Stansted awarded globally recognised carbon neutral airport status
London Stansted has been awarded Level 3+ carbon neutral status by the Airports Council International (ACI), in recognition of its extensive work to reduce and offset carbon emissions at Londons fastest growing airport.
Above:
Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI EUROPE (left) presenting London Stansted’s Airport Carbon Accreditation certification to Martin Churley, Stansted’s Environment Manager (centre) , and Adam Freeman, MAG’s Environment Advisor (right).
The award was formally handed over to Martin Churley, Stansted’s Environment Manager, and Adam Freeman, MAG’s Environment Advisor, at the Airport Carbon Accreditation ceremony at the ACI’s World Annual General Assembly in Brussels. Achieving carbon neutrality means an airport has reduced emissions under its direct control.
A range of energy management measures have been put in place to monitor energy use, supported by a range of efficiency measures. These include the installation of efficient LED lighting, building management systems to optimise operations, the use of free air cooling and staff engagement campaigns.
Collectively these initiatives have slashed the airport’s energy demand, with gas use dropping by 19 per cent and electricity consumption by 14% since 2011/12. This is despite Stansted serving an additional 10 million passengers a year during the same period.
Above:
Stansted airfield operations.
To further reduce emissions, London Stansted has sourced all its electricity from renewable sources since April 2013. To compensate for the small amount of remaining and unavoidable emissions, the airport has also purchased verified carbon offsets.
Collectively, these initiatives have reduced emissions from the energy and fuel used to operate the terminal, runway and facilities at Stansted Airport from 25,000 tonnes CO2e in 2011/12 to zero in 2016/17.
In addition, the airport diverts 100% of its waste from landfill, recycling more than 75% and has a higher proportion (53%) of passengers using public transport than any other UK airport. Staff at Stansted also benefit from an 80 per cent reduction in the cost of public transport with 33% of staff using public transport for work journeys.
London Stansted Chief Executive Ken O’Toole said: “At Stansted Airport we are proud and committed to minimising the impacts of our operation on the environment and to working with key partners at the airport to drive positive change. After many years of hard work to reduce the amount of energy we use, we are delighted to be recognised by Airport Carbon Accreditation as carbon neutral, and that our initiatives at Stansted are making a really positive impact.
“This achievement is especially pleasing as it follows a period of record growth in passengers numbers and at a time when we are the fastest growing London airport.
“We want to continue growing the airport, offering passengers more choice and convenience and airlines access to the London market through our available runway capacity. But we are committed to doing this in the most sustainable and responsible way.
“As an organisation we recognise that climate change is an important global challenge, with aviation contributing around two per cent of international carbon emissions each year. This achievement demonstrates our commitment to ensuring we balance our role as economic generator, alongside caring for the environment, whilst working with our third parties to reduce the wider impact of our industry.”
Olivier Jankovec, Director General, ACI EUROPE, said: "I congratulate London Stansted on becoming carbon neutral. Stansted is a fine example of an ambitious airport that is actively seeking to develop sustainable connectivity for its community – by reducing the emissions under its direct control, working with others on the airport site to do their part and investing in responsible carbon offsets for the remainder of its direct CO2 emissions. And of course, with this news today, it means that all 3 airports in the MAG group are now carbon neutral – a huge achievement for everyone involved in making that happen.”
With four different levels of accreditation covering all stages of carbon management (Mapping, Reduction, Optimisation and Neutrality), Airport Carbon Accreditation is independently administered, institutionally-endorsed and has the support of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), United Nation Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), US Federal Aviation Administration and the European Commission (EC).