OREANDA-NEWS.   Sydney Airport has successfully become Airport Carbon Accredited by Airports Council International (ACI) under its carbon standard for airports, as part of the airport’s ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability.

The certificate of Level 1 accreditation was presented to Sydney Airport Chief Executive Officer, Kerrie Mather, at the ACI Asia-Pacific Regional Assembly in Seoul, South Korea yesterday.

“At Sydney Airport, we’re committed to managing the airport in an environmentally sustainable way, minimising our impact on the environment and meeting voluntary global commitments for reducing carbon emissions,” Ms Mather said.

“We’re very pleased to receive this seal of approval from the internationally and industry recognised Airport Carbon Accreditation.

“Working to reduce environmental impacts is an essential part of our strategy. We have mapped our carbon footprint and are now working to reduce our carbon emissions.

“We’ve developed a five-year environment strategy and an energy savings plan to identify new energy saving, greenhouse gas emission reduction and energy efficiency opportunities.

“Some of our recent environmental initiatives include installing new energy efficient lighting at various locations, saving water through our water recycling plant, offsetting vehicle fleet carbon emissions by planting trees, and investing to facilitate cleaner, next generation aircraft.

“We also work collectively with the broader aviation community to reduce environmental impacts, while continuing to provide global air connectivity.

“Not only do these measures lead to improved environmental outcomes, they also drive innovation and increase efficiency across the airport.”

ACI Asia-Pacific Regional Director, Patti Chau, congratulated Sydney Airport on its accreditation.

“I wish to congratulate Sydney Airport on becoming Airport Carbon Accredited at the Mapping Level of the program,” Mrs Chau said.

“The program is the only institutionally endorsed carbon management certification standard for airports worldwide. I am pleased to welcome Sydney Airport’s accreditation, symbolising its commitment to starting on the road to carbon neutrality.”

In order to achieve certification at Level 1 (Mapping) of Airport Carbon Accreditation, Sydney Airport had to map the various sources of CO2 emissions on the airport site and then have its specific carbon footprint independently verified. It also had to provide details of its carbon management processes.

Airport Carbon Accreditation is an international certification system designed to assess and recognise participating airports’ efforts to manage and reduce their carbon emissions. It is the only industry-specific, performance-based, voluntary and institutionally-endorsed accreditation label designed specifically for airports. The program was recently commended by OECD’s International Transport Forum.

ACI Europe launched Airport Carbon Accreditation in 2009 and extended the program to airports in the Asia-Pacific region in 2011, in cooperation with ACI Asia-Pacific. The program is administered by international consultancy firm WSP.