Global climate

Flughafen Zürich AG is committed to protecting the climate. Over the past 20 years, the company has succeeded in cutting its CO₂ emissions by over 40%.

CO₂ SOURCES

Of the known greenhouse gases, only carbon dioxide (CO₂) is produced in relevant quantities at Zurich Airport. Each year the quantities emitted are recorded in a CO₂ inventory.

In accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG protocol), the CO₂ sources are allocated to different spheres of influence known as “scopes”. Scope 1 comprises airport-owned or controlled sources. These mainly include heating systems, own electricity production, and Flughafen Zürich AG’s vehicle fleet. Scope 2 is off-site electricity generation, i.e. electricity that is bought in. Finally, scope 3 covers all other airport-related sources. This includes all ground handling systems, feeder traffic, and the actual aircraft.

MEASURES TO REDUCE CONSUMPTION

The level of CO₂ emissions is directly linked to the use of fossil fuels. All steps taken to reduce the use of fossil energy sources will therefore benefit the climate. Flughafen Zürich AG is focusing on reducing its scope 1 CO₂ emissions by upgrading its built infrastructure in order to reduce heat demand. In addition, it is constantly optimising the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems in its buildings to cut electricity consumption. Any new builds are planned and built to be energy-efficient in line with the latest standards. It is also renewing its vehicle fleet with fuel-efficient vehicles and gradually replacing diesel or petrol-engined ones with electric vehicles.

In the course of the reporting year, 38 new public charging points for electric vehicles were installed for visitors in car park P6.

AIRPORT CARBON ACCREDITATION

The airport’s efforts to reduce CO₂ emissions have been recognised by Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) since 2010. ACA is an initiative of ACI EUROPE which encourages airports to reduce their CO₂ emissions and recognises their achievements in doing so. The programme now extends to airports on all continents. There are four levels of award, with the highest level signifying that airport operations are carbon-neutral.

Zurich Airport has been accredited at the second-highest level, which means that Flughafen Zürich AG is continually reducing its CO₂ emissions and is helping its partners to cut their emissions too.

Situation in 2018

In the reporting period, CO₂ emissions at Zurich Airport amounted to 25,143 tonnes in scope 1, 1,657 tonnes in scope 2 and 4,113,904 tonnes in scope 3. The clear decline in scope 1 is due primarily to lower heating demand during the heating period.

CO₂ emissions at Zurich Airport by scope since 1997.

Reduction targets

Flughafen Zürich AG has set itself ambitious targets for reducing its scope 1 and 2 CO₂ emissions. It has already met its target for cutting emissions to 30,000 tonnes ahead of 2020. It is aiming to reduce these emissions still further to 20,000 tonnes by 2030. This represents a reduction in CO₂ emissions of more than 50% compared with 1991, despite significantly expanded infrastructure.