Auckland International Airport : Sustainability performance exceeds 2020 targets

Auckland Airport's continued focus on waste and energy minimisation has meant that its sustainability targets for 2020 have already been met well ahead of schedule.

Auckland Airport's sustainability manager, Martin Fryer, says one of the key achievements has been the implementation of waste minimisation plans which have seen recycling increase by 10% from the international terminal and 5% from the domestic terminal over the last twelve months.

'As well as this, since 2012 and on a per passenger basis, reductions in waste to landfill is at an amazing 42% - more than double the 2020 target,' says Martin. 'Our commitment to energy efficiency has also seen a 30% energy reduction per passenger since 2012 and a 33% reduction in carbon per passenger over the same period.'

'These results are quite amazing given the 23% increase in passenger numbers since 2012 which inevitably demands more energy consumption and produces more waste.'

'From an operating cost perspective, essentially our waste and energy costs have remained stable for the past five years at around 4%. Reducing energy consumption also allows further terminal expansion projects to be achieved without the need for expensive network upgrades or significantly increasing plant and equipment, so the savings are multiple.'