Environment & Sustainability
In focus
ANA COOPERATES IN THE REFORESTATION OF PORTO SANTO ISLAND
Reforestation initiatives are part of VINCI Airports' priorities and commitments to achieve carbon neutrality in its European airports by 2050. In this context, ANA and the Regional Government of Madeira formalized, on 12 November, a protocol to plant five hundred trees, in 2021, on the island of Porto Santo, on land granted by the IFCN - Institute of Forest and Nature Conservation.
This project, which promotes biodiversity and improves the management of water resources on the island, will enhance the local compensation of airport’s residual carbon emissions, with an estimated sequestration value of 3040 TCO2. It is estimated that this amount will offset the totality of carbon emissions from Porto Santo airport, also contributing to offsetting more than half of the emissions associated with Madeira airport.
During the next 5 years, the forested area maintenance will be ensured, and added more 100 trees per year, for a total of 1000 trees planted until 2026. The action will ensure the planting of Madeira’s endemic species, namely Myrica faya and Apollonias barbujana.
The island of Porto Santo was elected in 2020 as a Biosphere Reserve and the intention is to turn it into a Green Island, free from greenhouse gas emissions. The island's reforestation, which formally began a hundred years ago, continues to be a very important objective for the Regional Government of Madeira, which ANA supports through this initiative.
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ANA AT QUERCUS' GREEN MINUTE
The effort and commitment that ANA has made in the Environment since the 1990s, and the good results achieved in this area, has resulted in four episodes of “Minuto Verde” (Green Minute) program, developed in partnership with the Environmental ONG - QUERCUS.
“Minuto Verde” is an environmental TV show presented by QUERCUS, since 2006, on RTP1 channel, every working day (in the morning, at 8 am, 9 am and 10 am in the “Bom Dia Portugal” program; in the afternoon, from 5:30 pm, at program “Portugal em Direto”) and consists in 60-second episodes.
The episode launched on October 22nd, 2021, was dedicated to electric mobility in which was presented the charging system for electric vehicles made available to everyone at Lisbon Airport, as well as the ongoing renewal of the ANA´s fleet for low-emission vehicles.
On November 5, 2021, a new episode was Broadcast, dedicated to ANA's support for bicycle use to and from airports. It was presented Lisbon Airport’s dedicated bicycles and scooters parking area (bicycle rack) as well as the bicycle assembly and disassembly area available to everyone at the Porto and Faro Airports.
The third episode, was launched on November 11th and was dedicated to some of ANA's innovative projects to protect water resources, such as collecting water from passenger bottles system at security control in Porto Airport. This system allows the water reuse in watering green areas and washing, as well as increasing the plastic bottles recycling. A solidary compactor was installed at Lisbon Airport - consisting in a reverse vending machine for compacting plastic cans and bottles. For each package deposited for recycling, the passenger is donating the amount to a solidarity action. See the episode dedicated to these projects here.
The fourth episode, broadcast on December 30, was dedicated to carbon management, presenting some of the ongoing initiatives at ANA to reduce carbon emissions in order to achieve carbon neutrality at our airports, such as Real-time monitoring tool of carbon emissions and fuel consumption during aircraft Ground-movements (Taxi-Time) at Lisbon Airport. See the episode here.
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THIS SUMMER, JOÃO AND TRISTÃO APPEALS FOR A PORTO SANTO WITHOUT MARINE WASTE
ANA recently joined João and Tristão, the mascots of the "Porto Santo Without Marine Waste" campaign, to appeal to the island's residents and visitors to help protect its biodiversity by reducing plastic waste.
According to ANP|WWF "every year, 8 million tons of plastic waste generated on land reaches the ocean, causing irreparable damages to marine fauna and flora. A study, in southern Portugal, observed plastics in the gastrointestinal tracts of 22.5% of 160 seabirds analyzed."
The Association believes that this campaign will contribute to the differentiation and valorization of Porto Santo Island.
In June, an event brought together entities such as the Porto Santo City Council, the Regional Secretariat of Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change and the Norwegian Embassy, the results of the first phase of the project were presented and the "Porto Santo Without Marine Waste" seal was given to the adhering establishments, along with the signing of commitments by the entities present .
The project is financed by the EEA Grants Environment Program and has as partners the Nature Association Portugal, in association with WWF, AIDGLOBAL, Madeira Water and Waste, the Porto Santo City Council and ARDITI, and also has the support of WWF Norway and the Regional Secretariat for the Environment, Natural Resources and Climate Change.
Learn more here.
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ON THE FRONTLINE IN THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
ANA took another step towards achieving level 4/4+ of the ACI Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) program by defining partnership plans with stakeholders for mobility.
Aiming to join efforts and share a collaborative path, ANA has been promoting meetings at the airports under its management with the presence of the main mobility stakeholders.
At Faro Airport, the meeting took place on July 1 and was attended by Faro City Council, GetON/ Blue Fleet, RNE - Rede Nacional de Expressos and FLIXBUS.
On July 2, at Lisbon Airport, the meeting was attended by Lisbon City Council, Loures City Council, Carris, the Lisbon Metro and TML -Transportes Metropolitanos de Lisboa.
At the Azores Airports, the entities involved in the July 6 meeting were Ponta Delgada City Council, ANC Aerobus (airport - city - airport), the Azores Regional Government and Vila do Porto City Council.
On July 14, Madeira Airports met with the Santa Cruz City Council, Porto Santo City Council, APRAM - Portos da Madeira, SAM - Sociedade Automóvel da Madeira, Horários do Funchal and the Regional Secretariat of Economy.
Finally, at the Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport, the meeting took place on 19 July, with the presence of Maia City Council, Porto City Council, 100 Rumos and STCP - Sociedade de Transportes Colectivos do Porto.
The fight against climate change represents a global challenge that can only be overcome with everyone's commitment.
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VINCI ENVIRONMENT AWARDS - REGIONAL PHASE
On 22 September 2020, on VINCI Environment Day, the Group launched the "VINCI Environment Awards", with the aim of mobilising employees to seek solutions in the 3 priority areas established by VINCI: climate, circular economy and natural environments
To this end, a dedicated digital platform was created where all the employees of the VINCI universe, spread over 120 countries, could submit their innovative environmental initiatives. In total more than 2500 initiatives were submitted in the 19 defined regions, and ANA was integrated in the Southern Europe region (including Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal and Serbia), in which 83 initiatives were submitted by 162 employees of VINCI Concessões, VINCI Energia and Eurovia.
In the first phase, the initiatives were voted on by all the employees from the respective Region who wished to participate by registering on the platform; then 23 experts from the five countries and the various branches of VINCI were mobilised to analyse and pre-select 30 initiatives. Finally, a jury made up of 7 members selected the 10 winning initiatives.
The initiatives were evaluated according to replicability, innovation, change of practices, alignment with environmental objectives and targets, ease of implementation and investment involved, and, above all, based on the positive environmental impacts arising from their implementation.
The announcement of the winners took place online on 17 June, in an online event attended by participants, jury members and guests from the five countries of the Southern Europe region.
In each region, two initiatives will be selected to participate in the international phase of the Prize, scheduled for September, where the two best initiatives from each of the 19 regions will compete.
The awarding of six of the ten prizes to initiatives presented by ANA colleagues attests to the overall quality and robustness of the 29 projects presented by our company.
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CLIMATE CHANGE AND CARBON MANAGEMENT AT STAKEHOLDER FORUM
Adressing climate change represents a global security challenge for humanity, and ANA has developed rigorous work over the past 15 years to reduce its carbon emissions, assuming a commitment to reduce its respective footprint.
Currently, all airports are accredited at level 2 (reduction) of the ACI Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) program. However, the climate urgency forces us today to accelerate and expand our fight against climate change, which is also one of the main concerns of our partners. Joining efforts and sharing a collaborative path will enable faster and larger results to be achieved.
The online forum for stakeholders, held on June 17, focused on climate change and carbon management and was attended by ANA, handlers, airlines, concessionaires, catering, city councils and public transport companies, among other entities.
This forum shared experiences and good practices on measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with the aim of establishing a common commitment to actions to reduce the carbon footprint, with ANA assuming the central role of dynamizer.
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FARO AIRPORT WITH PHOTOVOLTAIC PLANT
On June 15th, the installation of a photovoltaic panel plant at Faro Airport was launched, a project that will cover 30% of its energy needs.
This project – the first in an airport environment in Portugal – is part of the environmental action plan for the Algarve region, and represents the concerns in this matter and in sustainability, a priority for the company.
The new solar plant in Faro is part of a global action plan for VINCI Airports at all its airports, with similar projects already implemented or under development in the Dominican Republic, Brazil, UK, Serbia, Sweden, France and now in Portugal.
The photovoltaic panels will have a capacity of 3 MWp and will supply the airport with 30% of its energy needs, generating annual savings equivalent to more than 1,500 tons of CO2.
This project will be fully developed and managed by ANA | VINCI Airports, through the photovoltaic subsidiary SunMind, of the VINCI group. Construction is expected to start soon and the plant will be operational in 2022.
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CERVAS EXHIBITION
Faro Airport is hosting the travelling exhibition of CERVAS - Centre for Ecology, Recovery and Surveillance of Wild Animals.
This exhibition brings together the photojournalism work of Artur Vaz Oliveira and Gonçalo da Costa previously compiled by the Youth Association Friends of the Cáster as part of the Environment Dispersed Images 2018 and the (itinerant) collective exhibition prepared in 2017 by the STRI - Nocturnal Birds of Portugal. It portrays the daily work of the Centre and, also, the species of nocturnal birds of prey in Portugal, one of the groups with which the Centre has the most work experience.
CERVAS aims to recover injured or debilitated wild animals, to raise environmental awareness about the conservation and wildlife management and to support and/or carry out ecological and health monitoring work of the population and wild animals. From the total amount of animals admitted to CERVAS, on average, it has been possible to recover and release into the wild 60% of the live animals, thus actively contributing to the conservation of biodiversity in Portugal.
The exhibition, which has already been displayed at the airports of Porto and Lisbon, will then travel to the Azores and Madeira.
Based in Gouveia, in the Serra da Estrela natural park, the Centre has been sponsored by ANA since 2008.
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HYDROGEN PROJECT AT LISBON AIRPORT RECEIVES LETTER OF SUPPORT FROM GOVERNMENT
The Portuguese Government has formally supported the efforts in the development of hydrogen projects at Lisbon Airport, as part of its joint application with VINCI to the Green Deal Horizon 2020 programme.
With the NetZero2050 commitment, ANA and the airport industry in Europe align with the Paris Agreement regarding the decarbonisation strategy established by the European Commission, through the Green Deal, and the Portuguese National Strategy for Hydrogen.
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TREE AND WATER WEEK
This year, with the theme "Forest restoration: a path to recovery and well-being", the International Day of Forests, established in 2012 by the UN and celebrated on 21 March, aimed to alert to the urgency of halting forest degradation and loss, which can compromise the sustainable future of life on the planet.
On this occasion, countries are encouraged to undertake efforts to organise local, national and international activities involving forests and trees, such as tree-planting campaigns, for the benefit of current and future generations.
On the other hand, the World Water Day, celebrated on 22 March, was established by the UN in 1993. The 2021 theme, "Valuing Water", was intended to alert to the negative consequences of population growth, increased water consumption in agriculture and industry, and climate change on water conservation.
Water is an increasingly scarce and precious resource. Its quality and quantity is essential for the pursuit of human activities and the maintenance of biodiversity, which is increasingly threatened by climate change.
Proper water management and of the services it provides at the level of ecosystems, as a support for biodiversity, are areas of strategic priority under the ANA Airports environmental management system, having developed an employee awareness campaign entitled "Tree and Water Week".
