Birmingham Airport (BHX) has achieved Level 3 (optimisation) of the Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) scheme for a third consecutive year. The airport received the accreditation, which is currently awarded to less than 30% of passenger airports in Europe, in recognition of its ongoing investment into advanced carbon management processes, as well as its demonstration of wider engagement with third-party business partners on climate action.
Overseen by Airports Council International (ACI), the scheme is a global carbon management standard for airports with the programme bringing BHX’s decarbonising activities and reporting under ACI’s framework of scrutiny.
The accreditation follows the recent implementation of an array of key initiatives to significantly reduce the airport’s carbon emissions and consequential environmental impact. Last year, BHX switched on a £10 million 6.8-megawatt solar farm which has the capacity to sustainably power 100% of the airport’s required energy usage during peak conditions. The airport then installed a further solar installation of 90kW light-weight solar film positioned on the roof of the North Terminal to maximise solar energy generation. These developments are in addition to other sustainable transitional projects at the airport including replacing traditional bulbs with low-energy LEDs in high-mast lights, switching to a 100% green tariff for electricity provided throughout the site and emphasising the benefits of conscious energy consumption to staff through the hosting of internal engagement events.
Commenting on the accreditation, Simon Richards, Chief Financial and Sustainability Officer at Birmingham Airport said: “We’re pleased to maintain our Level 3 Airport Carbon Accreditation for the third year running, which is illustrative of the significant progress we have made to date in reducing our carbon emissions on-site. Looking forward, we will be continuing to work towards achieving Level 4 of the ACI scheme by proactively engaging with our business partners to minimise our indirect carbon footprint and announcing further investment into sustainable energy transitions to ensure we remain firmly on track to become net zero by 2033.”
