Newquay Cornwall Airport Receives Industry Accreditation for Reducing Carbon Emissions
Newquay Cornwall Airport has been officially recognised for its effective carbon emissions reduction and management programme, with the accreditation of Level 2 ‘Reduction’ by Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA)*, the worldwide carbon standard for airports.
It is now one of eight ACA accredited airports in the UK, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Manchester and is the only airport in the South West of the UK to be in receipt of Level 2 ‘Reduction’ ACA accreditation. To achieve this accreditation, airports are required to submit independently verified evidence of effective carbon management procedures, whilst demonstrating a year-on-year reduction in carbon emissions under its direct control.
Between 2010 and 2013 carbon emissions at Newquay Cornwall Airport have been reduced by 30%, and the airport is now in a strong position to realise its target of cutting emissions by 40% by 2020.
Of all the work undertaken to reduce carbon emissions at the airport, it is the connection of Newquay Cornwall Airport to the adjacent Cornwall Council 5MW Kernow Solar Park (KSP) that has made the most significant impact on emissions to date. By connecting directly to this local energy supply the airport now has 24% of all its operational energy needs met by a sustainable source of clean energy and has made substantial operational savings as a result.
Further examples of work undertaken to reduce carbon emissions at Newquay Cornwall Airport include the installation of electric charging points, available for staff, passengers and the public to use from August 2015 and the use of low energy design standards when developing airport buildings.
Al Titterington, Managing Director of Cornwall Airport Limited says,
“This is another important step towards becoming a model regional airport for sustainability.The delivery of this important ACA certification has been the culmination of five years of working closely with our partners at Cornwall Council and Cornwall Development Company to implement, monitor and fine tune our carbon management systems.”
Julian German, Cornwall Council cabinet member for economy and culture says:
“Cornwall Council is committed to ensuring that Cornwall is both a great place to do business and an area which takes its carbon emission reductions seriously. This means we have invested heavily in communications infrastructure, much of which allows for low carbon communication such as superfast broadband or rail travel. In getting people to and from Cornwall quickly, air travel is a necessity. Provision of renewable energy to the airport is one of the many ways we try to ensure that the airport is as carbon friendly as it can be. We are really pleased to receive this industry accreditation and will continue to strive to improve the airports sustainability.”
Miles Carden, Aerohub Enterprise Zone Manager at Cornwall Development Company says:
“The Airport Carbon Accreditation is a key piece of work for the European Regional Development Fund project which focuses on developing the Airport’s sustainability in the widest sense.In addition to increasing the economic viability of the Airport, through opportunities provided by the Aerohub enterprise zone, it is important that any development is also as environmentally sustainable as possible.”
