Bristol Airport awarded Level 3+ Carbon Neutrality status

Bristol Airport (BRS) has been independently accredited as having carbon neutral operations for its direct Scope 1 and 2 emissions, making it just a handful of airports to receive this prestigious certification. The award recognises that Bristol Airport has continued to fulfil the requirements of the scheme with reducing direct greenhouse gas emissions from its operations and offset the remainder using internationally recognised offsets.

The accreditation is awarded by the Airports Council International (ACI) whose priority is to recognise and certify airports globally which map, calculate, reduce, optimise and, where necessary, offset residual carbon dioxide emissions. The Airport Carbon Accreditation Scheme is the only institutionally endorsed carbon management certification standard for airports; with independent assessment and verification requirements as an airport progress from just mapping its direct emissions footprint to transitioning to and recognises airports’ efforts to manage and reduce their CO₂ emissions.

This award is the second highest level of accreditation issued by ACI and requires the mapping of all sources of carbon emissions at Bristol Airport. This includes aircraft ground movements, transportation access to the airports, electricity and fuel consumption. The accreditation is externally verified in two stages, the first by an independent, qualified assessor and secondly by ACI against the requirements of the Airport Carbon Accreditation Scheme.

Bristol Airport had set a target of carbon neutral operations by 2025, but has achieved this target four years ahead of schedule. It is a major step forward in the airport’s next aim to achieve net zero operations by 2030, where emissions will be reduced as much as technology allows, with any small remainder being removed from the atmosphere.

Back in summer 2021, Bristol Airport announced its aim to achieve net zero operations by 2030. Bristol Airport made three key commitments to be a net zero airfield, with net zero buildings and operate a net zero fleet of vehicles.

Earlier this year (2021), Bristol Airport launched a brand-new Innovation Fund to kick start and fast track decarbonisation initiatives in the South West. The £250,000 Aviation Carbon Transition (ACT) Programme provided an opportunity for organisations and businesses to apply for grants of up to £50,000 to help develop technology that could help the aviation industry transition to zero carbon emission flight.

Bristol Airport announced a recent partnership with easyJet to decarbonise ground operations. This UK first trial resulted in a 97 per cent reduction in CO₂ emissions using the daily data produced throughout the month of September 2021. This was a result of using electric powered ground equipment instead of diesel.

In autumn 2021, Bristol Airport hosted business leaders for an event to focus on the development of an ecosystem for hydrogen in the region. The event joined forces with several companies to collaborate and form a consortium to look at the possibilities for creating the infrastructure that will serve the needs of hydrogen as a critical source of zero-carbon fuel in the decades ahead.

“The achievement of the neutrality accreditation is another huge milestone in our commitment to reduce our carbon dioxide emissions,” commented Dave Lees, CEO, Bristol Airport. “This award supports our long-term strategy in reducing our carbon emissions and is another example of us demonstrating our commitment to addressing climate change. The airport will continue to work closely with stakeholders and business partners in the aviation industry to help reduce and drive down carbon emissions as we have set out or own target on all airport operations being net zero by 2030.

“I would like to thank all the teams at Bristol Airport for their hard work in achieving this incredible award. I am extremely proud of our efforts in reaching this milestone and it’s another step on our way to becoming one of the UK’s most sustainable airports. Sustainability is at the heart of Bristol Airport and everyone’s collective involvement is a testament to our team’s commitment and recognition in managing, reducing, and offsetting carbon dioxide emissions under our control.”