Acterra announced the selection of the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) for their top sustainability award for 2017, the Acterra Business Environmental Award. In the Large Organization category, SFO was honored with the Acterra Award for Sustainability. In its announcement, Acterra cited SFO as a nationally-recognized sustainability leader in the aviation industry for its history of climate action and sustainability reporting.
Acterra Executive Director Adam Stern said, “At a time when environmental policy is being challenged at the federal level, these award winners send a powerful message that Bay Area companies, public agencies, and schools remain committed to cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable business practices. Acterra is proud to recognize the achievements of these innovative organizations.”
“As an industry leader in sustainability efforts, we continue to set aggressive goals for our contributions to the environment, including targets to achieve zero emissions, zero waste and zero net energy,” said Airport Director Ivar C. Satero. “We are truly honored to be recognized by the respected staff of Acterra for our achievements.”
Despite its status as one of the fastest-growing airports in the United States, SFO has achieved significant success in reducing its carbon footprint. Since 1990, the Airport has reduced greenhouse gas emissions from airport-controlled operations by 38%, already far exceeding a City and County of San Francisco goal of 25% reduction by 2017. SFO has also reduced energy consumption by almost 11,000 megawatt-hours per year, and improved 558 acres of wetlands throughout the Bay Area.
Reduction strategies have included:
- Installation of air conditioning and electrical power to all parked aircraft, resulting in a reduction of 18,300 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions and saving 1,866,000 gallons of jet fuel1
- Construction of the AirTrain, an electric-powered light rail system which eliminated over 600 daily bus trips to shuttle passengers between terminals and the Rental Car Center
- Creation of a Clean Vehicle Policy to promote the adoption and deployment of energy efficient vehicles, by both Airport departments and ground transportation providers
- Programs to encourage airport employees to take public transit to and from work
