Southampton Airport has been working to minimise its carbon footprint for many years and this continuous effort has now been awarded by Airport Carbon Accreditation level 2 ‘Reduction’.
This climate certification level requires the development of a detailed carbon emissions inventory and establishment of a carbon emissions reduction target, as well as delivering annual tangible emissions reductions in line with the airport’s Carbon Management Plan.
Between 2015 and 2018, Southampton Airport has cut its CO2 emissions per passenger by over 50% percent – the equivalent of 1,250 metric tonnes per year, despite significant passenger growth in that period. An early adopter of LED low energy lighting, Southampton Airport purchases 100% green electricity and offers customers free electric car charging in its car parks.
Launched by the Airport Council International (ACI) Europe in 2009, the programme enables airports to work towards progress in decreasing their carbon footprint, eventually becoming Carbon Neutral at level 3+. Airport Carbon Accreditation comprises four climate certification levels: Mapping, Reduction, Optimisation, and Neutrality.
The administration of the programme is managed by an independent assessor, ensuring unbiased implementation and certification.
Anna Wyse, Southampton Airport’s Environment & CSR Manager, said: “I am delighted Southampton Airport has achieved ACA Level 2. We are committed to reducing our carbon footprint in every way possible and are actively exploring a range of new technologies that will further reduce emissions from our operations.
“We acknowledge that Climate Change is a global issue that calls for collective, industry-wide action. I am expecting a further fall in our emissions when the 2019 Carbon Footprint is published. We also hope now to press ahead and achieve Carbon Neutral status as soon as possible, ahead of our 2030 target.”
She added: ‘Since applying for the ACA Level 2, we have implemented FEGP (Fixed Electrical Ground Power) and are looking forward to our new fleet of Electric Buses being delivered later this year and further electrification of airport ground vehicles. Southampton Airport is committed to be Net Zero by 2050 at the latest, but we are confident we can go beyond this much quicker with some of the projects we have in the pipeline.”
The results of Southampton Airport’s substantial CO2 savings will also feed into the global CO2 reduction figure, achieved by airports active in the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme2. The long-term plan to achieve net zero carbon emissions from operations is driven by the European airport sector’s joint vision, spearheaded by ACI EUROPE3.
