Türkiye’s mega Istanbul Airport has reached “Level 4” in the Airport Carbon Accreditation certificate by the Airports Council International Europe (ACI EUROPE), thanks to measures taken in line with its 2050 Net Zero Carbon commitment, according to a statement from the air hub released on Tuesday.
According to the statement issued by Istanbul Airport operator IGA, Istanbul Airport continues its carbon footprint reduction efforts in line with the “net zero commitment for 2050” and “IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) 1.5 degrees” targets in the fight against the climate crisis.
Level 4, also named “Transformation,” means that the organization’s carbon management is aligned with global climate targets in line with the IPCC 1.5 degrees Celsius 2050 Net Zero targets and that operations are carried out with absolute emission reductions in mind. The highest level is level 5.
Since 2019, IGA Istanbul Airport has achieved a 21% reduction in total carbon emissions while it moved from Level 1 to Level 4 in the ACI EUROPE certification program, which it started two years ago.
IGA acting deputy CEO Selahattin Bilgen, whose views were included in the statement, said that reaching Level 4 in the Airport Carbon Accreditation certificate indicates Istanbul Airport’s determination toward environmental sustainability.
“We continue to contribute to the efforts of our country and the world to build a sustainable future,” he said.
“In light of our goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050, we aim to be the first airport to start producing all of its electricity consumption through renewable energy sources with our Solar Power Plant project, which we plan to start in the first quarter of 2024 and complete at the end of the year,” Bilgen noted.
Airports Council International Europe Director General Olivier Jankovec stressed that Istanbul Airport is the first in Türkiye to achieve this success.
“Istanbul Airport was first certified under Airport Carbon Accreditation just two years ago and their progress from their initial certification level to Level 4 has been impressive,” he maintained.
“I commend the entire IGA Istanbul Airport team for their efforts toward achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050,” he added.
