Austin-Bergstrom Earns Airport Carbon Accreditation
The Austin-Bergstrom International Airport has joined the Airports Council International - North America (ACI-NA) Airport Carbon Accreditation program for its efforts to manage and reduce carbon (CO2) emissions, by achieving Level 1 Mapping status.
"The success of the Airport Carbon Accreditation program is both an inspiration and a challenge to the airport industry," said ACI-NA President and CEO Kevin M. Burke. "While earning certification in this program is difficult, airports must be innovative in finding new ways to reduce carbon emissions in order to renew their certification.”
To receive ACI’s Level 1 accreditation the Austin airport:
- Created and published an official environmental policy which can be located at: www.austintexas.gov/department/environmental-responsibility.
- Calculated the carbon footprint for the airport developing a base year following ACI’s methodology; and
- Enlisted the assistance of a third party to verify the calculations.
“This is the next step in an ongoing effort at ABIA to further reduce its carbon footprint and become part of ACI’s international Airport Carbon Accreditation Program,” said Kane Carpenter, Environmental Manager at the Austin airport. “Now that we have a baseline, our next step is to set specific carbon reduction goals and develop a formal plan to achieve those goals to obtain Level 2 accreditation.”
The Austin airport is committed to reducing carbon emissions and incorporating sustainable principles, climate resiliency best management practices, and environmental stewardship into all aspects of its culture, planning, development and operations.
Other carbon reduction initiatives at the Austin airport include:
- Using 100 percent Green Choice Energy – Wind power
- Lowering the usage of fuels such as propane and diesel, and converting to electric
- Using Green Seal products such as water based paints and cleaning products
- Continuing to develop recycling and waste management programs
- Using energy efficient construction, renovation and engineering designs.
Currently 27 airports in North America are recognized by ACI’s international carbon accreditation program. Learn more about Airport Carbon Accreditation at http://airportco2.org/.
