|
Billund Airport and the environment
Billund Airport is an enterprise that unavoidably affects the environment in and around the Airport. This is a fact which we are highly aware of and constantly trying to act on. Billund Airport wants to be known as an environmentally conscious enterprise. This requires that we do not merely meet the requirements and conditions imposed on us. The conditions are a result of the environmental regulation of the Airport and designed to ensure that the Airport can be operated without causing environmental pollution to the surroundings and in a manner which is compatible with the vulnerability and nature of the surroundings. However, the Airport strives to be at the cutting edge within the environmental field and therefore constantly seeks to achieve improvements.
Some environmental impacts are more significant than others. Our energy consumption is high and puts a strain mainly on a limited, non-renewable resource. Our consumption of de-icing agents for runways and taxiways as well as for aircraft is essential in terms of aviation security, but is also an issue that we must constantly focus on in order to make sure that the use of such agents does not result in a negative impact on the environment. Waste constitutes a bit of a challenge. We handle large volumes of mixed waste generated by many different operators. Moreover, the consequence of a given environmental impact also plays a role. Is the impact irreversible or not? These aspects are given special attention when assessing the Airport’s environmental impacts, but this does not mean that other issues are “deselected”. Noise, for example, is a high priority for us for other reasons (the interests of neighbours). Consequently, the Airport focuses mainly on energy, surface and ground water, noise and waste management.
Environmental policy
It is the environmental policy of Billund Airport to be known as an environmentally conscious enterprise:
- We will - together with the authorities - predict changes and be prepared for tackling new environmental challenges.
- We will - together with airlines and other operators at the Airport - continuously bring about improvements.
- We will work actively for the implementation of new technology and know-know so that the impact on nature and the surroundings is reduced/minimised.
- We will – both internally and externally – openly provide information on Billund Airport’s impact on the environment.
- We will - through information and training - increase the employees’ environmental awareness so that environmental considerations are given high priority in the day-to-day practices, both when it comes to procurement, water and energy consumption and the emission of noise, smoke, particles and smells.
Environmental impacts
Noise
The biggest source of noise at the Airport is aircraft taking off and landing. Therefore, out of consideration for especially the residential areas in the northern part of the town of Billund, a departure procedure has been established, ordering large aircraft to make a 30-degree turn away from the town when taking off towards the west. The requirements imposed on Airport operations have been tightened during night time when planned take-off by the noisiest types of aircraft is prohibited. Moreover, the Airport has a set of rules limiting school flights with large aircraft and helicopter operations. Other noisy activities at the Airport include engine-testing of aircraft, snow clearance, operation of generators for the supply of electricity to aircraft and other equipment. There are rules specifying how and when engine testing of aircraft may take place. Tests are to be carried out mainly at the southern engine testing site. The site is surrounded by an earth wall to minimise the inconvenience caused to the surroundings.
Drainage
The fall of rain and snow on the Airport’s paved areas is drained off partly to streams, partly through percolation to ground water. Equalization reservoirs have been established to prevent the flooding of streams. During the winter, de-icers are used on runways, taxiways and platforms as well as aircraft. For the sake of protection of aircraft etc., the de-icing agents used here are not the same as those used for roads in general; instead agents are used that do not attack metals in the same manner. The agents used at the Airport contain glycol (aircraft) and sodium formate/potassium formate (runways and taxiways) respectively. The removal of snow/ice from aircraft takes place at a platform where spillage is collected and disposed of to a purification system. The Airport has an extensive programme for surveillance of ground and surface water which serves the purpose of ensuring that the operation of the Airport takes place with due regard for the vulnerability and the nature of the surroundings.
Waste
With approximately 2.6 million passengers annually and around 680 full-time employees, a great deal of waste is generated at the Airport. The aircraft contribute significantly to the Airport’s overall generation of garbage. The operation of the Airport also generates a variety of other waste types such as cardboard/paper, plastic, oil and chemical waste, electronic scrap and metal scrap. There are two waste-management yards at the Airport where the waste is temporarily stored prior to disposal for recycling, incineration or special treatment.
Environmental preparedness
The Airport has a number of procedures and instructions which serve the purpose of, for example, limiting the extent of interruptions and accidents. In the event of an environmental accident, for example in connection with the refuelling of aircraft, the Airport has environmental emergency procedures which are to prevent the contamination of water bodies, soil and ground water.
Energy and water consumption
The Airport’s largest drain on resources takes place in the form of the consumption of energy (mainly electricity, district heating and fuel) and water. We constantly focus on optimising and minimising the Airport’s energy and water consumption. One of the initiatives taken by the Airport to reduce its energy consumption is to establish a ground-water cooling system using ground water for cooling the terminal during the summer.
Miljønetværk Syd
Billund Airport is a member of Miljønetværk Syd which is a voluntary co-operation between authorities and enterprises on environment and sustainability. This membership obliges the Airport to focus on continuous improvements within the environmental field and implies that an environmental report is to be worked out every third year and progress reports are to be worked out in the intermediate years.
Focus areas
In general, the aviation sector faces both regional and global challenges within the environmental field (for example noise and the emission of climate gasses). As an airport, we want – preferably in cooperation with our stakeholders – to contribute to tackling these challenges. Therefore Billund Airport’s vision for the environmental field is that we want to be among the leading airports when it comes to environmental solutions. That puts an obligation on the Airport. We therefore focus on our energy consumption and will be open to new technologies within this field which can bring about savings. These are some of the reasons why Billund Airport has committed itself to a three-year EU project under The North Sea Region Programme 2007-2013. The project is aimed at small and medium-sized airports and serves the purpose of developing strategies and solutions for more eco-efficient, sustainable and green regional aviation.
We are also involved in the demonstration project EcoMotion, which is an association of enterprises working within the field of environmentally friendly vehicles. The fuel used is methanol, and fuel cells generate the power running the electric motors in the vehicle. The vehicle which is to be tested at the Airport is intended as a towing vehicle for luggage carts.
References:
Miljønetværk Syd - http://www.milsyd.dk/
EcoMotion - http://www.ecomotion.dk/standard/ecomotion/ecomotion.aspx
Green Sustainable Airports - http://provincie.drenthe.nl/gsa/
Invironmental Report 2010
   |
4,5
°C
9 m/s
