Airport Experience® News - Retail & Amenities Issue 2023

SUS TA INABIL I T Y SNAP SHOT

About 30 percent of that [reduction] was attributable to our energy conservation programs and then we’re very transparent about the fact that the other 30 percent is associated with the cleaning of the grid here in Ontario. And then there were a fewmore percentage points above that 60 percent in 2020 that was due to the slowdown, so, of course, that’s basically been erased as traffic starts to pick up again. But all in all, we did well with our GHG reduction and the following year we came out with our new environmental policy, which stated our commitment to become net zero by 2050. Associated with that, Toronto Pearson is a participant in the Airport Carbon Accreditation program. We’re at the Transformation level, which puts us in the company of just six other airports in North America that are also at that level. And we’re working on advancing our GHG program substantially toward our net zero goal. We just announced that by the end of this year, we will have the first publicly available hydrogen fill station in Ontario that’s capable of servicing both passenger vehicles and heavy trucks. In addition to electrifying our f leet we’re looking to add five hydrogen-powered passenger vehicles to our fleet concurrent with that by the end of this year. On the flip side of climate change, beyond mitigating the GHG emissions, is how do we deal with the changes in the climate

that are happening? We’re continually re-forecasting and making sure that our very extensive storm water infrastructure maintains resilience for a 100-year storm. And then, branching away from the climate aspect, we’ve had a honeybee apiary onsite for two years now—I think we’re up to 15 beehives and over a million bees. Lastly, we’re in the midst of a very detailed long-term planning process. It’s a two-year program to rejuvenate our environmental plans and our long-term plans. Last year our focus was on climate change and charting out the pathway to net zero by 2050, and making sure that we’re resilient on all fronts with respect to the changes that we see coming in the climate. This year the focus is on the other equally important aspects of environmental programs, including waste management, water and natural environment, and we’ll be consolidating all of those plans early next year into a comprehensive environmental vision plan. KRAL: What strides are you seeing being made by airports in North America in terms of sustainability initiatives? ERNST: Within the aviation industry, airports are really at the forefront of addressing climate change. The technology for decarbonizing aircrafts themselves is emerging, it’s not widespread yet, but in the meantime, the technology for decarbonizing facilities like airports is mature. I think airports have been doing an increasingly better job stepping up with our own net zero

commitments, and also working with our aviation partners to support them in their decarbonization efforts. KRAL: What are the biggest challenges the aviation industry faces in terms of sustainability efforts? ERNST: Decarbonizing f light is the big one—that’s the elephant in the room—and there’s going to be infrastructure challenges around that. Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is a drop-in product, but it’s going to need blending and it’s going be unique to every airport, whether that blending is done onsite at the airport or offsite. Then as aircrafts move to 100-percent SAF, there’s going to need to be some infrastructure to deliver the pure SAF versus blended or conventional aviation fuel. And then as you move to more purely net zero flights with alternative fuel aircrafts like hydrogen or electric aircrafts coming into play, then the infrastructure is entirely different. Airports need to figure out a pathway to having the kind of infrastructure that’s going to be necessary to accommodate those types of aircrafts.

Below: Concurrent with electrifying its vehicle fleet (eGSE charging stations pictured), Toronto Pearson International Airport plans to add five hydrogen-powered passenger vehicles to its fleet by the end of this year.

35

A X N E W S R E T A I L & A M E N I T I E S I S S U E 2 0 2 3