Collaborating to minimise aviation’s environmental impact at airports

Today, EUROCONTROL officially launched the Collaborative Environmental Management Specification (CEM) at this year’s 9th Annual ACI AIRPORT EXCHANGE* Conference & Exhibition.

This specification sets out a unique collaborative approach to managing environmental impacts at and around airports, supporting all operational stakeholders in their quest to reduce their gaseous and noise emissions as well as improve local air quality. In practical terms, CEM is based on the formalisation of local working arrangements between the airport, its airlines and ANSP so as to jointly monitor key environmental parameters. This allows for a better identification of trade-offs between different environmental objectives, helping to resolve environmental and operational challenges based on informed decisions.

On this occasion, EUROCONTROL and ACI EUROPE signed a mutual recognition of their organisations’ support and commitment to aviation’s sustainable development. This involves the endorsement by ACI EUROPE of the CEM Specification as one of its Recommended Practice, making it an industry standard. This new chapter in the cooperation between the two organisations builds on their joint efforts to promote airports’ license to grow – which has seen EUROCONTROL formally endorsing Airport Carbon Accreditation upon the launch of the programme by ACI EUROPE in 2009.

Frank Brenner, Director General, EUROCONTROL commented “What EUROCONTROL, ACI EUROPE’s Environmental Strategy Committee, and the airports were aiming at when they first started collaborating on CEM in 2008, was to build a new approach through which all the partners could tackle, collectively, the common environmental issues they were facing. CEM provides a means to strategically deal with environmental issues at airports so that local regulators and communities can be proposed common solutions.”

Olivier Jankovec, Director General ACI EUROPE said “Environmental management is a core issue for European airports, as it is a vital part of earning our license to grow. Over the years, we have been addressing critical priorities like carbon emissions, noise and local air quality with tailored approaches. In the collaborative environment of an airport, bringing these processes together is a natural next step. Working with EUROCONTROL to develop Collaborative Environmental Management has been very positive, and the result provides our members with a blueprint for an even more robust and transparent dialogue with their airlines and ANSPs aimed at identifying the best possible solutions to jointly address environmental impacts.”

*ACI AIRPORT EXCHANGE, presented jointly by ACI EUROPE and ACI ASIA-PACIFIC is the biggest annual airport industry event, grouping 5 simultaneous conferences and an exhibition, addressing the many facets and challenges of the airport business. To find out more, visit www.airport-exchange.com