Hong Kong Airport to Implement Carbon Management Platform from SITA

(21/03/23)  Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) is to install a carbon management platform from SITA that will monitor data on carbon emissions across the airport, helping it to track key performance indicators and ultimately achieve its net zero carbon goal.

The platform, which is expected to be fully deployed by summer 2023, will collect and aggregate data on scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon emissions from 29 participating business partners across the airport value chain, overseeing services such as ground handling, aircraft maintenance, air cargo logistics, and catering.

Airport scope 1 and 2 emissions stem largely from fossil fuel energy consumed to operate the terminal building, vehicles and equipment, while scope 3 emissions, indirect emissions originating from the airport’s value chain and business partners, are more difficult to track and represent a significant contributor to overall airport emissions. In the case of HKIA, airport business partners account for more than 50% of airport-wide ground emissions.

Cathay Pacific Cargo B747F taking off from HKIA. Picture by Steven Howard of TravelNewsAsia.com

Peter Lee, General Manager, Sustainability, Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK), said, “We are committed to achieving the HKIA 2050 Net Zero Carbon Pledge with our business partners. The development of this new Carbon Management System will provide comprehensive, accurate carbon emissions tracking against the long term target for both AAHK and each of our pledged business partners, and serves as a foundation for transparent reporting. We are pleased to have found a partner in SITA for this project, who have a firm understanding of the complexities of the airport environment and the ability to tailor their solution to suit our needs.”

HKIA, the busiest airport in the world for cargo and one of the busiest for passenger traffic, is home to one of the world’s largest terminal buildings. In 2012, AAHK pledged to make HKIA the world’s greenest airport, reinforcing this goal in 2021 with the announcement of its 2050 Net Zero Carbon Pledge, a commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, with a midpoint target of a 55% absolute emissions reduction by 2035 (from a 2018 baseline).

HKIA has adopted an airport-wide approach for carbon management, working collaboratively with business partners to set carbon reduction targets and implement measures to accelerate airport-wide carbon reduction. While HKIA already has an online emissions tracking system, it does not unify emissions data collected from the many sources active in the airport environment, requiring more time-consuming manual processes.

SITA’s solution, supported by net-zero technology partner Envision Digital, aggregates data streams from across the airport environment and participating business partners and consolidates these into a single customizable dashboard.

Allowing the tracking of emissions data alongside key performance indicators towards HKIA’s Net Zero Carbon Pledge, the dashboard interface facilitates carbon performance tracking, providing the granularity to monitor individual emissions sources against specific targets.

Having all available data in one place supports HKIA in aligning its carbon reporting to government and industry measurement standards such as ISO and complying with Airports Council International’s Airport Carbon Accreditation program for which mapping of greenhouse gas emissions is key.

“As a certified CarbonNeutral company currently setting emissions reduction targets aligned with the Science Based Targets initiative Net-Zero Standard, SITA has an unwavering commitment to meeting sustainability goals within our organization and facilitating such efforts across the air transport industry said,” Sumesh Patel, President - Asia Pacific, SITA. “We applaud HKIA’s proactive efforts towards a net zero goal, and we are proud to apply our expertise and familiarity with HKIA’s operating environment to support its sustainability goals with a precise, customizable, and efficient solution.”

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