "Life on Land" are at the core of Dublin Airport's environmental work. The airport has been home to a quarter million bees in four hives located within the airport campus since 2018. 

  Dublin Airport’s bee hives were installed with the help and advice of the Fingal North Dublin Beekeepers’ Association and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The hives are tended to by local beekeeper Colm Fogarty who has 20 years’ experience in beekeeping.

  The bees are thriving in excellent environmental conditions on the airport’s land. A sweet side-effect - the airport is now able to serve customers with top quality 100% natural Irish honey produced on their own land. This is testament to the fact that the air quality and surrounding vegetation at Dublin Airport is excellent for the bees to pollinate.

  What's in it for the bees... and the airport

  Colonies of bees can cover areas of up to twelve square kilometres, working intensively for their food. Introducing bee hives to the local environment helps biodiversity and also makes it easier for airports to monitor emissions and overall carbon footprint. 

  Dublin Airport’s other pollinator initiative is its bug hotel, which hosts solitary bees, butterflies and hoverflies, green lacewings, ladybirds and earwigs. The hotel was built to encourage beneficial insects that perform a valued service in the environment such as pollination and pest control, and to support biodiversity in the airport's gardens.

  Following the successful trial, Dublin Airport now plans to install additional bee hives at other locations on the massive campus to increase honey production in the area.

  Find out more about Dublin Airport's sustainability strategy. 

   

• UN Sustainable Development Goal 8 - Decent Work & Economic Growth - Manchester Airport example

  

  Decent work and opportunity for all – Manchester Airport’s Airport Academy
  

  Manchester Airport is advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goal 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth through its highly successful employment and training programme designed to assist unemployed residents back to work.
  Manchester Airport has set up the Airport Academy – an on-site centre offering training to out-of-work people in Greater Manchester. All the training – which is being provided by tutors from Trafford College – is designed for the airport environment, making it one of the first projects of its kind in the world.

  Unique training to boost ‘employability’
  

  Anyone over the age of 19 can apply for a place through their local job centre, providing they live in the region and have been unemployed for at least a day. The students are given help with their CVs and presentation skills, with potential employers – ranging from airlines to shops based in the terminals – visiting the academy to interview the students when they have vacancies at the airport.
  

  As well as brushing up on the basics, they gain a customer service qualification and tutors are also helping them achieve security approval from the Department for Transport, which is needed to work in restricted areas of the airport.
  Up to 20 students at a time are able to sign up for the two-week ‘employability’ course with tutors hoping that the majority of the ‘graduates’ will be able to find a job at the airport.
  

  Catering to special needs
  

  For some people finding work is more difficult than others so Manchester Airport has teamed up with Pure Innovations, an organisation helping people with learning disabilities and those returning to work after a long term health condition to find the right job and to keep that job.
  

  Manchester Airport wants to build a future pipeline of talent to ensure that all local people – regardless of age, experience or skillset – have access to employment opportunities at their airport. Through their outreach and employment events, Manchester Airport seeks to help people of all ages and levels pursue a career that is right for them.

  Find out more about Manchester Airport Academy here. 

   

• UN Sustainable Development Goal 13 - Climate Action - Aeroporti di Roma

  

  Rome Airports Innovate With Green Financing Mechanism

  This year we celebrate Earth Day with the theme “Invest in our Planet”, bringing you a financial innovation linked to climate action from Aeroporti di Roma. Aeroporti di Roma - the operator of Rome-Fiumicino and Rome-Ciampino airports – has secured a €500 million Sustainability-Linked Bond (SLB). This green financing mechanism will link the availability of funding to the airports’ carbon management performance and will be focused on investment in projects with a positive environmental impact. The clear focus on carbon reduction and reaching the holy grail of net zero emissions makes this project firmly plugged in SDG 13 Climate Action.

  The bond issue is thus directly connected to environmental commitments from Aeroporti di Roma including:

  • Achieving net zero for CO₂ emissions under its control (scope 1 and 2) by 2030. The main projects that will allow the Rome-Fiumicino and Rome-Ciampino to achieve this ambitious target are the construction of two photovoltaic plants for a total capacity of 60MW, the electrification of the entire ground-vehicle fleet, the phase out of the fossil fuel-powered cogeneration plant and switching to bio methane for boilers from 2029.
  • Reducing CO₂ emissions relating to access to the airports by 10% by 2030 on per passenger basis (scope 3), through the installation of more than 500 charging stations for electric vehicles and enhancing the capacity of the railway station at the airport. Furthermore, the airport operator also plans to invest in the availability of sustainable aviation fuel for airlines by 2024.

  The financial characteristics of the SLB instrument will be influenced by Aeroporti di Roma’s achievement or failure to meet these environmental commitments. Performance will be evaluated on an annual basis according to a set of Key Performance Indicators, including the maintenance of its certification at Level 4+ (Transition) under the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme. Aeroporti di Roma became the first European airport operator to obtain this certification earlier this month.

  Find out more about Aeroporti di Roma’s Sustainability-Linked Bonds here.

• UN Sustainable Development Goals 6 and 14 - World Water Day - Finavia example

  

  On World Water Day 2022, we take a closer look at Finavia's work to clean up and restore streams around Helsinki Airport. 

  Finavia’s three-year project to restore the western branch of Kylmäoja brook was completed in October 2019. Since then, the restoration effort coupled with extensive waste water management carried out by Finavia has shown promising results. A population of brown trout has returned to the streams in the airport's vicinity and made active use of the new spawning grounds. 

  Finavia wants to further the conservation of nature in its surroundings. The airport operator has worked hard to minimize the emissions from the airport to local waters and to control the amount of urban runoff. Supporting the neighbouring city's streamkeepers is a natural continuation of their long-term water management work – and, as they claim, a fun alternative to office work for Finavia staff.

  “It’s great to see fish of the size pf brown trout come upstream to spawn so close to the airport. Vantaanjoki river and the brooks that connect to it are an important spawning ground for them,” says Mikko Viinikainen, Vice President, Sustainability & Environment at Finavia.

  He is inspecting the western branch of Kylmäoja brook to evaluate the success of the rehabilitation efforts. There are large fish under the surface and the brown trout are busy spawning.

  According to Viinikainen, the restoration of Kylmäoja brook is part of Finavia’s systematic long-term effort to support the conservation of waterways. In the past, the brook next to Helsinki Airport was negatively affected by the anti-skid chemicals used on runways and the aircraft de-icing and anti-icing chemicals used to ensure flight safety. Now the level of emissions to Kylmäoja has reduced greatly due to improved water management at Helsinki Airport. The return of the trout is a great sign, and with the help of Vantaa’s streamkeepers, the fish will enjoy even better living conditions. 

  Find out more about the initiative here and here. Watch Finavia's video about the restoration project (in Finnish) here. 

   

• UN Sustainable Development Goal 5 - Gender Equality - Aena example

  

  Gender equality needs to become part of company structure in order to be successful. Aena, the Spanish airport operator, is a great example of how gender equality can become an all-encompassing framework. Aena incorporated equality into the company’s collective agreement, so that the principles of gender equality and non-discrimination could become pre-requisites for all processes and actions of Aena.

  Thanks to this structural shift, the presence of women at Aena has increased considerably, from 32% to 37%. The growing number of women in the workforce is a great indicator, but what about their representation in the top management? At Aena, there are two general directorates (dependent upon the Chairman/CEO) held by a man and a woman, so that parity is absolute. Of all managerial, middle-management and graduate positions, 45% are held by women. The Executive Management Committee of Aena is comprised of nine members, four of whom are women (44%). The Extended Management Committee consists of 25 members, 10 of whom are women (40%), and the Board of Directors will soon reach 40% female representation. In addition, three airports that represent 25% of our network’s air traffic are run by women: Barcelona-El Prat Josep Tarradellas Airport, Alicante-Elche Airport and Ibiza Airport. Pictured from top right to bottom right: Sonia Corrochano Gómez, Director of Barcelona-El Prat Airport, Laura Navarro Villanueva, Director of Alicante-Elche Airport, Marta Torres Puyales, Director of Ibiza Airport. 

  The most common barrier to increased participation of women at the workplace and in the higher layers of organisations is the reconciliation between work and family life. View this page to learn how Aena addresses this important issue!  

• Launching Interviews - Chrystel Vandenhouten, Brussels Airport & Mikko Viinikainen, FINAVIA

  Watch our exclusive interview with Christel Vandenhouten, Head of Brussels Airport's Sustainable Development in which we discuss sustainability - in every sense of the word. Christel’s vision revolves around care for both people and the planet, and offers insights into the three essential pillars of sustainability: environmental, economic and societal and how they influence her own work at Brussels Airport. The societal is firmly to the fore when it comes to inclusivity and gender equality, which according to Christel must underpin actions towards enhanced sustainability. 

   

  In the coming weeks, ACI EUROPE will be showcasing the many ways in which Europe’s airports are implementing our Sustainability Strategy with their actions realising the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. What better way to trail our initiative than to sit down virtually with the leader of ACI EUROPE’s Environmental Strategy Committee and Finavia’s VP of Sustainability and Environment – Mikko Viinikainen.

  In an exclusive interview, he shares his experience of overseeing the creation of the Strategy and takes us through his own perspectives on what sustainability truly means, in particular in the context of operating airports. Read the full interview here. 

• 5 key characteristics of ACI EUROPE Sustainability Strategy for Airports

  

  1. It addresses sustainability holistically, breaking down the actionable goals airports can engage with into three pillars: environmental, social and economic and provides guidance for introducing positive change along those three axes.

  2. Amongst the urgency and focus on decarbonisation the ACI EUROPE Sustainability Strategy for Airports brings us back to the bigger picture of sustainably balanced business model.

  3. Its purpose is to serve the airport community as both a resource to set progress in motion and an assessment tool to evaluate the progress being made.

  4. The Strategy links each pathway to enhanced sustainability at an airport to one or more respective United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, plugging airports’ efforts into the global sustainability framework and showing how mature sustainability practices of a given airport spill over outside its remit into positive change on the local and global level.

  5. The Strategy can be applied to any airport, irrespective of its size, type or location, and is built around a shared vision of the sustainable airport of the future, taking into account the inevitable diversity of real-life implementations of this vision.

   

  Download your copy by clicking on the cover image.