Under the Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA), introduced in 2009 on the initiative of the Airports Council International Europe (ACI EU), Sihanouk International Airport has been upgraded to Level 3 certification of a program aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions while engaging stakeholders to curb their own emissions.
Earlier this year, Phnom Penh International Airport, also powered by VINCI Airports, attained ACA Level 3.
The ACA program requires the monitoring of the airport’s carbon footprint and the implementation of actions to reduce the footprint over the years.
To achieve the Level 3 milestone, the airport has invested heavily and deployed multi-pronged initiatives, including commissioning efficient chiller systems for the central air conditioning, replacing all light sources with LED technologies, putting in place automatic systems to reduce and optimising the energy consumption in the main buildings, awareness campaigns across the airport community encouraging specific behaviours towards carbon management and reduction.
Additionally, and as part of the airport’s Stakeholder Engagement Program, it has included third parties, such as restaurants, fuel suppliers, airliners, into the initiative, extending its benefits to the entire airport community and beyond.
The independently verified global carbon management certification program has seven stages of certification such as mapping, reduction, optimization, neutrality, transformation, transition, and Level 5, which accredits airports that reach a net zero balance in their direct emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2) and set a roadmap to reach Net Zero emissions on its Scope 3 by the year 2050.
In December 2023, ACI launched this new accreditation Level 5, awarded at this point to only 10 airports worldwide, among which 4 airports are developed and operated by VINCI Airports, the parent company of Cambodia Airports.
Cyril GIROT, CEO of Cambodia Airports, said, “We are continuing our commitment onward with respect to fighting climate change, intensifying our efforts in every possible way to substantiate our vision for positive mobility. Having our partners join concrete actions that we have implemented bodes well for our next accomplishments. I want to express my appreciation to them and to our personnel for their crucial contribution.”
(Source: khmertimeskh)