26 QUARTER 1 2017 AIRSPACE

The role of ANSPs in reducing aircraft greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through more efficient airspace management is clear.

But simply operating their facilities means ANSPs also have a direct impact on the environment. The extensive communications and navigation infrastructure, combined with a need to operate safely and resiliently 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, requires significant energy and carries a clear carbon impact.

CANSO’s ANSP Carbon Footprinting: A Best Practice Guide explains why ANSPs need to engage with the climate change debate and the best ways to measure, monitor and improve environmental performance.

Beyond the obviousReducing the operational carbon footprint is obviously integral to corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the modern age. But there is a strong business case behind emission reduction too.

ANSP efforts to help reduce aircraft emissions are well documented. But they are also making great strides in mitigating the environmental impact of their facilities.

Reducing energy consumption curbs environmental impact.

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ENVIRONMENT

Reducing ANSP carbon emissions

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At its most basic, there is a direct link between energy consumption and cost. The less energy required, the less an ANSP will pay. In Switzerland, skyguide is part of “The Confederation: Exemplary in Energy” group. The objective is to implement 80% of an action plan consisting of 39 best practices in energy efficiency by 2020. By the end of 2015, skyguide had improved its energy efficiency 29.7% and implemented 59% of its action plan.

There are several layers beyond mere cost effectiveness, however. As a fundamental link in the aviation supply chain, ANSPs often mistakenly fall foul of a negative environmental image. Airlines, airports and ANSPs have become easy targets for climate change activists. While the facts do not support this stance – CANSO has represented ANSPs in any number of environmental initiatives, leading to such agreements as the Carbon Offset Reduction Scheme for International Aviation passed at the last ICAO Assembly – ANSPs must nevertheless work to counteract the impression if they want a license to grow.

“By undertaking a carbon footprint assessment alongside a CSR report, ANSPs can promote their efforts to improve sustainable economic growth and demonstrate transparency and credibility to the public,” says says Christian Woborsky, Chair of CANSO’s Environment Workgroup and Senior Adviser Environment at Austro Control. “This will be vital as air traffic grows.”

ANSPs also need to be aligned with industry partners. Work on an ANSP’s carbon footprint also forms part of the third level of ACI Europe’s Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) tool, for example. ACA follows the basic principles established by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the

World Resource Institute Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard. In the third level – known as optimisation – third party engagement is expected to help airports reduce the carbon impact in their environs.

Furthermore, as some ANSPs aspire to grow their businesses beyond their traditional state boundaries, their environmental credentials – in addition to their costs, and product benefits – are hugely significant when tendering for new contracts. Often, a pre-requisite to bidding for new commercial work is having an environmental management system, an environmental policy, and an understanding of the company’s operational carbon footprint.

Industry standardsThe reasons for reducing emissions are well established. And so, too, are the industry standards to follow in pursuit of this goal. Woborsky points out that these standards are “detailed

By undertaking a carbon footprint assessment alongside a CSR report, ANSPs can promote their efforts to improve sustainable economic growth and demonstrate transparency and credibility to the public.

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Airlines, airports and ANSPs are easy targets for climate change activists.

ENVIRONMENT

NAV Portugal has been calculating its carbon footprint since 2010 and has achieved some significant results.

Initiatives implemented include:• Optimising air conditioning equipment and lighting operating time in office buildings• Installing renewable energy sources on some radio aids• Purchasing more fuel-efficient• Changing lighting to LED• Shadowing office windows more exposed to the sun• Optimising garden irrigation• Replacing plants with those that need less water;• Increasing environmental awareness among employees.

NAV Portugal’s Susana Simão, Quality, Safety and Environment Manager, accepts that achieving emission reductions, particularly after the first few years, is never easy and can be overly expensive if great care is not taken.

However, Simão insists it makes no sense to work to achieve significant emissions savings for airlines through improving airspace efficiency and not also work on improving the environmental performance of the ANSP and its associated facilities as well.

“Work should be done on both aspects, using a multidisciplinary team with both operational and environmental specialists.”

Case sTUdy: nav Portugal

AIRSPACE QUARTER 1 2017 29

in CANSO’s ANSP Carbon Footprinting: A Best Practice Guide to help companies and organisations conduct repeatable accounting and reporting of GHG emissions.”

Which approach to take depends on an ANSP’s organisational capabilities, goals and objectives, and how the results will be used. Accuracy and consistency is paramount and may require advice from a consultant or expert in the area.

In the CANSO guide, a five-step approach is advised:• Identifying GHG sources• Defining the calculation methodology • Collecting activity data and emission factors• Calculating emissions• Integrating into company managerial processes.

This framework allows work on the carbon footprint to be as concise or broad as required. It also fosters transparency, particularly pertinent if the results are to be reported externally.

One, widely accepted, approach is to categorise emissions produced by business activities into three scopes: direct emissions; indirect energy; and other indirect emissions. Direct emissions are those produced directly by the organisation and might include vehicles and fossil fuel use; indirect energy includes items such as purchased electricity; while other indirect emissions could include business travel or waste disposal by third parties.

Back to basicsWoborsky advises that ANSPs could also consider a basic carbon footprint measurement as a useful internal guide. This comprises converting utilities’ usage into an amount of CO2 using emissions factors. “An emission factor is defined as

the average emission rate of a given GHG for a given source, relative to units of activity,” explains Woborsky. “Each country will have its own set of emission factors for organisations based in that country or internationally.”

The carbon intensity of the energy used depends on the proportions of energy derived from nuclear, coal, gas and renewables in each country.

It is likely that a full assessment of an organisation’s carbon footprint will be required for accreditation.

Renewables can affect the carbon intensity of energy use.

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Each country will have its own set of emission factors for organisations based in that country or internationally. The carbon intensity of the energy used depends on the proportions of energy derived from nuclear, coal, gas and renewables in nation.

ENVIRONMENT

Air Navigation Services of the Czech Republic (ANS CR) started to measure its carbon footprint in the second half of 2014. The calculation is embedded in the ANSP’s standard procedures and is based on ISO 14001, a system with a proactive environmental approach.

“The calculation and monitoring of our carbon footprint allows us to know the extent of the production of GHG emissions and their composition and main sources,” says Katerina Vojtkova, Environmental Specialist at ANS CR.

“The carbon footprint calculation can bring cost savings, which turned out to be a good motivating factor. But it is

necessary to take into account that a reduction in operational costs is to be expected in the long term.”

Environmental initiatives at ANS CR include simple improvements, such as the implementation of LED lighting, cutting down on paper use, switching to chlorine-free paper and more efficient waste management procedures.

Vojtkova accepts that although the reductions in emissions resulting from airspace improvement are larger than those arising from a company’s facilities, “the role of facility management and its contribution to carbon footprint reduction should not be underestimated.”

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Case sTUdy: air navigation services of the Czech republic

AIRSPACE QUARTER 1 2017 31

ENVIRONMENT

Since 2006, NATS has reduced its energy consumption more than 30%. That’s enough energy to power 2,500 family homes each year or, put another way, savings of over £4 million annually. “There’s been a real mixture of activity from consolidating our operations into fewer, more efficient buildings and making sure our offices are appropriately heated, lit and cooled appropriate to our 24-hour needs, to the replacement of ageing equipment with lower carbon alternatives, such as replacement air conditioning systems,” remarks James Deeley, Deputy Head for Environmental and Community Affairs at NATS.

As an example, Deeley notes that energy-efficient variable speed chillers at NATS’ Swanwick Centre now use almost half as much energy as before, saving approximately £270,000 per annum in reduced energy costs.

Other innovative solutions include pulsing car park lighting, not noticeable to the human eye, and optimising the power

into buildings, reducing consumption at source. “Very simple solutions like LED lighting and removing lighting or putting them on sensors can pay back very quickly,” says Deeley. “We’re implementing renewable technologies where we can such as photovoltaic solar panels and biomass boilers. There has also been a big focus on supporting employees in getting to work more sustainably, and reducing the use of all other utilities.” Deeley suggests the NATS experience demonstrates that without emphasis or focus an ANSP will not reap the rewards. And without measurement and targets it will not understand the opportunities available or realise the benefits. Much can be done that does not cost – turning off a light, for example – and savings from energy, utilities and travel not only protect the environment but also reduce business expenses too.

“You just need to understand what payback period on investment your company deems appropriate and implement the initiatives within that cap,” says Deeley.

Many CANSO Members have already seen the benefits of carbon footprinting in their own organisations. By measuring their environmental impact, they have been able to identify areas for improvement, reduce emissions and the use of resources, all while reducing risks and costs and supporting customers in their environmental goals.

James Deeley, Deputy Head for Environmental and Community Affairs at NATS, accepts that the biggest sustainability issue facing aviation is the impact from aircraft fuel burn, emissions and noise, but notes that an ANSP’s carbon footprint is directly in its control.

“Even if some people do not relate to the environmental angle, the economic angle is incredibly strong,” he says. We produced

the CANSO Carbon Footprinting publication to bring this point to the fore, as, while it is tempting to only focus on the ATM impact, there are good reasons to do both.”

Woborsky concludes that measurement through carbon footprinting has not only been the driver to implement short-term actions but also for a permanent change in staff mind-set and the organisations’ approach in general. “Once the implementation of carbon footprinting has been embraced, the benefits quickly become obvious and environmental responsibility becomes an integral part of the organisation’s philosophy,” he says.

For more information and to download the CANSO guide: www.canso.org/publications

Carbon offsetting

There is much talk of carbon offsetting in the industry following the Carbon Offset Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) agreement at the last ICAO Assembly.

It is possible to neutralise all or part of an organisation’s carbon footprint through projects that reduce or avoid GHG emissions, such as reforestation. This approach comes to the fore when emission reduction programmes become impossible or cost prohibitive.

In June 2015, Air Navigation Services of the Czech Republic (ANS CZ) organised the CANSO Environment Workgroup in Prague. ANS CZ calculated the amount of CO2 emissions caused by the meeting was 10.4 tonnes.

Carbon offsets were the obvious means of tackling the carbon footprint of the event. Ten trees were planted along a historical route in the Czech countryside in cooperation with the local community and CI2, a charitable trust.

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Case sTUdy: naTs