Three major European hubs - Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam - are among the first to sign up to a unique carbon neutrality club.
Airport Carbon Accreditation, a voluntary programme masterminded by ACI Europe, is designed to gauge and recognise efforts by airports to shrink their carbon footprint.
More than 30 airports have applied to join the programme, devised by consultancy WSP Environmental, which comprises four levels of accreditation leading to carbon neutral operations.
The programme will be administered independently by WSP Environmental and overseen by an advisory board including the European Commission, European Civil Aviation Conference and Eurocontrol.
Member airports will need to report annually and engage an independent third party to verify their carbon footprint accords with recognised greenhouse gas accounting standards.
Speaking at the ACI Europe annual congress in Manchester, Oliver Jankovec, director general, said: "Until now, there hasn't been a common framework for mapping and reducing carbon emissions on the airport site - which is a uniquely complicated space.
"For ACI Europe, today is the culmination of two years of hard work. This is about collectively engaging the European airport community to play its part in addressing the impact of aviation on climate change, alongside the persistent efforts of airlines and other industry partners."
Source: Flight International
