The Global Voluntary Carbon Management Standard for Airports Panagiotis Karamanos Senior Advisor September 17, 2017
Airport Carbon Accreditation commitment.. to reduce carbon emissions from airport operations fully within their own control with the ultimate target to become carbon neutral."
A global programme June 2009 Europe June 2013 Africa September 2014 N. America November 2011 Asia-Pacific November 2013 One of top-3 low carbon projects in Europe November 2014 Latin America & Caribbean The only global standard for carbon management in the airport industry
Key features Independent advisory board Cooperation with ACI regional offices Partnership with UNFCCC since COP21 Technical task force of environmental managers Independent administrator Development according to international standards
The programme is well recognized What Airport Carbon Accreditation has achieved over the last seven years is both surprising and inspiring. there is much that other industries can learn from this and even emulate. Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary, UNFCCC
Airports can choose from 4 accreditation levels Level 3+ Offsetting own Scope 1 & 2 emissions Level 3 Engagement of 3 rd parties & measurement of their emissions Level 2 Emissions reduction target, carbon management plan, & annual reductions Level 1 Carbon footprint & policy Scope 1&2 Scope 3
Key steps for accreditation Register & guidance document Help Desk Support On-Line Application Obtain internal approval Undertake relevant actions Obtain verification from 3 rd party Become accredited
leading to the certificate
Evolution has been continuous 250 Number of Accredited Airports 200 150 100 50 43 63 84 102 125 156 189 196 17 0 May '10 May '11 May '12 May '13 May '14 May '15 May '16 May '17 Sept. '17
Scope 1 & 2 emissions are going down
27 accredited airports in NA
... at various levels of accreditation Level 1 Mapping Level 2 Reduction Level 3 Optimisation Level 3+ Neutrality Austin-Bergstrom Phoenix Sky Harbor Montreal PE Trudeau Dallas Edmonton LA Van Nuys Toronto-Pearson Greater Moncton Minneapolis-St. Paul Seattle-Tacoma Halifax-Stanfield Portland International San Francisco Indianapolis Portland-Troutdale LA International Ottawa Macdonald- Cartier Portland-Hillsboro Victoria Winnipeg- Richardson Tampa San Diego Denver Honolulu Vancouver Detroit Salt Lake City
Specific tools to support your work ACERT 5.0 Developed by ACI & Transport Canada Free carbon mapping tool Minimum expertise required Operational inputs: fuel use, electricity, ground transport estimates, aircraft activity, etc. Automatic report generation Recognition of ACA-related information To obtain ACERT email: Juliana Scavuzzi (JScavuzzi@aci.aero)
There is a range of potential benefits Knowledge transfer Efficiency improvements Raised profile & credibility Standardisation & benchmarking Increased awareness, specialisation & motivation Reduction of regulatory risk Support to stakeholders
Lessons learned Consult the Guidance Document Start early & develop a realistic timeline Obtain high level approval Establish a permanent inter-departmental team 1st time data collection will be more challenging Cooperate with other departments for data collection Acknowledge the relative importance of the sources Electricity is likely to be the main source of CO 2 emissions Check what/how other airports in NA became accredited
Airport Carbon Accreditation is continuously evolving New Guidance Document Reduced fees Offsetting guidance Improved on line application List of effective reduction initiatives FAQ in progress.
But there are some challenges Challenge Way forward in 2017/2018 Payment process Inconsistency of verifier stringency/requests Duplication of requests during application process, response to queries, etc. Examine possibility of payments in local currency Provide updated guidance document and training to verifiers in 2018 On line application is being updated (test version Oct. 2017) to clarify types of information to be provided; Review processes with administrator
In conclusion is a voluntary programme specifically designed for the airport industry is flexible and site specific so it can be used at any airport Airport Carbon Accreditation recognises existing or new initiatives is consistent with national and international standards is the global voluntary carbon management standard for airports
Contacts Melinda Pagliarello Director, Environmental Affairs ACI NA MPagliarello@aci-na.org Panagiotis Karamanos Senior Advisor Airport Carbon Accreditation KaramanosP1@gmail.com Kris Russell Env. Program Manager DFW Airport KRussell@dfwairport.com Derek Gray Manager Environmental Services Toronto Airport Derek.Gray@gtaa.com www.airportcarbonaccreditation.org