Harvey Milk Terminal 1: Sustainable by design

Harvey Milk Terminal 1 is a facility that honors what makes San Francisco great. It serves as a tribute the life and legacy of a pioneering civil rights leader who championed equality and acceptance. But this new facility also embraces another Bay Area value: a commitment to our environment.

When completed, Harvey Milk Terminal 1 will achieve a 70% reduction in energy usage compared to other airports, while accommodating 70% more passengers than the previous facility. But setting new benchmarks in sustainability is nothing new for SFO.

“We’ve always been about pushing the boundaries of how sustainable an airport can be. With Harvey Milk Terminal 1, we were further able to challenge the status quo, applying the very latest developments in sustainable building design and across our future operations.”

A LEGACY OF LEADERSHIP

SFO is an airport industry leader in sustainability. In 2011, it opened Terminal 2, the first airport terminal in the United States to achieve “Gold” status for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), one of the most popular green building certification programs used worldwide.

In 2016, SFO become only the second airport in the U.S. to achieve industry certification for its advanced carbon reduction efforts, which have cut greenhouse gas emissions from airportcontrolled operations by 39% since 1990.

In 2018, the airport signed a landmark agreement with major airlines and fuel suppliers to expand the use of sustainable aviation fuels, a lowcarbon and sustainably produced dropin alternative to jet fuel.

The airport has earned numerous environmental awards for carbon reduction, sustainable design and guidelines, protection of endangered species and employee wellness. In April 2019, SFO was honored for creating the world’s first certified Zero Net Energy (ZNE) facility at an airport.

CHASING A BIG ZERO

SFO next set its sights on a more ambitious goal of achieving campuswide “triple zero” — carbon neutrality, zero net energy use and zero waste going to landfill. With this bold target, the Harvey Milk Terminal 1 project team pushed the envelope of sustainable design and construction, taking advantage of every “zero” innovation available.

“We’ve always been about pushing the boundaries of how sustainable an airport can be,” said Airport Director Ivar C. Satero. “With Harvey Milk Terminal 1, we were further able to challenge the status quo, applying the very latest developments in sustainable building design and across our future operations.”

SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES FROM THE GROUND UP

Even before the new facility took shape, SFO found innovative ways to apply sustainable practices to every aspect of the project. One of the first steps in the construction of Harvey Milk Terminal 1 was to extend the useful life of the existing Boarding Area B, which dated back to 1963.

This phase created “Interim Boarding Area B”, with a refreshed interior space, new passenger amenities and a new extension to the concourse. The pavement of this new section

SFO has an ambitious goal of achieving campuswide “triple zero” — carbon neutrality, zero net energy use and zero waste going to the landfill. Harvey Milk Terminal 1 has several features to help reach these goals, including composting and recycling for passengers.