Bahrain International Airport (BIA) has been awarded the Airport Carbon Accreditation ?Level 1 - Mapping? by Airports Council International (ACI)
The Airport Carbon Accreditation recognises and accredits airports that manage to successfully reduce their carbon footprint. The four-step programme is in its sixth year now and has accredited more than 120 airports worldwide so far.
Bahrain Airport Company (BAC), the managing body and operator of BIA, has been working in collaboration with Envisa, a French consultancy group, to work towards specific carbon emission reduction goals that are consistent with the accreditation programme. Together with Envisa, BAC is developing a carbon management plan for a long-term environmental strategy that will gradually reduce BIA?s carbon emissions and achieve the full Level 4 accreditation. The other three steps in the programme after mapping are reduction, optimisation and neutrality.
BIA CEO Mohamed Yousif Al Binfalah said, ?Environmental sustainability has become a global movement and the aviation industry is increasingly taking action to reduce its carbon footprint and operate in a greener, more responsible manner. We are keen to do our part to preserve the environment and we will persist with our goal to reduce our emissions and gradually turn BIA into carbon-neutral facility.?
He added that the airport has already started planning for the second phase of the programme to actively reduce emissions and attain accreditation for ?Level 2 ? Reduction? in the near future.
ACI?s Asia-Pacific regional director Patti Chau said BIA?s accreditation has shown that airports in the region are committed to and have taken action in reducing CO2 impact at airports.
ACI is the only institutionally-endorsed carbon management certification programme for airports. It takes into consideration emissions from aircraft while they are stationed within an airport?s perimeter and on initial departure and final approach.
