The City of Philadelphia Department of Aviation is excited to share Philadelphia International Airport’s achievement of Level 3 Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA), highlighting the airport’s dedication to advanced environmental sustainability. Northeast Philadelphia Airport (PNE) is also being recognized, as it moved up from Level 1 to Level 2 accreditation this year. ACA is an international carbon management certification program intended to encourage the airport industry to reduce its carbon footprint and improve efficiency. This voluntary program evaluates an airport's carbon emissions management and reduction strategies and recognizes their efforts through the program's accreditation levels.
PHL initially achieved Level 1 accreditation in 2021 and advanced to Level 2 accreditation in 2022 – the latest advancement to Level 3 accreditation is a significant step towards the airport's goal of achieving Net Zero Carbon by 2050.
To move from Level 2 to Level 3 carbon accreditation, the airport had to expand its carbon footprint assessment to include Scope 3 emissions. Scope 3 emissions include emissions from the airport's operations, such as emissions from airplanes, ground-handling vehicles, etc., and they represent the majority of PHL's carbon footprint. Level 3 accreditation required rigorous verification through Airports Council International North America (ACI-NA), which is the governing body of ACA, and the development of a robust stakeholder engagement plan to coordinate with airline partners and ensure ongoing participation.
Capital Development Group (CDG) Energy and Carbon Emissions Data Analyst, Alex Skowron (CMTS LLC), played a large role in this effort. He was instrumental in obtaining, organizing, and presenting the data to the ACA verifier. He spearheaded the development of the stakeholder engagement plan, which, as Alex noted, presented a unique challenge: "As much as it may seem that 'the airport' is one entity, it really is a community of dozens of independent partners providing independent services, so it was challenging getting all the necessary information in the right format for verification, and in a reasonable timeframe."
"Alex has added immense value to the team and is a major reason why it's working well and why we were able to achieve Level 3, " stated Department of Aviation (DOA) City Planner and ACA Project Manager, Jimmy Clarkin, who also noted that Mary Vigilante from Synergy Consultants, Inc, the team's verifier, was a great help, and the consulting firms Rovolus and VHB supported the effort as well.
In recognition of both PHL and PNE's achievement, several members of the DOA team, including Atif Saeed, Chief Executive Officer, Api Appulingam, DOA Chief Development Officer, and Jessica Noon, DOA Sustainability Manager, attended the annual Airports Council International (ACI) conference on September 9, 2024 to accept the honor. This award signifies the deep commitment PHL and PNE have demonstrated to moving the dial on global climate efforts.
