2022 AIRPORT CARBON ACCREDITATION NEWSLETTER
01/03/2022
2021 proved to be yet another year where airports took it upon their stride to accelerate towards a greener and more sustainable future. The past year was Year 13 of ACI Europe’s Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) programme which saw airports remain steadfast on their carbon goals and rally to higher levels of the programme. The year saw ambitious targets, investment in greener technology, planning of systematic actions, and optimised processes. Airports, along with their stakeholders, have demonstrated a strong commitment to a cleaner, brighter, and healthier industry. 2022 is all set to transcend the year gone by, with the industry expected to have reinforced environmental and sustainable accomplishments, ready for the return of the passengers.
This year again, Verifavia looks forward to accompanying airports, airlines, and other stakeholders in making the world a more sustainable place.
Airport Carbon Accreditation & Verifavia
The ACA programme was established by ACI Europe and WSP (the programme administrator) to stimulate airports to be more environmentally sustainable and recognize the participating airports’ efforts and achievements. ACA aims to encourage and enable airports to implement best practices in carbon management and achieve emissions reductions. Airports can participate in one of six increasingly stringent levels of accreditation.
Verification is an essential requirement for all ACA levels. The main objective of independent third-party verification is to ensure that the information, statements, and plans reported are a true and fair account of the airport's efforts. This mandatory process aims to ensure that the airport’s carbon footprint is materially fair and accurate, thereby providing confidence to stakeholders.
Verifavia has been a leader in ACA verifications since 2014, having verified 300+ carbon footprints of 100+ airports worldwide – approximately 27% of all accredited airports.
2021 updates to Verifavia’s ACA team
2021 saw Verifavia’s ACA verification team grow to 9 approved verifiers, spread across 7 countries.
Furthermore, 2 of our verifiers went on to be successfully approved to verify ACA level 4 and level 4+ applications.
By the end of 2022, 5 additional verifiers of the team are also expected to be approved verifiers at the highest levels of the ACA programme.
By the end of 2022, 5 additional verifiers of the team are also expected to be approved verifiers at the highest levels of the ACA programme.
Be a part of Verifavia’s team
In the framework of expanding its services, Verifavia is looking to hire a GHG / ACA auditor. The role will focus on liaising directly with various clients and consultants to audit the monitoring and reporting procedures for GHG data, interview responsible persons, document findings and ultimately reach a verification opinion towards the data reported. Find out more about the role here (in English) or here (in French).
Recap of our 2021 ACA verifications
In 2021 alone, Verifavia successfully verified 45+ airports from all ACI regions across ACA level 1 - level 4. This brings the total count of our ACA verification experience to 300+ footprints of 100+ airports since 2014.
The highlight of Verifavia’s 2021 ACA season was the successful completion of our first set of level 4 verifications. Verifavia verified Kansai Airport Group’s Kansai International Airport, Osaka International Airport, and Kobe Airport. All 3 airports went on to be accredited on 3 November 2021.
Glimpse of our upcoming ACA verifications in 2022
Following our successful 2021 ACA verification season, Verifavia is poised to ride the wave by looking forward to 12 verifications amongst many others in 2022.
We are also all set to deliver a comprehensive ACA training course to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) this year. Murtala Muhammed International Airport (LOS) and other Nigerian Airports are also expected to participate in this session.
For any queries about our ACA & carbon footprint verification services and training programmes, please get in touch with us via airports@verifavia.com.
For any queries about our ACA & carbon footprint verification services and training programmes, please get in touch with us via airports@verifavia.com.
Reminder of the recent modifications to the ACA programme
In light of the COVID-19 sanitary crisis and its impact on the aviation industry, WSP & ACI Europe have brought about various changes to the ACA programme. Here is a summary of the modifications:
- Airports, regardless of the type of application and level (i.e., new entry, renewal, three-year renewal, upgrade), are not to use 2020 emissions data. 2020 emissions are excluded from all airport carbon footprints.
- Airports can refer to the following table for their upcoming ACA applications:
- To identify the actual carbon performance of an airport, the Carbon Management Plan (CMP) requirements have been made to be more stringent. Therefore, airports will have to provide the estimated carbon reductions resulting from the most significant actions in their CMP in addition to identifying the impacts of COVID-19 on their emissions.
- The programme administrator shall pre-approve an airport's application for a limited deviation related to COVID-19, i.e., an airport may apply for renewal with an increase in emissions mainly due to circumstances beyond the airport's control.
- The requirement to conduct site visits for verification purposes has been waived until 14 May 2022.
