Rome airports first in Europe to achieve highest Carbon Accreditation

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The operator of Rome's Fiumicino and Ciampino airports, Aeroporti di Roma, has become the first in Europe to achieve Level 4+ "Transition" of the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme - the highest level possible.

To achieve this level of recognition, airports must reduce CO2 emissions in line with global climate targets, influence other operators active in the airport site to also reduce emissions, and compensate any residual emissions with reliable carbon credits.

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Thus far, only two other airports in the world have achieved Level 4+ - Dallas Fort Worth International in the US, and Delhi Indira Gandhi International in India. Christchurch International Airport in New Zealand has reached Level 4 "Transformation".

Aeroporti di Roma achieved the first Airport Carbon Accreditation certification in 2011, and since then the company has been steadily reducing its own emissions, as well as driving broader reduction programmes within the airport system. 

Rome Fiumicino Airport - also known as Leonardo da Vinci Airport - has been carbon neutral since 2013, being joined shortly after by Ciampino.

The company has also laid out its plans to eliminate all CO2 emissions and achieve net-zero emissions by 2030 - twenty years ahead of the global curve.

"This noteworthy recognition testifies to our strong commitment to environmental issues and to our willingness to continue tenaciously on this path, convinced of the need to increasingly integrate sustainability and innovation into our core business," said CEO of Aeroporti di Roma, Marco Troncone.

"In view of the carbon-intensive nature of the aviation sector and to preserve the connectivity of the future, ADR's strategy is oriented towards the rapid decarbonisation of the airports it manages. In fact, we are aiming to reach zero CO2 emissions by 2030, long in advance of the European references for the sector, with a plan mainly aimed at renewable sources and electric mobility."

Aeroporti di Roma has directly contributed to emissions reductions at its site by making sustainable aviation fuel available at the site by 2024, promoting onsite eMobility, constructing its own solar 60 MW photovoltaic plants at the airport, and becoming a member of The Climate Group's global initiative on smarter energy use.

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Olivier Jankovec, Director General of ACI EUROPE, said: "We are absolutely thrilled with Aeroporti di Roma’s excellent achievement! When launching the new levels of Airport Carbon Accreditation last year, amid the direst of crises ever witnessed by the aviation sector, we were propelling an industry-wide ambition that was suddenly stripped of the vital resources to fulfil it.

"Decarbonisation is an especially costly endeavour for businesses in the so-called “hard-to-abate” sectors, of which aviation is a prime example. Moving past these challenges and reaching the highest level of Airport Carbon Accreditation at this time is an exceptional achievement on the part of Rome Airports. I would like to wholeheartedly congratulate and thank each person involved in this success."

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