Austin airport earns carbon neutrality accreditation, key to city's environmental goals

Austin American-Statesman
Claire Lawrence - Austin American-Statesman
December 12, 2022

Austin-Bergstrom International Airport has earned accreditation as carbon neutral for the second straight year and is the only carbon neutral airport in the United States, according to airport officials. 

“We are very excited about it,” said BJ Carpenter, sustainability coordinator for the airport's environmental division. “It is not an easy task to be able to achieve. For a smaller, medium-sized airport to be able to achieve this level of carbon neutrality is exciting. We think it’s a positive driver for carbon management at the airport, and we’re very proud of it.”

The Airport Carbon Accreditation Program awarded Austin-Bergstrom a level 3+ accreditation for neutrality, which goes to an airport when any carbon emissions that can't be stopped by actions and practices are paid for with offsets. Carbon offsetting occurs when the airport spends money on carbon reduction projects to make up for emissions that cannot be completely eliminated.

The other North American airport at the same level of carbon neutrality is Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International in Canada.

The city of Austin's Department of Aviation has reduced the airport's carbon footprint by paying to provide airport shuttle buses that run on renewable natural gas, using solar energy around the airport in partnership with Austin Energy and collaborating with airlines to use more zero-emission ground service equipment. 

“We have a long history of working with tenants and airlines at the airport to push forward sustainable initiatives, whether it be carbon reduction, resource reduction, efficiency work or airport environments,” Carpenter said. “It’s a very collaborative industry. We learn from each other. Everybody is working together.”

A Southwest Airlines jet lands at Austin-Bergstrom Internation Airport on Nov. 23 as a Sprit Airline plane taxis on the runway.  The Airport Carbon Accreditation Program recently awarded Austin-Bergstrom a level 3+ designation for carbon neutrality.
Ricardo B Brazziell/American-Statesman

In recent years, the airport has worked with Clean Energy Fuels, a company focused on addressing environmental challenges, on switching to renewable natural gas. 

“We were able to zero our emissions from our own shuttle bus fleet that transports passengers to the airport from our parking lots,” Carpenter said. Through the partnership, “we’re able to minimize emissions as well as fuel usage.”

For fuel emissions surrounding the airport, Carpenter said the accreditation program focuses on what is burned during the landing and takeoff cycle, which tracks the planes’ fuel usage up to 3,000 feet.

Aligning pollution goals

With Project Connect, Austin’s expanded transit plan, city leaders hope to take more cars off the road and allow Austinites who work at Austin-Bergstrom to travel to the airport via train and bus on high-capacity transit lines. This will give passengers a way to help reduce emissions. 

“That’s going to be huge in reducing pollution around the airport,” said Austin City Council Member Vanessa Fuentes, whose district includes the airport's residential and commercial neighbors. “I think when we look at ways and strategies, having alternative options to get to and from the airport is a key piece of it.”

Austin-Bergstrom also promotes the Good Traveler program to its passengers as a way to get involved in carbon offsetting. The program allows travelers to buy a carbon offset that will fund climate balancing initiatives to remove emissions from the atmosphere. 

According to Strategic Direction 2023, Austin’s five-year plan to improve quality of life, the expected strategic outcome for our health and the environment is “enjoying a sustainable environment and a healthy life, physically and mentally.” This includes coming face-to-face with the long-term environmental effects the city could face from climate change in order to become a “healthier, more resilient community.” 

The recent accreditation aligns more specifically with one of the strategies listed in Strategic Direction 2023’s health and environmental plan to emphasize conservation and environmental protection. 

“As a city department, our primary goals at this point are still coming directly from the city,” Carpenter said. “A lot of our initiatives tie into requirements at the city of Austin. Investing in air quality programs is a big thing at the airport. We are able to step ahead of some of the other airports because of this culture throughout the entire community.”

Neighbors at odds with fuel tank farm

Austin’s Climate Equity Action Plan also shares climate goals and strategies for 2030. According to Fuentes, a goal to reduce carbon emissions by 2040 has been set. 

“It’s an ambitious action plan to do as a city,” she said. “When you take a look at that climate plan, even though it has these really incredible goals on reducing our carbon emissions, one piece of it that is missing is the airport. The plan fails to bring in the opportunity that we have with the airport being a municipally managed entity.” 

Last spring, Fuentes worked to seek other locations for the airport's planned jet fuel tank farm because of its proximity to homes and businesses. The airport's fuel tanks were being moved to make room for expanded passenger accommodations. Neighbors were worried that their communities were being unfairly jeopardized by the project.

Though a City Council measure to move the fuel tanks failed by one vote, Fuentes said it showed how important it is to focus on environmental justice for vulnerable communities.

“As a result of that conversation, we were able to establish a communication pipeline between the airport leaders and our community,” she said. “We have families that have been living in the area decades before the airport was moved to Southeast Austin (in 1999). The airline industry should understand the impact they have and what it means for (those) communities.”

The conversation also led to the creation of a “green team” at Austin-Bergstrom, which will launch next spring, according to Fuentes. The team will be dedicated to communicating with neighbors about the environmental assessments that will be conducted during the airport's expansion.

“We want to make sure folks are aware of those processes and have the opportunity to engage,” Fuentes said. It’s “another opportunity for us to really equip our community with the resources and information that they deserve.”