Detroit Metropolitan Airport achieves third level of Airport Carbon Accreditation program
DETROIT (Dec. 18, 2019) – The Wayne County Airport Authority (WCAA) is pleased to announce that the Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) has achieved Level Three of the Airport Carbon Accreditation program. The announcement was made at the 2019 Airport Council International (ACI) - North America (NA) Annual Conference & Exhibition in Tampa, Florida.
“We are proud to be one of the 47 airports in North America to achieve the Airport Carbon Accreditation,” said WCAA CEO Chad Newton. “The Detroit Metropolitan Airport is committed to creating a sustainable airport. By collaboratively working with our internal and external stakeholders, we continue to make strides in decreasing the airport’s impact on the environment and future generations.”
The Airport Carbon Accreditation is a carbon management certification standard for airports across the world developed by ACI Europe. The program assesses and recognizes the efforts of airports to manage and reduce their carbon emissions. There are four levels of accreditation: Mapping, Reduction, Optimization and Neutrality.
Mapping requires carbon footprint measurement by the airport. Reduction requires a reduction in the airport’s carbon footprint and a carbon management plan. Optimization builds on the first two levels and engages airport stakeholders in carbon footprint reduction. The final level, neutrality, includes the previous requirements, along with neutralizing remaining direct carbon emissions by carbon offsetting.
“We have worked for the past three years to achieve Level Three carbon accreditation,” said WCAA Sustainability Program Administrator Sara Kaplan. “We have replaced fluorescent and metal-halide light fixtures with Energy Star certified LEDs throughout the campus, installed electric vehicle charging stations and have made many improvements to our power plant. We have also constructed more energy efficient buildings, and most recently added an all-electric vehicle to our fleet. Our current runway and taxiway construction project will make our airfield operations more efficient, reducing emissions from airplanes.”
The Airport Carbon Accreditation is an independent, voluntary program sponsored by ACI Europe. The program launched in Europe in 2009 and extended to five additional regions (Asia-Pacific, Africa, North America, Latin America and the Caribbean) by 2014.
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) welcomed more than 35 million passengers in 2018 and is one of the world’s leading air transportation hubs. With service from 13 scheduled passenger airlines, Michigan’s largest airport offers approximately 1,100 flights per day to and from more than 140 nonstop destinations on four continents. With two award-winning passenger terminals, six jet runways, and an onsite AAA Four-Diamond Westin Hotel, DTW is among the world’s most efficient, customer friendly and operationally capable airports in North America. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport received the highest score among mega airports in the J.D. Power 2019 North America Airport Satisfaction Study of customers’ satisfaction with the airport they traveled through and scored the highest in the security check and terminal facilities factors. Visit jdpower.com/awards for details. DTW is operated by the Wayne County Airport Authority, which also operates nearby Willow Run Airport – an important corporate, cargo and general aviation facility. The Airport Authority is entirely self-sustaining and does not receive tax dollars to support airport operations. Visit www.metroairport.com for more information.