Quito International Airport achieves carbon neutral accolade

Andrew O’Brian, President and CEO of Quiport, said: “Corporación Quiport is one of the pioneers of this programme. We joined ACA in 2015 and today we have completed the four levels of the programme. Corporación Quiport’s initiatives to achieve this important accomplishment have included concrete actions to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, reduce fuel consumption, increase energy efficiency, improve water management, maintain conservation areas for flora and fauna and more.”

In July 2019, emissions for 2018 were measured and Quito Airport’s carbon footprint was calculated at 3,273 tonnes of CO₂ emissions, a 41 per cent reduction compared to 2014 as the base year (5,534 tonnes of CO₂).

It is important to note that once carbon neutrality has been achieved, a plan must be set in place to reduce greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions in order to stay at this level of the ACA programme. Each year, the airport will recalculate the carbon footprint and maintain or reduce the levels of emissions to avoid increasing the carbon footprint, as well as offset emissions for another year.

O’Brian continued: “We continue to work so that our efforts go beyond Quiport’s operations; to date we have amplified our impact by getting 26 companies at the airport, from airlines to commercial operators, to start their own initiatives to reduce their carbon footprints.”

Sandro Ruiz, General Manager of Empresa Pública Metropolitana de Servicios Aeroportuarios y Gestión de Zonas Francas y Regímenes Especiales (EPMSA) – the municipal entity in charge of overseeing the airport concession, said: “As the representative of the Municipality of Quito at the airport, EPMSA congratulates it on becoming the first international airport in Latin America to achieve carbon neutrality. This would not have been possible without the great dedication and efforts of Corporación Quiport, which has allowed a balanced ecosystem to be maintained at the airport”.

Quiport offsets its direct emissions by buying certified carbon credits in sustainable projects. We have chosen the MANOA REDD+ Project which works to preserve 74,000 hectares of forest in Rondônia State, Brazil, which faces threats to its biodiversity from deforestation and illegal logging.

The certificate will be officially awarded at the ACI-LAC Annual Assembly in October 2019 in Bogotá.