Istanbul New Airport seeks Envision sustainability verification

The Envision system rates sustainable infrastructure projects across the full range of environmental, social, and economic impacts.

With a vision of İstanbul New Airport as one of the world’s top aviation hubs, the airport project strives to set an example not only as an innovative infrastructure project, but also a driving force making significant contributions to Turkey’s sustainable development.

İstanbul New Airport will operate to more than 350 destinations with two terminals, six runways and an annual passenger capacity of 200 million people, once all the phases are complete. As part of the project, Istanbul’s New Airport will follow all internationally recognised sustainability practices, particularly related to the environment, biodiversity, ground improvement, local employment, supply chain and subcontracting network, human rights and stakeholder relations.

İGA, the company responsible for constructing and operating the project for 25 years, completed an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Study for the İstanbul New Airport project in 2015 according to International Finance Corporation (IFC) Standards and the Equator Principles, and now the project is targeting verification in accordance with the Envision Rating System program, offered by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure.

Through this reporting process for Envision, İGA has vastly improved its sustainability practices and achieved a sustainability culture within its organisation. For today’s world, sustainability is key for development, and many infrastructure projects are working to adopt sustainability practices. Communication of sustainability programs plays a vital role for popularisation among stakeholders and sector players. As a leading company with sustainable development projects, İGA also sets high standards for the communication strategies in its market and creates a model for others to follow.

“With Envision we have the best possible partner on board”, says Ulku Ozeren, Director of Environment and Sustainability; “Sustainability is important to us. We constantly strive for the best. The verification process will help us building an exemplary airport which will further enhance the development of Turkey.”

As a collaborative effort between ISI and the Zofnass Program for Sustainable Infrastructure at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, the Envision system rates the impact of sustainable infrastructure projects as a whole. The ISI Envision system measures sustainable infrastructure in five categories: Quality of Life, Leadership, Natural World, Resource Allocation, and Climate and Risk. These key areas contribute to the positive social, economic, and environmental impacts on a community.

“We are delighted to see interest in Envision expand to Europe and globally,” says ISI President and CEO John Stanton. “We are looking forward to reviewing the sustainability of such a large, high-profile project as the İstanbul New Airport with the Envision system.”

To learn more about İstanbul New Airport, click here.