Scotland's busiest airport has made promising progress toward a healthier, happier, and lower-cost future — and now it's ready to level up to even greater goals.
Edinburgh Airport has advanced to Level 4, aptly named "Transformation," in the Airport Carbon Accreditation program thanks to its "dedication … [to] comprehensive sustainability initiatives," Environment+Energy Leader reported. The ACA's international certification has seven levels and 500-plus participating airports, per its website.
A member of VINCI Airports, a private operations management group, Edinburgh Airport has major ambitions in tackling global toxic pollution, E+E Leader reported. Its commitment is detailed in the airport's recently published Net Zero Strategy and counted among the "primary achievements leading to [the] accreditation."
Aspirations and awareness matter, but real change can only take flight with action.
That balance of planning and practicality has helped Edinburgh Airport succeed. E+E Leader explains that the ACA recognition "reflects the airport's success in implementing long-term strategies for … driving systemic change."
Many of these strategies involve shifts from reliance on dirty energy sources (coal, oil, and gas), which is harmful to public and individual health, finances, and industries.
Edinburgh Airport has been exploring alternative energy options that don't come with such alarming drawbacks and can even benefit our well-being, wallets, and work.
Already, the airport has added over eight football fields' worth of solar panels, brought in sustainable gas substitute biomethane to generate power, and started going electric for a substantial portion of its vehicle operations.
"[We] no longer procure fossil fuel[ed] vehicles where a suitable electric option exists," the Net Zero Strategy document reads.
The E+E Leader report says that Edinburgh Airport plans to keep the hard work going toward ACA Level 4+ and beyond. As the airport expands its current programs, it will also begin to scrutinize its supply chain practices and invest in "reliable" external carbon credit projects.
As with many awards, Edinburgh Airport didn't get there alone. Working with "stakeholders, airlines, and campus partners" has been critical, with "[these] collaborative efforts … crucial in reducing emissions across the airport's ecosystem," E+E Leader added.
The airport's head of sustainability, Jessica Briggs, told E+E Leader: "This accreditation marks another major milestone as we progress toward net-zero emissions … Work is already underway."
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