Its achievements, ambitions and commitment to protecting the environment quite simply make Christchurch Airport one of the greenest and sustainably run gateways on the planet, writes Joe Bates.
An ever growing list of accolades for its sustainability initiatives ensure that New Zealand’s Christchurch International Airport is a world leader when it comes to its efforts to mitigate its impact on the environment.
These include becoming the first airport in the Southern Hemisphere to achieve the top Level 5 status in ACI’s Airport Carbon Accreditation programme and being a regular winner in ACI Asia-Pacific & Middle East’s annual Green Airports Recognition programme.
In 2023, for example, its new approach to minimising waste, and its work mentoring other airports to become more sustainable, earned it two Green Recognition awards from ACI Asia-Pacific & Middle East.
It is a member of both the Climate Leaders Coalition – a CEO led community of close to 90 organistions in New Zealand leading the response to climate change through collective, transparent and meaningful action on mitigation and adaptation – and the Sustainable Business Council, which “exists to mobilise the country’s most ambitious busineses to build a thriving and sustainable future for all”.
Not surprisingly, its growing reputation as a green pioneer means that its sustainability transition leader, Claire Waghorn, is often in demand at industry events to talk about aviation’s climate impact and Christchurch International Airport Limited’s (CIAL) sustainability strategy, and this year’s joint ACI Asia-Pacific & Middle East/ACI World Annual General Assembly, Conference and Exhibition in Riyadh was no exception.
Indeed, in a one-on-one interview with PA Consulting’s Kata Cserep, Waghorn revealed that the New Zealand gateway began measuring its carbon emissions back in 2006, joined ACI’s Airport Carbon Accreditation programme in 2017, and became one of the first gateways in the world to achieve the new Level 5 status in the programme in late 2023.
In response to why the airport is so commited to the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme and sustainable development, Waghorn said: “There are many answers to that, not least environmental, but from an airport perspective, it’s good business.
“New Zealand is geographically a long way from everyone and, as such, we rely heavily on aviation. We are a market based economy, and for New Zealand, trade [effectively] means aviation. If we aren’t front footing this, the carbon border adjustment for business and trade will really start to affect New Zealand. So, from a trade, environmental and next generation perspective, we have to do our bit. This is also what people increasingly expect from a modern business.”
She noted that the airport’s sustainability goals had also allowed it access more financially favourable loans for key infrastructure development projects.
On the topic of renewable energy, Waghorn said: “The airlines can’t get to net zero without the infrastructure to support them, which is one of the key reasons why we are building our renewable energy precinct [Kōwhai Park].
“We are trying to replace jet fuel with renewable energy, so going forwards, airports really need to turn their minds to clean energy and expand to become clean energy hubs.”
In Christchurch’s case, it is undertaking the solar power venture in partnership with joint venture partners Lightsource bp and Contact Energy.
Waghorn admitted that working with JV partners better suited the airport’s balance sheet, and noted that she believes that airports with large landholdings should be considering future clean energy revenue streams, which would be game changing.
Kōwhai Park
In August, Christchurch Airport’s proposed clean energy hub took a huge step closer to becoming reality when development partners Contact Energy and Lightsource bp confirmed their investment to build the Kōwhai Park solar farm.
With around 300,000 panels spanning 230 hectares, Kōwhai Park will help meet the growing demand for renewable energy, its initial 170MW solar farm expected to generate 290GWh of electricity per year – equivalent to the consumption of around 36,000 homes.
“Kōwhai Park highlights our commitment to support decarbonisation through creating a clean energy hub that will fuel the region’s economic prosperity,” noted Christchurch Airport’s chief executive, Justin Watson.
“This array will be the same size as around 220 rugby fields – it will be an impressive sight for everyone flying to or from Ōtautahi Christchurch.
“It’s great to see our partners Contact Energy and Lightsource bp ready to develop Stage 1 of Kōwhai Park. These two organisations have all the expertise to make this a project that Canterbury can be proud of and we’re grateful to have them onboard.
“We’re also grateful to Orion, Environment Canterbury and Airways for helping us reach this milestone.”
Watson, who described the news as an exciting first phase for Kōwhai Park, continued: “We’re focused on getting other renewable energy projects located there so we can become a clean energy hub that will enable our city and region to decarbonise and help New Zealand reach its net goals.”
“The announcement paves the way for Lightsource bp and Contact Energy to begin construction in coming weeks. We look forward to celebrating more then.”
Airport Carbon Accreditation leader
As mentioned above, Christchurch was among the first airports in the world to achieve Level 5 status in ACI’s Airport Carbon Accreditation programme.
When the news was announced, ACI Asia-Pacific & Middle East’s director general, Stefano Baronci, stated: “Christchurch Airport has been a pioneer of airport sustainability in Asia-Pacific and Middle East, being the first airport operator in the world to reach Level 4 in the
ACA programme. It has confirmed its leading role in decarbonisation by being among the few airports in the world and the first in Asia-Pacific to achieve Level 5 in the Airport Carbon Accreditation Programme.
“This means having reached and maintained a net zero carbon balance for emissions under its control. This success has been based on the long-term vision of the company, a clear roadmap towards net zero and the commitment of its team and industry partners.
“We hope this milestone will encourage other airports to strive towards sustainability goals and pursue initiatives that lead to more environmentally responsible aviation industry. To support our airport members, ACI APAC & MID will also play its part by assisting airports to develop roadmaps to achieve their net-zero goals.”
Christchurch has since been joined by 18 other airports in achieving Level 5 status in ACI’s carbon reduction programme. They are Amsterdam Schiphol; Stockholm Arlanda; Bengaluru-Kempegowda; Beja; Delhi-Indira Gandhi; Eindhoven; Madeira; Gothenburg; Ivalo; Kuusamo; Kittilä; Malmö; Naples; Ponta Delgada; Ronneby; Rotterdam The Hague; Rovaniemi; and Toulon Hyères.
To achieve this level of accreditation an airport must:
• Submit a verified carbon footprint for Scope 1 and 2 emissions and all relevant categories of Scope 3 emissions as per requirements of the GHG Protocol Scope 3 Guidance.
• Reach and maintain up to 90% absolute CO2 emissions reductions in Scope 1 and 2, and commit to Net Zero in Scope 3 by 2050 or sooner.
• Apply credible carbon removals for the residual emissions.
• Develop a Carbon Management Plan (CMP) outlining the steps to achieve emissions targets.
• Develop a Stakeholder Partnership Plan to achieve Net Zero for Scope 3 emissions by engaging with the value chain, and actively drive third parties at the airport towards delivering emissions reductions themselves with regular milestones in line with their sectors’ net zero frameworks and commitments.
“Christchurch Airport’s been working hard at this for more than 15 years. A dedicated team of people have gone above and beyond to get us here,” enthused Watson.
“I’d also like to acknowledge the assessors who independently verify our work, the Airport Carbon Accreditation Asia Pacific team, and those who have challenged us to lift the bar even higher. We thank them for their support and challenge.”
Reflecting on the achievement, Waghorn said: “This is a great moment for our team. This is a challenging sector to abate and no one is under any illusion – we have a whole lot more work to do to decouple carbon from aviation and make the zero aviation dream a reality.
“We recognise however the critical role that aviation plays, especially for isolated nations, and therefore are committed to being part of the solution. That’s why 90% of the work we do now focuses on how we can help other businesses, including our airline partners decarbonise.
“As a business we are working hard. We’re part of a consortium to enable hydrogen aviation to take off in New Zealand and we’re helping lead Sustainable Aviation Aotearoa.”
Airport Carbon Accreditation is the only institutionally-endorsed, global carbon management certification programme for airports.
It independently assesses and recognises the efforts of airports to manage and reduce their carbon emissions through its levels of certification: ‘Mapping’, ‘Reduction’, ‘Optimisation’, ‘Neutrality’, ‘Transformation’, ‘Transition’ and ‘Level 5’.