The aviation industry and airlines are now fully aware that, one way or another, they are going to have to make their contribution to the collective effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (see separate article). As ground installations and services start their slow transformation to more ecological practices, the San Francisco International Airport (SFO) seems to have a real lead with its implementation of a programme aimed at drastically reducing its environmental impact over the next decade. The programme is focused on improving air quality, reducing noise pollution, conserving and improving water quality, reducing and recycling waste, saving energy and promoting energy efficiency.

Since 2003, aircraft parked at the SFO international terminal can hook up to a fixed electricity network and a ‘preconditioned’ air system. They no longer have to use auxiliary power units and thus save fuel. Not only does this reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but it also allows a substantial reduction of other pollutants (NOx, methane and SO ₂). In terms of operations, the airport is phasing in the use of steady descent, rather than in stages. SFO is also replacing 60% of its ground fleet with vehicles fuelled by natural gas and giving priority to ‘clean’ and public means of transport to and from the airport and on the site itself. Measures to reduce water consumption, the installation of a water purification system, the re-use of waste water and waste recycling (55% of municipal waste and 90% of construction waste in 2007), complete the picture.

SFO has also carried out a “sustainable” renovation of its Terminal 2 (use of certified wood and glass for optimal use of natural light) and is gradually putting in place energy-efficient equipment (change of light bulbs). It promotes the use of renewable energy – both solar (installation of 50,000 square feet of solar panels on the roof of Terminal 3, for savings of 215 tonnes of CO ₂ for 582 MW produced annually) and hydroelectric (13.5 million kW/h a month, for savings of 56,050 tonnes of CO ₂ emissions a year).

The public is being asked to do its part. Kiosks set up in the terminals under the Climate Passport programme enable passengers to calculate the carbon footprint of their air travel and its cost (based on a fixed price per tonne of carbon) and to donate the equivalent to ‘green’ projects being implemented in the San Francisco region. Another consumer incentive is to give passengers who rent a hybrid vehicle at the airport a US$15 discount at the counter. Airport rental car companies will qualify for a 20% reduction of their airport rent fees if they achieve a goal of increasing the percentage of their overall transactions to 15% for rentals of hybrid cars or high mileage vehicles.