Flying the flag for environmental sustainability
AIRPORTS COMPANY SOUTH AFRICA’S sustainability strategy focuses on the environmental impact of its airports including water and energy conservation, waste management, alien vegetation removal, wildlife conservation, reduction in carbon emissions, management of airport noise levels and minimising the broader impact of airline operations on the environment.
All nine of Airports Company South Africa’s airports have been certified as compliant with the most-recognised international standard for environmental management systems.
Says Fundi Sithebe, Chief Operating Officer at Airports Company South Africa: “Our ISO certification involved significant aspects for the environmental performance improvement of our nine airports such as fuel handling, waste disposal from both terminals, aeroplanes and engineering. We are very proud of this ISO certification as it affirms Airports Company South Africa’s commitment to operating our airports in an environmentally responsible and sustainable manner”.
As part of its on-going commitment to clean energy generation and sustainability, Airports Company South Africa has rolled out a series of photovoltaic solar power plants at its regional airports. George Airport in the Southern Cape was the first ACSA airport to be solar powered with a 200 square meter solar farm built in February 2016, followed by Kimberley Airport and Upington International Airport.
To date, four of Airports Company South Africa’s airports have been awarded Level 1 Airport Carbon Accreditation as per the Airports Council International (ACI) Carbon Accreditation Programme. O.R. Tambo International Airport, King Shaka International Airport, Cape Town International Airport and Port Elizabeth International Airport have met the international requirements to achieve carbon accreditation.
A water-saving and augmentation plan implemented at Cape Town International Airport is designed to reduce water usage by 50% and enable the airport to become self-sufficient.
Airports Company South Africa secured an uncontested Environmental Impact Assessment for the Cape Town International Airport runway realignment project. Our project planning includes measures to mitigate social and environmental impacts.