Abu Dhabi hosts ACI environment and safety conference

This three-day conference is the second meeting held within the Asia Pacific network with the next round being held in Kuala Lumpur.
Attendees include 20 senior members from the Asia Pacific Airport network along with representatives from Department of Transport Abu Dhabi (DOT), Etihad Airways and the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC) who will share their best practices regarding sustainability and airport environmental issues. Recommendations will then be consolidated and agreed to by the committee members, to be formally submitted to the ACI Environmental Standing in order to help set future policies in the field. Furthermore, all members will be encouraged to enroll into the carbon accreditation programme to add to carbon mapping efforts in the region.
Ahmed Al Haddabi, chief operations officer at Abu Dhabi Airports, said: “Our commitment to sustainability, as demonstrated by Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) becoming the first airport outside of Europe to be ACI Airport Carbon Accredited, makes Abu Dhabi Airports the right place to start up such important dialogue and planning. As the company gears up to welcome an anticipated 20 million passengers by 2017, the commitment to sustainability will continue to be at the forefront of its objectives with the goal of becoming an environmental leader within this dynamic industry.”
Highlighting Abu Dhabi Airports’ commitment to sustainability, AUH earned the accreditation level of ‘mapping’ from ACI Airport Carbon Accreditation in 2011 in recognition of its efforts to manage carbon dioxide emissions with plans to enrol in the second level by next year.
Furthermore, Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council (UPC) recently awarded Abu Dhabi Airport’s Midfield Terminal Building (MTB) project with a 3 Pearl Design Rating from the Estidama Pearl Building Rating System (PBRS). The Estidama Pearl Rating System is a framework for sustainable design, construction and lifecycle operation for communities, buildings and villas. Designed to be the new gateway to Abu Dhabi, the MTB is now the highest rated airport terminal in the GCC, and the largest singular building ever to be rated globally.
Airports Council International (ACI) is the only global trade representative of the world’s airports. Established in 1991, ACI represents airports’ interests with governments and international organizations such as ICAO, develops standards, policies and recommended practices for airports, and provides information and training opportunities to raise standards around the world.