Sustainability initiatives to be rolled out at Cork Airport 

A TWENTY-POINT plan to accelerate environmental sustainability ambitions has been announced by daa, the operator of Cork and Dublin airports.

Attendees at the launch event in Dublin heard what daa is doing to reduce its own (Scope 1 and Scope 2) emissions at the two airports and also how the airport operator is committed to working with airlines and other companies in the aviation sector to reduce the environmental impact of their operations (Scope 3 emissions).

Such initiatives include upgrading the light vehicle fleets at both airports to fully electric by the end of 2024; improving air quality at bus stations at the two airports with innovative photobioreactor technology; plans for Cork Airport to upgrade its apron lighting to energy-efficient LED technology and the submission of a planning application for a 1.8 million-kilowatt solar farm at Cork Airport.

“Sustainability sits at the heart of everything that daa is doing and has planned for the years ahead,” daa CEO, Kenny Jacobs, said.

“The 20 projects we’re announcing details of today [Wednesday] align with our commitment to meet Ireland's ongoing international connectivity needs while ensuring safe, efficient, and sustainable growth.

“With a wide range of projects already planned for this year, we are dedicated to fast-tracking our achievement of net-zero by 2050 at the latest.”

The plan was welcomed by Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Jack Chambers, who said:

“I am delighted to hear about the range of sustainability initiatives daa has planned for Dublin and Cork Airports, all of which support daa’s ambition to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

“These initiatives are broad-ranging and innovative and demonstrate daa’s continued commitment to meeting their sustainability goals.” 

The plan was welcomed locally by Cork Fine Gael Senator and Cathaoirleach of the Seanad, Jerry Buttimer, who described the plan as an “important” publication.

“I welcome the initiatives around a reduction in carbon emissions. It’s important that the 20 initiatives are achieved and secondly, in the case of Cork Airport which has been very innovative, that it continues to lead the way.

Mr Buttimer said he would like to commend all involved in Cork Airport on its sustainability efforts to date.

He also called on daa “to increase the offering and availability of flights to and from Cork Airport”.

At the launch event of the plan, daa was presented with the Smarter Travel Mark by National Transport Authority, which is awarded to organisations with a broad range of measures in place that support sustainable travel.

Speaking at the event alongside Kenny Jacobs and Minister Jack Chambers, were daa’s Andrea Carroll, group head of sustainability; Vincent Harrison, chief commercial and development officer; and Niall MacCarthy, managing director of Cork Airport.