Green Initiatives Recap of 2022 for Airports

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Green Initiatives Recap of 2022 for Airports

1 March 2023

As India charts the course to drive green, sustainable, resilient, and inclusive growth, the year 2022 saw GMR Group taking noteworthy measures in its Airports business portfolio. This includes Delhi Airport introducing a green transportation program, Hyderabad Airport launching a biodiesel fueling station, and both airports encouraging the use of electric vehicles.

The green transportation program launched on the occasion of World Environment Day 2022 aims at enabling a swift transition to green mobility, thereby significantly reducing Green House Gas (GHG) emissions, and enabling Delhi Airport to become a “Net Zero Carbon Emission Airport” (NZCEA) by 2030.

As part of the program, the airport will switch to Electric Vehicles (EVs) in a phased manner

The Phase 1 of the program introduced 62 electric vehicles at the airport, which would help in reducing 1,000 tonnes of GHG emissions annually.

The EVs were specially customized to install airport-specific equipment for ease of adoption by the airport stakeholders.

Sustainability at Hyderabad Airport this year was about moving a step ahead towards green energy with the launch of a biodiesel fueling station in the airport premises, opposite the Public Transportation Centre building. This first-in-the-nation initiative of introducing a biodiesel outlet on the airport’s premises will be a great step taken towards making Hyderabad Airport- a “Net Zero Carbon Emission Airport” (NZCEA) by 2050. This is so because:

Biodiesel is an environment-friendly fuel containing 11% oxygen by weight with no sulphur, and produces 80% less CO2 and almost 100% less SO2 emissions.

It is also a great alternative to petroleum and diesel as it offers the same power output with lesser environmental impact

The fuel is also the only alternative that runs in any conventional, unmodified diesel engine extending its life because of better lubrication, with an additional effect of cleansing the engine walls.

Other than this, both the GMR-led airports employed a host of other environment-friendly initiatives such as becoming single-use plastic-free airports, commissioning renewable energy (through solar power plants, rainwater harvesting, and cloud-based irrigation control systems), and establishing green buildings to name a few.

Also, the newly launched GMR- led international airport at Mopa, Goa has adopted various green principles from the planning phase itself to protect the environment. The sustainable and eco-friendly initiatives of the airport includes:

Commissioning a 5 MW solar plant for captive use

Installing a 340kg organic waste composter on-site to treat 100% of the organic waste generated daily

In process of planting 50,000 trees using the Miyawaki method (native plants specific to regional climatic conditions)

Making provisions for storm-water and rainwater harvesting towards water conservation and re-use

The Passenger Terminal Building of Goa Airport also got platinum certification from the Indian Green Building Council.

Green Highlight:

RGIA has a vast landscaped green cover within an area of 675 acres along with a well-maintained greenbelt and extensive vegetation. The presence of this sprawling green cover acts as a natural sink of carbon emissions and absorbs about 240 tonnes of CO2 / annum from the environment.

IGIA has developed first of its kind high-tech plant nursery spread across a sprawling area of 100,000 sq. ft. maintaining 60+ plant species which not only improve aesthetics and de-stress passengers but also provide air purification to the environment. These indoor plants are efficient at improving indoor air quality by passively absorbing toxic VOC such as Nitrogen Oxides, Formaldehyde, Xylene, Benzene, Toluene, etc.

IGIA's Terminal 3 has been the first 'Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design' (LEED) Gold Accredited airport terminal building in the world for its green footprint; RGIA on the other hand, got the silver rating LEED certification in 2008 by US Green Building Council.

As per the Government of India's directive to make India single-use plastic free by 2022, both airports have imposed a zero-tolerance policy on the usage of single-use plastic.

Hyderabad Airport is India's first airport to induct a cloud-based Central Irrigation Control System using an "IMMS online" (Irrigation Management and Monitoring Software) mechanism to control the intricate Automatic Irrigation System across the 80 acres of the landscape spread along the 8.4 km stretch of the airport spine road. A first-of-its-kind technology to be introduced in India, the control of the irrigation system is precise and timely, enabling the airport to save water up to 35% over the conventional mode of irrigation system.