Quito has become the first international airport in Latin America and the Caribbean to achieve carbon neutral status in ACI’s Airport Carbon Accreditation programme

Quito has become the first international airport in Latin America and the Caribbean to achieve carbon neutral status in ACI’s Airport Carbon Accreditation programme. The milestone cements Mariscal Sucre International Airport’s status as an environmental pioneer. Operator Corporación Quiport joined the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme in 2015 and has achieved the lofty status in double quick time.

“Corporación Quiport is one of the pioneers of this programme,” enthuses president and CEO of Quiport, Andrew O’Brian.

“We joined ACA in 2015 and today we have completed the four levels of the programme.

“Corporación Quiport’s initiatives to achieve this important accomplishment have included concrete actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce fuel consumption, increase energy efficiency, improve water management, maintain conservation areas for flora and fauna and more.”

In July 2019, emissions for 2018 were measured and Quito Airport’s carbon footprint was calculated at 3,273 tons of CO2 emissions, a 41% reduction compared to 2014 as the base year (5,534 tons of CO2).

Maintaining Neutrality

Having achieved the top status in ACI’s ACA programme, Quiport reveals that it has no intention of losing it and promises that it will set in place new measures in the future to further reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Indeed, it states that “each year, we will recalculate the carbon footprint and maintain or reduce the levels of emissions to avoid increasing the carbon footprint, as well as offset emissions for another year.”

O’Brian adds: “We continue to work so that our efforts go beyond Quiport’s operations; to date we have amplified our impact by getting 26 companies at the airport, from airlines to commercial operators, to start their own initiatives to reduce their carbon footprints.”

Sandro Ruiz, general manager of Empresa Pública Metropolitana de Servicios Aeroportuarios y Gestión de Zonas Francas y Regímenes Especiales (EPMSA) – the municipal entity in charge of overseeing the airport concession – comments: “As the representative of the Municipality of Quito at the airport, EPMSA congratulates it on becoming the first international airport in Latin America to achieve carbon neutrality.

“This would not have been possible without the great dedication and efforts of Corporación Quiport, which has allowed a balanced ecosystem to be maintained at the Airport”.

Offsetting Emissions

Quiport offsets its direct emissions by buying certified carbon credits in sustainable projects.

It has chosen the MANOA REDD+ Project which works to preserve 74,000 hectares of forest in Rondônia State, Brazil, which faces threats to its biodiversity from deforestation and illegal logging.

The certificate will be officially awarded at the ACI-LAC Annual Assembly this October in Bogotá.

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