Bengaluru Airport achieves another milestone in its sustainability journey
BIAL received an Airport Carbon Accreditation Level 3 ‘Optimisation’ certificate in October 2013
Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru is recognised by the Airports Council International for its effort to manage and reduce carbon emissions, creating a path for sustainable development.
Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) announced that the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme has upgraded Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru (BLR Airport) to ‘Level 3+ Neutrality’, which is the highest level of environmental achievement available to airports. BLR Airport is only the fourth airport in the Asia-Pacific region to achieve this level of certification. Carbon neutrality occurs when the net carbon emissions over an entire year are zero, or when the airport absorbs or offsets the same amount of emission that was generated. This achievement is accredited by Airport Council International (ACI) under the Airport Carbon Accreditation that monitors the efforts of airports to manage and reduce their carbon emissions.
Commenting on the certification, Sanjay Reddy, Managing Director, BIAL, said, “As an environmentally-conscientious corporate, BIAL’s approach to sustainability incorporates understanding and learning from experience, and we have progressively developed capabilities to respond to industry best practices. BIAL continues to work in collaboration with its partners within the eco-system to improve and reduce energy, constantly working towards carbon neutrality.”
The Level 3+certification was received in recognition of a series of green initiatives adopted by BIAL, over a period of time that includes energy conservation programmes, installation of onsite solar power generation, monitoring air quality, water management and energy management. BIAL set up a system to measure and monitor the carbon footprint at the airport in accordance with Airport Carbon Accreditation. According to the requirements of the certification process, all data was verified by DNV GL.
Since 2008, BLR Airport has achieved 57 pc reduction in carbon emissions on a per passenger basis as well as an overall 42 pc reduction in energy costs, demonstrating a passion and commitment towards fostering and promoting ecological sustainability. Currently, the airport serves over 22 million passengers, annually.
The Airport Carbon Accreditation programme provides a unique common framework and tool for active carbon management at airports with measurable results. It covers the operational activities that contribute most to carbon emissions.
Apart from this the other key green initiatives at the BLR Airport include use of alternative fuel, biodiesel, battery-operated vehicles; implementation of rainwater harvesting and ground recharge; conversion of conventional lighting to LED; adoption of sensor-based lighting; water conservation through the installation of low-flow fixtures, waterless urinals, e-toilets and development of surface wells; reuse of dismantled bituminous materials; use of natural daylight in Terminal; 100 pc recycling of liquid waste used in irrigation, fire fighting and HVAC (heating, ventilation & air conditioning); elimination of paper cups in terminal, using water fountains; elimination of plastic bags, substituted with jute bags; and scientific processing and recycling of solid waste.
