Environmental report 2017

E N V I R O N M E N TA L REPORT 2017

BRUSSELS AIRPORT COMPANY

RESPONSIBLE EDITOR:

COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT

NATHALIE VAN IMPE

OR REMARKS:

BRUSSELS AIRPORT SATELLITE

WWW.BRUSSELSAIRPORT.BE

COMMENTS@BRUSSELSAIRPORT.BE

1930 ZAVENTEM

FOLLOW US ON

ANY QUESTIONS

E N V I R O N M E N TA L R E P O RT

E N V I R O N M E N TA L K E Y F I G U R E S

AIR EMISSIONS EVOLUTION OF CO2 EMISSIONS FROM STATIONARY SOURCES (COMBUSTION, GAS, HEATING OIL, DIESEL)

2010

22 668

25 000

TONNES OF ACTUAL

20 000

CO2 EMISSIONS 15 000

2016

10 000

16 345

5 000

E N V I R O N M E N TA L REPORT 2017

TONNES OF ACTUAL

0

2010

2011

2012

2013

ACTUAL CO2 EMISSIONS (TONNES)

2014

2015

CO2 EMISSIONS

2016

STANDARDISED CO2 EMISSIONS* (TONNES)

* For the standardised CO2 emission this is corrected on the basis of the outdoor temperature (correction to degree days)

WASTE

WATER

TAP WATER CONSUMPTION (IN m3) 300 000 250 000 200 000 150 000

2 134

100 000 50 000

26%

TONNES OF RESIDUAL WASTE

RECYCLED NON-HAZARDOUS WASTE

0 2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

ENERGY EVOLUTION OF TOTAL YIELD OF GREEN ELECTRICITY (IN MWh)

ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION (IN GJPRIM/m2)

3 000

3,0

2 500

2,5

2 000

2,0

1 500

1,5

1 000

1,0

500

0,5

SAVING OF

11

%

COMPARED TO 2010

0

0 2010**

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

** Placement of first solar panels in 2011

3%

OF OUR ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION IN 2016 THROUGH SOLAR PANELS

2 828 MWh

=

808 FAMILIES

Together for a sustainable airport, today and tomorrow

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FOREWORD

A R N A U D F E I S T, C E O

FOREWORD Over the past 5 years, we have succeeded in effectively achieving our main environmental targets.

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FOREWORD

O

ver the past 5 years, we have succeeded in effectively achieving our main environmental targets. Although Brussels Airport is doing well in terms of the number of passengers it welcomes, that is not to say we should be sitting on our laurels. The world is constantly changing and we want to change with it. The Strategic Vision 2040 of Brussels Airport, which was launched in November 2016, lays the foundation for the future sustainable development of our airport. In any developments and projects, account is taken of their potential impact on our environment and neighbours.

Our plans for 2040 are ambitious but attainable, and we are implementing them step by step. For instance, we have now drawn up more concrete plans for the coming five years. Our primary objective is to create a framework within which we can continue our development.

proposed. Our energy consumption is also lower. Compared to 2010, we are already consuming 11% less energy.

We hope that, in the coming five years, we will do just as well or even better. As an airport operator, we of course cannot decide everything on our own, but we continue to actively collaborate on the sustainable development of our country and its regions.

As an airport operator, we of course cannot decide everything on our own, but we continue to actively collaborate on the sustainable development of our country and its regions.

We took the voluntary initiative to enter into an open and constructive dialogue with all relevant stakeholders (political world, neighbouring residents, interest groups, etc.). This is an indispensable condition for a transparent and constructive collaboration and for a broad social consensus regarding our Strategic Vision 2040. Sustainability is and remains one of our most important values. Naturally this also includes a concern for the environment and energy efficiency.

In these areas we are doing much more than merely fulfilling the legal requirements.

In 2011 we laid down measurable objectives with regard to energy savings and the care for the environment for the period until 2015-2016, including a comprehensive environmental and energy management programme. Today we can state that (apart from a few minor exceptions) we have accomplished all of the objectives of this ambitious programme. We are now emitting even less CO2 than we had

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Amongst other things, we have plans for further reducing our fuel consumption, for installing a system for cogeneration, for heating new buildings with heat pumps, for optimising our heating network and for expanding our solar panel park.

But our sustainability strategy goes even further. For example, we have undertaken within the European Airports Council International (ACI Europe) to become a carbon neutral airport by 2018 at the latest.

Cooperation with our partners is essential in order to achieve many of our environmental and energy objectives. I am thinking here not only of the airlines, the baggage handlers and other companies active at the airport, but also of the transport companies and the neighbouring municipalities. In this report we give a number of our partners an opportunity to explain how they are putting sustainability into daily practice.

We are also looking increasingly at co-creation as a method for setting up sustainable projects. Co-creation is a form of open cooperation where all of the participants are involved in an equal manner. Speelbos, the recreational woods in Zaventem, which we created together with several partners, is a fine example. We hope in the future to be able to pursue more such joint initiatives.

One thing is certain: together we can achieve far more than any of us individually!

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E N V I R O N M E N TA L R E P O RT

CONTENTS

14 BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE AIRPORT Yves Van Hooland, Director Infrastructure & Real Estate, explains in detail the crucial role of infrastructure in the environmental and energy policy.

18 PIONEERING WORK Our largest renovation project of 2016

10 AN AMBITIOUS AND BROADLY-SUPPORTED ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

38 EVERYONE TAKING ACTION What the many partners of Brussels Airport are doing, and how we’re working together.

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CONTENTS

22 MULTITUDE OF MEASURES The large and small actions of Brussels Airport.

32 MARINA BYLINSKY (ACI EUROPE) Objective zero emissions

22-25 n More

efficient aircraft de-icing

n Biological n Going

36 STIJN DE SMEDT About the airport’s new mobility plan: “We have a role-model function.”

n Not

clean-up

n VMM verifies

air quality

n NMBS transporting n Sheraton invests n DHL encourages

more people to the airport

in energy-saving devices

carpooling

n Ministry of Defence n Emirates turns

initiates soil remediation project

bottles into blankets

n Aviapartner offers

time by biking

n Busy

environmental and energy management

bees

grasslands full of life riddance

44 BELGOCONTROL: Compromises so as not to compromise the environment

Car Free Week

n Operation

home with the right tyre pressure

n Sustainable

n Good

n

water purification

enough grass cuttings for fermentation unit

n Save

n Old

A clear focus on noise reduction

trees for the planet

n Qatar Airways, the

quietest airline

48 ANB: Bird’s-eye view through safety glasses TEC4JETS: Aircraft technology or innovation in motion 54 56 TCR: We know the total CO2 impact of every piece of equipment

51

ZAVENTEM, FLEMISH BRABANT AND AGENTSCHAP NATUUR EN BOS: The ‘Speelbos’, a textbook example of super collaboration

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COMMITMENT

STRATEGY AND POLICY

AN AMBITIOUS AND BROADLY-SUPPORTED ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY Brussels Airport makes a major contribution to the prosperity of Brussels, the regions and the country. Brussels Airport wishes to be able to continue to fulfil its role as an engine of economic growth in a sustainable way.

T

he environmental policy is structurally and systematically anchored in the airport’s development. For new projects and activities, our environmental team is kept in the loop from an early stage. In this way, sustainable building or investing becomes a principle right from the start. The cooperation between the different departments also guarantees an environmental policy that is broadly supported within the company. In addition, our people from the sustainability department initiate, direct and verify numerous environmental actions at and around the airport. Not from their ivory tower, but in constant collaboration with other departments and the many partners at the airport. And also with all stakeholders in and around the airport, with whom we communicate intensively and openly.

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TANGIBLE AND MEASURABLE

ENERGY STRATEGY

The environmental policy of Brussels Airport Company is more than words on paper: it commits to tangible and verifiable objectives. The airport works with the international standards ISO 14001 for environmental management and ISO 50001 for energy management. In line with the renewed ISO standards, Brussels Airport Company is shifting the focus from procedures and instructions to a process-driven approach.

During the course of 2015, a multi­ disciplinary team, supported by outside experts, began drafting a new energy strategy with horizon 2030. This strategy was endorsed by the management at the beginning of March 2016.

Specifically for the energy policy, the airport uses the principles of the Trias Energetica: first focus on limiting energy consumption, then increase the share of renewable energy, and finally the most efficient possible use of fossil fuels.

The basic objectives of the energy strategy are, by 2030: - To reduce primary energy consumption per m² by 25% compared to 2010.

- To increase the share of renewable energy that is generated on our own site to 13% of the total electricity consumption. Today that share amounts to 3%.

- To reduce the CO2 emissions by 40% compared to 2010. n

COMMITMENT

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OBJECTIVES AND PERFORMANCES

ENERGY CONSUMPTION

C0 2 EMISSIONS

WATER CONSUMPTION

WASTE RECYCLING

OBJECTIVE BY 2030

OBJECTIVE BY 2030

OBJECTIVE BY 2015-16

OBJECTIVE BY 2015-16

RESULT IN 2016

RESULT IN 2016

RESULT IN 2016

RESULT IN 2016

The objective of -25% vis-à-vis the

The original objective was a reduc-

Objective: a reduction of 10% by

Objective: recycle more than 30%

reference year 2010 remains real-

tion of 20% by 2020, with 2010 as

2015-2016, with 2010 as reference

of the non-hazardous waste by

istic. At the end of 2016 the coun-

reference year. By the end of 2016 a

year. A reduction of 15% was

2015-2016, with 2010 as reference

ter is at -11%. We’re on track.

decrease of 27% had already been

achieved in 2015, but in the

year. The percentage of recycled

achieved. This good result is partly

meantime this reduction in con-

waste rose from almost 24% in

attributable to the purchasing of

sumption has stabilised.

2015 to nearly 26% in 2016. The

-25% -11%

-40% -27%

100% green electricity. But a scale

-10% -15%

30% 26%

trend is positive, but the result

effect also plays a role. The objective

still falls short of the target. Get-

is related to the activity at the air-

ting passengers and partners to

port, and this has been rising for

sort properly remains a challenge.

several years already. In the new energy strategy, the target is being raised to -40% by 2030.

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E N V I R O N M E N TA L R E P O RT

THEMES

ONE POLICY, EIGHT THEMES

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AIR EMISSIONS

NOISE

Air quality and energy policy are closely linked, since reducing the consumption of fossil fuels decreases gas emissions into the atmosphere. That’s why we are making considerable efforts to improve our energy policy, and why we are encouraging the airlines to take steps to limit their impact on the environment.

Brussels Airport is working together with the airlines and the public authorities to reduce the noise pollution of aircraft as much as possible.

WATER

ENERGY

Every day, the airport treats the sanitary waste water of around 50 000 passengers and visitors and 350 arriving aircraft. And in winter, the de-icing water from airplanes also goes to the airport’s water treatment plant.

The airport opts for more renewable energy and for a reduction in energy consumption; we consume around 10% less energy compared to 2010.

THEMES

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SOIL

WASTE

Brussels Airport is eliminating the historical soil contamination on its grounds. Our work is almost done, and around 95% of our soil is now clean.

From restaurant staff to cleaning teams: the active involvement of all partners at the airport is a central element in our waste policy.

MOBILITY

BIODIVERSITY

Brussels Airport encourages sustainable mobility, which means more public transport, more bikes and more ecological cars.

A large part of the airport grounds – around 520 hectares – is not built-up, and these areas are managed so as to ensure maximum biodiversity.

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COMMITMENT

Buildings and infrastructure are part of our core activities.

Yves Van Hooland in front of the combustion installations in building 702. These heat the water to a temperature of 140°C and inject it into the heating network (image below).

Yves Van Hooland • Director Infrastructure & Real Estate • Joined Brussels Airport Company in 2010 • Previously worked at De Post / La Poste as Director of the Real Estate and Facility Management department • Hobby: ULM pilot

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COMMITMENT

E N V I R O N M E N TA L R E P O RT

INFRASTRUCTURE

BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE AIRPORT Infrastructure and buildings are essential for the core activity of an airport, and the energy and environmental policy plays a crucial part in it, says Yves Van Hooland, Director Infrastructure & Real Estate department at Brussels Airport Company.

I

“

find the airport a fantastic place to work. Things are going on here day and night, seven days a week. And we have very interesting projects in the pipeline. If you like challenges, you’ve come to the right place.” Since 2010 Yves Van Hooland has headed the Infrastructure & Real Estate department of Brussels Airport Company, a job he does with great enthusiasm.

Two of his passions come together at the airport: real estate and aviation.

“The work of our department is very concrete”, he says. “A building is something extremely tangible. Every time I walk through Connector – the building that connects the terminal to Piers A and B – I still feel a sense of pride.”

WHY IS REAL ESTATE IMPORTANT IN THE ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY? “Because in essence we’re an infrastructure company. We don’t produce anything, we’re not a manufacturing company. So what do we do? Make

our infrastructure and facilities available to the passengers and our partners such as airlines. Buildings and infrastructure are therefore part of our core activity. Brussels Airport even has a very extensive real estate portfolio.

In total, nearly one million square metres of floor space. That includes major buildings such as the terminal and the piers. In these buildings we aim for an optimal experience for the passengers, for example in terms of good lighting and a comfortable indoor climate. And that automatically brings you to energy consumption. To keep the energy consumption within limits, we have to design, construct and utilise our buildings in an energy-efficient manner.”

IS THIS ATTENTION TO ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT ANCHORED IN THE INFRASTRUCTURE & REAL ESTATE DEPARTMENT? “Yes, from the very beginning of a project we put the energy and envi-

ronmental aspects on the agenda.

And that’s why people from the environmental department are already involved at an early stage. They look into the energy and environmental elements, they point out sensitive issues and highlight potential opportunities. Today that is already translated in the tendering processes for largescale projects: sustainability is a major criterion right alongside safety and the financial aspect. The infrastructure team makes an important contribution to the energy team, which looks at the airport’s energy challenges from a multidisciplinary perspective.”

AN AIRPORT IS A SPECIAL ENVIRONMENT WITH STRICT SAFETY REGULATIONS. IS THAT SOMETIMES CONSTRICTING WHEN WORKING OUT A LONG-LASTING REAL ESTATE POLICY? “To generate electricity in a sustainable manner, we make use of solar panels, amongst other things. But as these can 15

E N V I R O N M E N TA L R E P O RT

COMMITMENT

Leading companies are establishing themselves at the airport. In January 2017 Deloitte moved into a brand-new building.

interfere with the radar systems they can’t be installed just anywhere. Aviation safety is also the reason why tall wind turbines naturally have no place here.”

FOR YOU, WHAT IS A SUSTAINABLE BUILDING? “That concept has a lot of different facets. We take account of material use, with the capture and reuse of rainwater

When we renovate buildings or renew installations, it’s done from the perspective of better energy performances as well.

Y ves V an H ooland , D irector I nfrastructure & R eal E state , B russels A irport C ompany 16

and even with greenery. Obviously, energy is an important point that we look at in great detail. For example, a good location, a smart orientation and a well-conceived design all have a large positive effect on energy consumption.

An excellent example are the new fire stations that we’re going to build. In order to keep the sun out during the hottest period of the day, there’s going to be a large roof overhang. The architect also provided high-placed glass parts to allow for a maximum light incidence. But, to prevent overheating, the glazing is limited on the south side of the building.

Apart from all that, they’re going to be very beautiful buildings as well.”

HOW SUSTAINABLE ARE THE BUILDINGS TODAY? “Our most recent buildings score very high in that respect. For Connector we opted for extensive insulation, which resulted in the building scoring far better than required by the legal standards.

We have also invested in seasonal ther-

mal energy storage, a technology for storing energy in the groundwater in the form of heat or cold. We can then use this energy to cool down or warm up the building. But we also have several older buildings from the 1960’s which are not up to standard in terms of energy efficiency, and we’re now in the process of systematically demolishing and replacing them. And when we renovate buildings or renew installations, it’s done from the perspective of better energy performances as well.

After the attacks of 22 March, we had to renew the facade of the terminal. We did a very thorough job on that, so that the energy performances are now better than before.”

REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENTS PLAY A PROMINENT ROLE IN THE ‘STRATEGIC VISION 2040’. IS THE AIRPORT BECOMING AN IMPORTANT OFFICE AREA? “Our vision of the future is very ambitious, but also simply the necessary

COMMITMENT

response to the expected passenger growth in aviation. Worldwide growth is estimated at 3.8% per year and for Europe at 2.5%. Brussels Airport has to prepare itself for this, including through its infrastructure. In so doing, we intend to make every effort to limit the impact on the environment.”

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SAVING ENERGY IS TEAMWORK ENERGY “Every two months we sit down together with representatives from several departments in order to reflect about the energy policy, to analyse and evaluate the energy consumption, and to make plans for the future”, says

HOW ATTRACTIVE IS THE AIRPORT FOR INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES?

Yves Van Hooland. “This multidisciplinary approach makes it very interesting, since you get input from people with different perspectives, ideas, backgrounds and concerns. Because this energy team covers several

“The airport is a highly attractive place for international companies. Deloitte has recently set up office at the airport. KPMG and Microsoft will soon be establishing themselves in the Passport office building that is currently under construction, and many other leading companies have shown interest. There are still many possibilities for new office developments along the access zone to the airport. These will all be very sustainable buildings, because the large companies apply high sustainability standards.”

departments, you end up with decisions that are supported very broadly within the company. It isn’t a single department that is imposing something. No, it’s real teamwork.” Amongst others, the replacement of old halogen lamps with energy-saving LED lamps along the runways and the investment in Seasonal Thermal Energy Storage for Connector were initiatives of the energy team.

CAN SMART BUILDINGS ALSO MAKE A CONTRIBUTION TO THE AIRPORT’S ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY OBJECTIVES? “Certainly. Smart buildings and ditto infrastructure are just a few of the possibilities we are examining to further sharpen our environmental objectives. Today we are already taking the first steps. For example, LED lighting with motion sensors and daylight control are already standard in all our offices. But we definitely want to go further. A lot of data has already been collected and we also have good building management systems. These offer great opportunities for making our buildings more sustainable.” n

The energy team 17

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Philippe Van Bouwel Philippe Van Bouwel works for the Infrastructure & Real Estate department. He is responsible for the large airside infrastructure works at the airport.

Philip Autekie Philip Autekie is project manager with the Strategic Development department. He facilitated the runway renovation within the company and was responsible for the communication with all parties involved.

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COMMITMENT

COMMITMENT

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RENOVATION

PIONEERING WORK Last summer, one of the airport’s three runways was totally renovated.

One of the project team’s main objectives was to limit the nuisance this caused for nearby residents, the environment and air traffic.

Philippe Van Bouwel, Airside Works Manager, and Philip Autekie, Senior Project Manager Strategic Development, played a crucial role.

F

“

or safety reasons and due to structural wear and tear, we regularly have to renovate or renew our runways”, technical project manager Philippe Van Bouwel explains. “Around every fifteen years we replace the top layers of the

asphalt pavement. About every thirty years, the water drainage system also has to be addressed. And after sixty years, the foundations are ready for replacement. This time we were dealing with a thirty-year renovation.”

RUNWAY 01/19

HOW LONG WERE YOU WORKING ON THIS BIG PROJECT? Philip Autekie: “Around two years before the first shovel went into the ground we started working internally on the preparations. This project repre-

THE RENOVATION (BETWEEN 26 JULY 2016 AND 9 SEPTEMBER 2016 )

2 987

3 600

500

25 million

METRES LONG

LED LAMPS

PEOPLE AT WORK IN PEAK PERIODS

EUROS INVESTED

115 000 TONNES OF

RECYCLED ASPHALT

4 600

990

AVOIDED

COULD BE PREVENTED

TRUCK TRANSPORTS

TONNES OF CO2 EMISSIONS

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COMMITMENT

sented an investment of around 25 million euros, so we were obliged to put out a European call for tenders, and that in itself is a time-consuming procedure. A lot of time also went into the technical studies and into drawing up the specifications. And we also did a thorough impact study.”

WHAT DOES SUCH AN IMPACT STUDY ENTAIL? Philip Autekie: “In an impact study like this one, the project team works out several construction site scenarios and weighs them against one another. The goal is to minimise the impact of the works. We look at the costs, but we also examine the consequences for the air traffic, for the nearby residents and the environment. As far as the environment is concerned, this primarily involves the noise impact of the works.

During the works, the preferential runway system cannot always be applied, because one of the runways is out of service. The duration of the works has a major impact on the nearby residents and the capacity of the airport, so we want to keep the implementation period as brief as possible.” n

The goal is to minimise the impact of the works.

P hilip A utekie , S enior P roject M anager S trategic D evelopment , B russels A irport C ompany

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5 WAYS TO MORE SUSTAINABLY RENOVATE A RUNWAY

01 02 03 04 05

Recycle asphalt on site A big construction site generates a lot of site traffic. But by recycling the asphalt on site, the number of transports can be reduced and traffic disturbance on the surrounding roads is limited.

(Re)use water To control dust pollution, the asphalt is milled out under a constant water spray, using rain­ water from one of the airport’s retention basins.

Choose better materials A slightly more sustainable type of asphalt was selected.

Kill two birds with one stone In some places during the works the sewer system was reinforced from the inside, so that it won’t have to be replaced immediately.

Install low-energy lighting The replacement of old halogen lamps with energy-saving LED lamps delivers an energy saving of 600 000 kilowatt-hours per year.

This corresponds to the annual energy consumption of 171 families.

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COMMITMENT

LED IT BE Brussels Airport is installing, maintaining and replacing the 11 000 airfield lights that make it possible for airplanes to safely take off and land, at night or under poor weather conditions. Between now and 2020, all of them are going to be replaced by lamps using the more energy-efficient LED technology.

Subsequently, the pilot guidance signs were adapted. LED technology made it possible to abandon the gas lamps that equipped the 400 signs.

These mercury vapour lamps are highly-polluting.

At present, one-third of the old halogen lamps used for taxiway lighting and the stop bars have been replaced by LED lamps as well.

Until a few years ago, the runway lights alone accounted for 7% of the airport’s total electricity consumption, i.e. more than 6 million kilowatt-hours per year. That makes them a big energy-guzzler for Brussels Airport, so it was necessary to take action to reduce this consumption. The migration towards LED technology will make it possible to save 35% of this consumption (= 2 100 MWh) by 2020.

Besides considerable energy savings, the LED lamps no longer have to be replaced annually: a replacement every 6 years – or even 8 years – suffices, due to the superior service life of the LED. This limits the risk of accidents for the maintenance teams working alongside the runways and reduces air traffic disruptions.

In 2015, runway 25L/07R was one of the first in Europe to be converted entirely to LED technology.

Last year, a second runway followed (01/19).

INSTALLATION

11 000 AIRFIELD LIGHTS

4 000 KM OF CABLE

At this stage in the replacement programme, an annual energy saving of 800 000 kWh is achieved. To attain the objective of 2020, several works still have to be performed: the renovation of runway 25R/07L and the replacement of more than 4 000 taxiway lights.

SAVINGS

3 600 = 320

LAMPS ALREADY REPLACED

HOUSEHOLDS PER YEAR

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BRUSSELS AIRPORT IN ACTION

CASES AND EXAMPLES

A MULTITUDE OF MEASURES

Brussels Airport is taking a wide range of actions to limit the impact of the airport activities on the environment, but also in order to actively help the environment thrive. Here we illustrate how we’re doing that with a number of tangible examples.

LESS NOISE POLLUTION NOISE

2000

33 889

PERSONS POTENTIALLY HIGHLY ANNOYED

2015

13 965

PERSONS POTENTIALLY HIGHLY ANNOYED

2016

14 226

PERSONS POTENTIALLY HIGHLY ANNOYED

Source: Independent study directed by Dick Botteldooren, acoustics professor at the University of Ghent.

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Brussels Airport is continuing to invest in measures to limit the airport’s noise pollution. As a good neighbour, we’re doing everything we can to reduce the ground noise.

Ground noise is generated by such things as engine test runs and taxiing of airplanes, the loading and unloading of baggage and freight, and all of the other ground-handling activities after landing or before take-off. To block the sound of taxiing airplanes, we built a sound barrier next to the town centre of Steenokkerzeel. But even simpler measures, such as reduced taxi times, can produce big results.

Air noise, generated by airplanes taking off and landing, causes greater amounts of pollution. The federal government and Belgocontrol, the company that controls air traffic over Belgium, are responsible for limiting it. Brussels Airport actively supports the policy with noise measurements. In addition, we implement all measures that the government imposes on us.

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BRUSSELS AIRPORT IN ACTION

3 MEASURES FOR LIMITING GROUND NOISE

REDUCED TAXI TIMES By introducing CDM*, taxi times have become shorter by three minutes on average. And after landing, taxiing is often done using just one of the engines, so that the others can be turned off sooner. Both of these initiatives have led to less noise pollution and a decrease in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

INSTALLATION OF 400 HZ AND PCA (PRE-CONDITIONED AIR) By providing a 400 Hz connection (electricity) and PCA to Piers A and B and to platform 60, and soon to platform 9 as well, the noisy auxiliary power unit in the tail of the plane can be shut off during the handling.

FEWER TANK TRUCKS Thanks to the underground kerosene pipelines, fewer tank trucks are driving on the tarmac, hence lower emissions and less noise, and a smaller risk of incidents.

5 MEASURES TO LIMIT AIR NOISE LIMITED NUMBER OF NIGHT SLOTS

SILENT WEEKEND NIGHTS

NOISE CERTIFICATES

The government limits the number of night slots per year to 16 000. A maximum of 5 000 of them are for departing aircraft. A ‘slot’ is an authorisation to land or take off at the airport.

We respect the policy of silent nights on weekends. No slots are given for aircraft to take off during the night of Friday to Saturday between one and six a.m. On Saturday and Sunday nights this ban applies between midnight and six a.m.

On the basis of the noise certificate and the quota count derived from it, certain types of aircraft are not authorised at Brussels Airport during specific periods of the day. The noisiest aircraft are banned entirely.

NIGHT SLOTS AND NIGHT MOVEMENTS 26 000 24 000 22 000 20 000 18 000 16 000 14 000 12 000 10 000 8 000 6 000 4 000

DATA NOT AVAILABLE**

2 000 0 2000

2001

2002

2003

NIGHT SLOTS ARRIVALS

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

NIGHT SLOTS TAKE-OFFS

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

NIGHT MOVEMENTS***

* See also p. 35: ‘Brussels Airport: sharpened ambition’ ** No monitoring figures from Belgian Slot Coordination available. *** Number of night movements = incl. helicopter flights and flights exempted from slot coordination (e.g. military flights, government flights, medical flights, humanitarian missions, etc.)

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BRUSSELS AIRPORT IN ACTION

NOISE-DIFFERENTIATED TAKE-OFF AND LANDING FEES

NOISE CATEGORIES: QUIETER AIRCRAFT

The rate that an airline has to pay for using the runways at Brussels Airport depends on the noise performances of the airplane. This way, Brussels Airport is giving airlines an added incentive to renew their fleets more quickly. When these rates were revised in April 2016 a further differentiation was made by going up from 6 to 8 noise categories and further expanding the rate ratios.

As a result, with a plane from the best noise category an airline now pays up to 2.9 times less. In addition, the rate for a night flight is as much as 3 times higher.

The aircraft fleet operating out of Brussels Airport is becoming quieter and quieter. This can be seen, for example, in the distribution of the number of flights per noise category for the years 2015 and 2016. The number of airplanes in the noisiest categories R1-R3 is declining. In the quieter category R4, and above all in the category R6, in which

aircraft that perform very well in terms of noise are classified, there is a clear increase in the number of planes.

Aircraft of a given type are not always classified in the same noise category, since this also depends on the type of engine and the weight for which the plane is certified.

DISTRIBUTION BY NOISE CATEGORY 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 05% 00% R1

R2

R3

2015

A FEW EXAMPLES OF FREQUENTLY SEEN AIRCRAFT TYPES AT BRUSSELS AIRPORT AIRBUS 319 AIRBUS 320

NOISE CATEGORY R5-R6 NOISE CATEGORY R4-R5

Most frequently used aircraft types at Brussels Airport, mainly for intra-European flights.

BOEING 787 DREAMLINER

NOISE CATEGORY R7-R8

One of the most modern and silent aircraft types. Already being used at Brussels Airport by TUIfly, Qatar Airways, All Nippon Airways & Ethiopian Airlines.

BOEING 738

NOISE CATEGORY R4

Aircraft type that is used on the European network, including by TUIfly and Ryanair.

24

R4

R5

R6

2016

R7

R8

BRUSSELS AIRPORT IN ACTION

E N V I R O N M E N TA L R E P O RT

MEASURING TODAY TO DO EVEN BETTER TOMORROW Brussels Airport has been mapping annual noise exposure in and around the airport using noise contours since 1996. Noise contours are lines connecting points with an identical average noise level. To know the noise exposure, Brussels Airport Company operates an extensive network of noise measurement points.

CALCULATION OF THE NOISE CONTOURS

The shifts identified in the noise contours are primarily explained by

Thanks to the noise contours we can say precisely for each area that

the necessary renovation works that were carried out over the past

is contained by a noise contour how many local residents suffer from

2Â years. As a result, in each case the runway under renovation could

noise pollution. We distinguish here between day, evening and night

not be used for several months. Compared to the year 2000, when

contours. These three noise contours are then combined into a sin-

the number of persons potentially highly annoyed amounted to

gle noise contour (Lden) for the entire 24-hour period. In so doing,

33Â 900, there has been a reduction of almost 60%.

greater weight is given to the evening period (+5 dB) and the night period (+10 dB) in order to take account of the extra nuisance of

THE NOISE MONITORING NETWORK AND ANOMS

noise during these periods.

Today our noise monitoring network has 21 monitoring terminals, whose locations were chosen on the basis of the most-frequently

SHIFTS IN THE NOISE CONTOURS

used flight paths. The monitoring terminals far from the airport

For calculating the 2016 contours, the airport called on the team of Dick

measure the sound of the overflying traffic. The monitoring

Botteldooren, acoustics professor at the University of Ghent. This inde-

terminals closer to the airport measure both the noise of aircraft

pendent study demonstrates that the surface area within the Lden noise

on the ground and that of overflying aircraft. The Airport Noise

contour of 55 dB in 2016 dropped by 2.8% compared to 2015. This is ex-

and Operation Management System (ANOMS) links the data of

plained by the continuous evolution towards a quieter aircraft fleet and

this monitoring network to weather information and operational

the decrease in the number of movements by 6.5%, a consequence of

flight data. This system allows us to transparently report on the

the attacks on 22 March 2016. The number of passengers in 2016 also

noise measurements (www.batc.be) and helps the Federal

fell by 7% to 21.8 million. Due to a number of shifts in the location of the

Mediation Service fulfil its task of dealing with noise complaints

noise contours, the number of persons potentially highly annoyed, de-

relating to Brussels Airport.

spite the reduction in surface area, increased by 1.9% to around 14 200.

Lden CONTOURS

2000

Lden contour 55 dB

2015

Lden contour 55 dB

2016

Lden contour 55 dB

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BRUSSELS AIRPORT IN ACTION

MORE EFFICIENT AIRCRAFT DE-ICING WATER

Keeping airplanes ice- and snow-free during the winter is crucial for guaranteeing passenger safety and making safe take-offs possible. The process involved is called de-icing.

De-icing is done with a mix of water and glycol, also known as antifreeze fluid. This fluid is heated and sprayed over the airplane, where it prevents ice crystals from forming.

Brussels Airport has a dedicated remote de-icing platform, platform W2, where aircraft are de-iced before taxiing onto the runway. We plan to progressively double the capacity of this platform by the winter of 2019, because it offers many benefits.

40% FASTER

Brussels Airport puts de-icing waste water to good use in its own water treatment facility.

J ohan D eckx

from

T revi ,

environmental technology and consulting firm

MUCH SAFER

WITH THE SAME NUMBER OF

THE BOARDING AND DE-ICING PROCESSES

WORKERS, WE CAN DE-ICE PLANES

LARGELY TAKE PLACE IN SEPARATE LOCATIONS.

LESS DE-ICING FLUID REQUIRED

MUCH FASTER AT THE PLATFORM THAN

THERE IS LESS CHANCE THAT PASSENGERS

FROM THE W2 PLATFORM THE AIRPLANES

ON THE STANDS AND AT THE PIERS.

WILL HAVE TO WALK ON A SLIPPERY SURFACE

HAVE A SHORTER ROUTE TO THE RUNWAYS,

IN THIS WAY DEPARTURE CAPACITY

OR THAT THEY MIGHT COME INTO CONTACT

SO LESS DE-ICING FLUID IS NECESSARY IN

WITH THE DE-ICING FLUID.

ORDER TO KEEP THEM ICE-FREE UNTIL THE

ISN’T PUT UNDER PRESSURE.

MOMENT THEY ACTUALLY TAKE OFF. 26

BRUSSELS AIRPORT IN ACTION

E N V I R O N M E N TA L R E P O RT

BIOLOGICAL WATER PURIFICATION WATER

The airport purifies a great deal of waste water biologically. For example, every day the sanitary waste water of around 50 000 passengers and visitors to the airport is treated, as well as that from 350 arriving airplanes.

Everything is fed to our own biological water treatment facility, which has been operational since 2010 and is now run by our partner, the environmental technology company TREVI. Since Brussels Airport has been treating the waste

water, the water quality in the surrounding area has increased sharply.

When building its water treatment facility, Brussels Airport went well beyond what is prescribed by the law.

What happens with the de-icing water?

The water used for de-icing aircraft is also captured and treated. By buffering the waste water from de-icing operations in the water treatment facility in the winter, this waste water can be processed in the

WASTE WATER FROM AIRCRAFT IS COLLECTED IN STORAGE TANKS.

01

summer. That saves on the use of chemicals because the waste water works as a source of carbon in the biological process.

Safety margin The storage tanks in which de-icing waste water ends up are emptied as soon as they are 60% full and the waste water is transported to our water treatment facility. In this way we run less of a risk that they will overflow with untreated water getting into the watercourses around the airport.

MICROORGANISMS BREAK DOWN THE POLLUTION. AERATORS GIVE THE MICROORGANISMS OXYGEN.

02

03

02

04

05

THE MICROORGANISMS GROW INTO SLUDGE FLAKES.

THE FLAKES ARE SEPARATED FROM THE WATER THROUGH SEDIMENTATION (TOGETHER WITH NITROGEN AND PHOSPHORUS).

THE WASTE WATER FROM THE WASTE WATER COMES THE TERMINAL ENDS UP - VIA FROM THE AIRPLANES AND THE SEWER SYSTEM - IN THE WATER THE TERMINAL. TREATMENT PLANT.

06 THE EXCESS SLUDGE IS TRANSPORTED AND INCINERATED WITH HEAT RECOVERY.

UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE FLEMISH ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCY The waste water that the airport treats is discharged via a retention basin into the Barebeek brook, and in this way also gets into other waterways. The Vlaamse Milieumaatschappij or VMM (The Flemish Environmental Agency) tests the quality of the waste water. “In order to monitor the quality, we make use – amongst other things – of the multimetric index”, says Maarten De Jonge, team leader of the Surface Water Measurement Network for the Demer, Dijle and Maas rivers. “On the basis of the number of invertebrate aquatic animals and the variation in the species, we can accurately follow the evolution of the quality. The water in the Barebeek and the upper courses, for example, evolved from ‘poor’ in 2008 to ‘moderate’ in 2015. We are seeing the most positive evolution in the number of aquatic plants. Scarcely any of them could be found in 2008, but now they’re making a big comeback. The oxygen content is also evolving positively and, as a result, fish species like the stickleback and the tench are returning.”

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BRUSSELS AIRPORT IN ACTION

GOING HOME WITH THE RIGHT TYRE PRESSURE AIR EMISSIONS

No fewer than nine out of ten cars are driving around with a tyre pressure that is too low. A shocking statistic, and one that prompted Brussels Airport to action.

With the right tyre pressure unnecessary friction is avoided, and that ensures that the car consumes less fuel and emits less CO2. The wrong tyre pressure also leads to faster wear and tear, increased risk of a blowout, re-

37% OK (79 CARS)

duced road-holding and a significantly longer braking distance. More than enough reasons for putting on a tyre pressure campaign. This was organised at the end of September by the environmental staff. Cars were checked and drivers were able to go home with the perfect tyre pressure. A compressor was also installed on the staff parking lot, so now all employees can check and correct the pressure of their tyres themselves.

63%

NOT OK (129 CARS)

NOT ENOUGH GRASS CUTTINGS FOR FERMENTATION UNIT ENERGY

New technologies often play a crucial role in achieving sustainability objectives, so Brussels Airport is always keeping an eye on innovative initiatives. Often this leads to concrete applications, but sometimes interesting projects turn out to be a dead end. An example of that is the beautiful plan for an environmentally-friendly fermentation unit at Brussels Airport, which ultimately however proved to be unfeasible.

The airport has large fields of grass.

Grass cuttings are a major raw material source for a fermentation unit, as is the vegetable and fruit waste from the terminal zone.

We therefore studied the technical and financial feasibility of a fermentation 28

unit. In organic waste fermentation, a mixture of grass and organic residual products is converted into biogas.

A cogeneration unit then converts the biogas into green electricity and sustainable heat.

The initial results seemed positive. But when Brussels Airport switched over to a different way of cutting grass, the situation changed. Only during the first cutting of the season will the grass still be gathered and removed.

The available quantity of grass for fermentation thus fell by 50%. Moreover, the grass is now only available at one moment during the year, so a continuous supply of grass – a condition for the proper functioning of a fermenter – could no longer be guaranteed.

BRUSSELS AIRPORT IN ACTION

E N V I R O N M E N TA L R E P O RT

SAVE TIME

BY BIKING MOBILITY

At the initiative of Laurens Hermans, Head of Outside Infrastructure, in 2016 four company bicycles were purchased to facilitate shuttling back and forth between the company buildings at the airport. A winning move. For many employees, short car rides on the grounds are a thing of the past. A great deal of time is saved thanks to the company bikes – and it also does everyone good to get some air from time to time.

Sonja Gehlen, Central Services Manager in Infrastructure & Real Estate, bikes regularly from the Satellite building to building 32.

SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY MANAGEMENT Brussels Airport Company has an integrated environmental and energy management system that is certified under the international standards ISO 14001 (environment) and 50001 (energy). The ISO 14001 standard for environmental management was revised in 2015.

For environmental, energy, safety and quality control, synergies and integration are possible that can make the management more effective

This standard describes the conditions an organisation has to satisfy in order to manage its environmental impact. The changes put the emphasis on leader­ ship, process management, risk management and stakeholder management.

More attention is also paid to raising awareness of policy and management, internal and external communication and change management.

In the 2016-2017 period, Brussels Airport is working on an action plan in order to meet the renewed standard.

Recertification of the environmental and energy management system is on the agenda for 2018.

Brussels Airport is striving to harmonise the various management systems as much as possible. For environmental, energy, safety and quality control, synergies and integration are possible that can make the management more effective.

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BRUSSELS AIRPORT IN ACTION

BUSY BEES BIODIVERSITY

The frames are removed from the box to inspect them: do they contain mainly brood or primarily honey?

The beehive is opened and the beekeeper knocks on the honey super to shoo the bees into the brood box.

100 000 WORKER BEES,

10 000 DRONES, 2 QUEENS

18 KG

OF AIRPORT HONEY

The queen is held in a capture clamp so she’s sure not to get lost.

The worldwide drop in the bee population poses a major problem, not just for nature but also for pollinations. In 2014 we therefore placed two honey bee hives on the airport grounds, giving a home to 100 000 worker bees, 10 000 drones ... and two queens.

To manage them we are supported by experienced beekeepers from the organisation NEMEC and the Bijenhouders Regio Kortenberg. In 2015, ten volunteers from the airport took an ‘Introduction to Apiculture’ training course, in order to learn the ins and outs of beekeeping. All through 2016, these volunteers tended the bees and the hives, resulting in a first harvest of 18 kg of airport honey.

30

Bees and airplanes ... a safe combination?

Bees aren’t dangerous for either the airport or for local residents, unless they start swarming. But that only happens if the queen no longer has her colony under control. During the season the hives are checked on a weekly basis. More­ over, in Belgium there are no birds that eat bees, so our colonies do not attract additional birds, which could be dangerous for airplanes.

BRUSSELS AIRPORT IN ACTION

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OLD GRASSLANDS FULL OF LIFE BIODIVERSITY

The common blue is making a comeback.

The small heath feels right at home here.

The site of Brussels Airport is one of the largest surface areas of valuable old grasslands that have remained unfertilised for a long time. In 2015 the airport and the nature protection organisation Natuurpunt began a joint study on the site’s biodiversity.

In this way we can make any necessary adjustments in order to maintain or even increase the existing biodiversity.

Along with the research already done on fungi, bees and butterflies, in 2017 we are planning to do more research on grasshoppers, dragonflies, ladybugs and diurnal butterflies.

We’re also keeping a close eye on bees. Finally we’ll be looking for mushrooms on grounds that haven’t been studied yet and we will process all the data. Natuurpunt found no fewer than 49 species of grassland mushrooms along the shoulders of the perimeter road and in the Speelbos woods near the airport. Butterflies such as the small heath and the common blue are thriving here.

GOOD RIDDANCE SOIL

Soil investigations identified historical soil contamination at the airport’s building 212, where aircraft engines have been tested for years. Near the hydrocarbon separator the ground was contaminated with mineral oil and the groundwater with mineral oil, aromatics and chlorinated volatile organic compounds (VOCls). In collaboration with a certified soil sanitation expert, we developed a soil remediation project that was approved by OVAM (Openbare Vlaamse Afvalstoffenmaatschappij — Public Waste Agency of Flanders). We started excavating the contamination in the solid part of the soil and the floating layer.

After the excavation, the site was refilled with clean soil.

A pilot test was started to biologically and/or chemically purify the groundwater in a second phase.

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BRUSSELS AIRPORT IN ACTION

REDUCING ATMOSPHERIC EMISSIONS

OBJECTIVE: ZERO EMISSIONS In the departure hall of Brussels Airport, the airport shows what it is doing to reduce CO2 emissions: “Reducing our carbon footprint isn’t a goal, it’s a fact ”. Participating in the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme initiated by the ACI (Airports Council International), Brussels Airport is one of the world’s 33 level-3 airports, one step away from the ultimate level 3+. Marina Bylinsky, Manager Environmental Strategy and Intermodality of ACI Europe, explains all the ins and outs for us.

A PRIVATE, VOLUNTARY AND COLLECTIVE INITIATIVE In 2009, ACI Europe – the professional organisation of European airport operators – decided to take action on the issue of climate change by launching the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme. This independent programme fits within a twopronged strategy: supporting the members in terms of managing the impact that airport activities have on the climate, and adapting the airports to the impacts of climate change.

The movement initiated in Europe was rapidly emulated in Asia, North America, Latin America and Africa. In 2009 the programme had 17 airports, but by March 2017 there were no fewer than 182 working to protect the climate. The programme has largely surpassed the initial expectations of ACI Europe.

The latter provides to its members the general technical framework for obtaining the different certificates, step by step.

The accreditations are awarded by an outside body.

32

BRUSSELS AIRPORT IN ACTION

WHAT AMBITIOUS TARGET DOES ACI EUROPE HAVE FOR REDUCING CO2 EMISSIONS? “In 2015 at the COP21 climate summit in Paris, the European airport industry promised, via ACI Europe, that 50 European airports would attain carbon neutrality between now and 2030. Carbon neutrality entails that the airport reduces its emissions as much as possible and offsets the residual emissions by purchasing high-quality carbon credits.”

IS THIS PROGRAMME PROCEEDING BY STAGES, WITH A SNOWBALL EFFECT?

25 2016 25 AIRPORTS ACCREDITED AT 3+ IN EUROPE

50 OBJECTIVE 2030 50 CARBON NEUTRAL AIRPORTS, INCLUDING BRUSSELS AIRPORT

“Adhesion to the Airport Carbon Accreditation approach can be made at any certification level. It is motivated by the

E N V I R O N M E N TA L R E P O RT

determination to make a responsible commitment to sustainable development, and the savings achieved encourage them to continue their efforts, as well as the positive image that this official recognition offers, recognised by the highest authorities such as the Framework Convention of the United Nations on Climate Change or the European Commission. In general, the greater the efforts an airport has already made to reduce its emissions, the less manoeuvring room there will be to achieve further reductions. However, each year, to be re-accredited, airports must demonstrate that they have achieved new emission reductions. The requirement level thus increases as ‘the seniority’ of the airport in the programme increases. In addition, they

FOUR LEVELS OF AIRPORT CARBON ACCREDITATION The conditions to be met for the Airport Carbon Accreditation certifications are strict and necessitate strategic commitment and rigorous efforts on the part of the airports. The 4 levels are:

MAPPING THE CARBON FOOTPRINT

REDUCTION OF CO2 EMISSIONS

OPTIMISATION AND AWARENESS-RAISING OF AIRPORT PARTNERS

CARBON NEUTRALITY

Level 1 certifies that the airport has calculated its carbon footprint, validated by an external audit: consumption of natural gas and fuel oil, fuels consumed by service and company vehicles (scope 1), and purchase of electricity (scope 2).

Level 2 corresponds to the introduction of measures for reducing CO2 emissions within the airport company, the definition of reduction objectives and the achievement of reductions.

Level 3 requires the identification of all of the airport’s CO2 emissions.

This level requires the elaboration, with its airport partners (such as the airlines), of a common policy for reducing atmospheric emissions.

Accreditation level 3+ means that the airport operator undertakes to pursue reductions and to offset the residual emissions in order to achieve carbon neutrality of the operations under the airport’s control. It is a key element of the programme: the airport must demonstrate that it made every possible effort to reduce its own emissions before turning to offsetting.

33

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BRUSSELS AIRPORT IN ACTION

don’t have control over all of the emissions on the airport site: their control is often limited to the heating of the buildings they occupy, to the service vehicles as well as to the company cars. Yet, to attain the level of Airport Carbon Accreditation 3, the airport must raise the awareness of other players at the airport to induce them to implement sustainability measures and reduce their emissions.”

EVERY LITTLE BIT COUNTS? “Small streams make big rivers: it’s by adding together all of the efforts conducted in every direction that one sees advances being made. Like any airport that participates in the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme,

Marina Bylinsky • Manager Environmental Strategy & Intermodality (ACI Europe) • Since September 2015 she has been responsible for coordinating the environmental strategy of ACI Europe, which she represents on the level of the European Union, the European Civil Aviation Conference and Eurocontrol. She is responsible for the management of the Airport Carbon Accreditation standard.

• Degree in Political Science

34

Brussels Airport began by mapping its carbon footprint. To do this, one must survey all of the activities and examine every item closely, seeking to identify possibilities for maximally reducing energy consumption and environmental impact.”

HAS EUROPE SET EMISSION QUOTAS? “Yes, the European Union set up the obligatory ETS (emission trading system), a Community system for trading CO2 emission quotas. It applies for more than 11 000 energy-intensive installations in Europe. Several airports, including Brussels Airport, have large combustion installations on their site that are included in the

emissions trading system. The achievement of carbon neutrality referred to in level 3+ of the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme is not linked to the ETS. To reach this level, the currently irreducible part of the residual emissions must be offset by the voluntary purchase of carbon credits by supporting sustainable CO2 reduction actions implemented here or elsewhere. In order to attain the 3+ level, Brussels Airport is currently analysing offers from the carbon credits market.” n

BRUSSELS AIRPORT IN ACTION

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BRUSSELS AIRPORT: SHARPENED AMBITION In 2010, the airport set itself a concrete objective:

OBJECTIVE 2030

It is estimated that the CO2 emissions under the

a 20% reduction in its CO2 emissions between

control of airports correspond to 2 to 5% of the

now and 2020.

aircraft emissions at the global level. To reduce

In 2015, emissions had already dropped by 27%.

its emissions, Brussels Airport procures green

The initial objective already having been sur-

electricity. Brussels Airport has also optimised

passed, the airport set itself a new one: to reduce its carbon footprint by 40% by 2030, com-

-40 %

workforce commuting, rethought its combustion installations and reviewed its commercial

pared to the reference year 2010.

vehicle fleet. To help its partners reduce their carbon emissions, Brussels Airport was one of

For the 5th consecutive year, Brussels Airport has

RESULT 2015

the first airports in Europe to set up an innova-

been accredited at level 3, which entails mobilis-

tive system of air traffic management

ing the airport partners so that they too reduce

(Collaborative Decision Making, CDM), making it

their emissions, by means of a coordinated policy.

possible to optimise the movements of planes

In terms of electricity consumption, the airport has already succeeded in becoming entirely car-

-27%

on the ground. It also set up a 400 Hz system, so aircraft do not have to use their auxiliary power units which consume kerosene.

bon neutral.

COMBINED RESULTS OF ALL 153* CERTIFIED AIRPORTS (FROM 1 TO 3+) IN THE WORLD: REDUCTION IN CO2 EMISSIONS OF 206 090 TONNES

PER PASSENGER, GROWING REDUCTION OF EMISSIONS IN KG

RECORDED BETWEEN MAY 2015 AND MAY 2016

EQUIVALENT OF CO2 SINCE 2010.

-206 090 TONNES

2014 2015 GLOBAL AVERAGE

BRUSSELS AIRPORT

2.26 KG CO2

1.76 KG CO2

65% OF PASSENGERS IN EUROPE USE CERTIFIED AIRPORTS

65%

2015 2016 GLOBAL AVERAGE

2.10 KG CO2

BRUSSELS AIRPORT

1.60 KG CO2

* May 2016 figures

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BRUSSELS AIRPORT IN ACTION

MOBILITY PLAN

SETTING THE EXAMPLE In October 2016, Brussels Airport launched a new mobility plan for its employees. The classic company car is getting serious competition from alternative mobility solutions.

Stijn De Smedt • Head of Employee Services at Brussels Airport Company • At the beginning of 2016, a multi­ disciplinary team under his leadership began developing a new mobility policy.

36

W

“

aiting any longer was not an option”, says Stijn De Smedt, Head of Employee Services at Brussels Airport Company. Together with a multidisciplinary team he developed a new mobility policy. In addition to several members from the human resources staff, people from the finan-

cial, mobility and environmental departments as well as outside experts were also sitting around the table.

“A broad group because, with the new mobility policy, we want to respond to a number of different challenges”, Stijn explains. “The airport is expanding, and that has caused additional pressure on the road and parking infrastructure. The old mobility policy

BRUSSELS AIRPORT IN ACTION

E N V I R O N M E N TA L R E P O RT

In terms of total travelling time, for one in three of our employees public transport is a competitive solution for their commute to work.

S tijn D e S medt , H ead of E mployee S ervices , B russels A irport C ompany

also ran up against our own environmental objectives.”

WHAT ARE THE MAJOR OUTLINES OF THE NEW MOBILITY POLICY? “We’re working along two main lines: the first is to offer alternatives for the use of company cars. Today, this is possible. In terms of total travelling time, for one in three of our employees public transport, and sometimes the bicycle, is a competitive solution for their commute to work. The NMBS and De Lijn offer a wide range of flexible products that allow for tailor-made solutions. The second line is to steer our people in the direction of alternative, more sustainable cars. By looking at the total cost, thus including taxation and fuel costs, we make electric and hybrid cars, as well as cars that run on natural gas, more attractive.”

BRUSSELS AIRPORT IS AN INTERMODAL HUB: ALL MODES OF TRANSPORT COME TOGETHER HERE. ARE YOU TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THAT REALITY? “Of course we are! We have our own train station right below the airport building. How many companies can

claim this? The airport is also served by many bus routes. Two tram connections with Brussels will be coming in the near future. And numerous investments in new cycling infrastructure in and around the airport are planned. Today our modal split for our employees is 80/20: 80% come to work by car and 20% in some other manner. We’re aiming for a 60/40 ratio by 2025.”

IS THE NEW MOBILITY POLICY ALREADY GENERATING RESULTS? “Yes. We’ve already held discussions with 79 employees to give them individual mobility advice. More than fourfifths have indicated that they are considering changing to an alternative way of using their mobility budget. In the

meantime, 38% have actually opted for alternative mobility options. The train in particular is a great success.”

THE GOVERNMENT IS THINKING ABOUT INTRODUCING A MOBILITY BUDGET. WOULDN’T YOU HAVE DONE BETTER TO WAIT UNTIL THOSE PLANS BECAME MORE CONCRETE? “We decided not to wait any longer.

There’s already been much ado about the government’s mobility budget, but to me it still isn’t clear exactly what it will entail. We’ve chosen to do the maxi­mum within the current possibilities. Another factor is that, as an airport operator, we wish to set the example.

We’re counting on our partners at the airport to follow in our footsteps, and the momentum is also there.” n

We have our own train station right below the airport building. How many companies can claim this?

S tijn D e S medt , H ead

of

E mployee S ervices , B russels A irport C ompany 37

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PA RT N E R S A N D T H E E N V I R O N M E N T

CASES AND EXAMPLES

TOGETHER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Many companies at and around the airport are undertaking eco-friendly actions to protect the environment. Brussels Airport collaborates with them regularly, as we also do with government authorities, NGOs and local associations. In every case, the objective is to make the airport and its surrounding area as pleasant as possible.

CAR FREE WEEK MOBILITY

On the occasion of the annual Mobility Week, from 19 to 23 September 2016, employees of the airport companies received the opportunity to come to work with alternative means of transport for free.

No fewer than 315 employees from twenty airport companies seized the opportunity and left their cars at home for a week.

198 opted for the train, 30 for the bus or tram, and 87 got to work by bicycle or on foot. All participants were rewarded with a meal voucher. The person who cycled the most kilometres even won a 100-euro gift voucher from the bicycle store Fiets!. And Brussels Airlines, the company that booked the greatest CO2 savings, became the proud owner of the Car Free Week Trophy.

Cycling winner speaks Mélodie Dieudonné, Fraud Prevention Officer, Finance, at Brussels Airlines, ran up the highest number of kilometres on her bicycle: “In January 2016 I took part in the project Bike for Africa, an initiative of the b.foundation for Africa of Brussels Airlines. We were sponsored to cycle the four hundred kilometres from Dakar in Senegal to Banjul, The Gambia. For me, the Car Free Week was an ideal moment to haul my mountain bike out of the garage again and bicycle to work. I was even happy to take a route that was four kilometres longer, just so I could cycle in open nature as much as possible. My colleagues were my greatest supporters. Soon I’ll be departing for Cameroon with b.foundation, and as training I bike to work once a week. That way I can extend the good effects of the Car Free Week for a bit longer.”

4 TONNES OF CO2 = SAVED

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74 000 km OR TWICE AROUND THE EARTH

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OPERATION CLEAN-UP WASTE

The average passenger leaves 155 grams of waste behind on each visit to Brussels Airport. Think that’s negligible?

Not when you realise that an average of 23.5 million passengers circulate in the airport each year. So it’s like a small city where thousands of people are living together.

Keeping the airport clean is of the utmost importance if

it’s to remain liveable and pleasant. Fortunately, a sophisticated sorting plan and an efficient waste processing plan are in effect. From restaurant staff through cleaning teams to employees of our on-site recycling centre: day after day, everyone strives to keep the airport spick and span.

The restaurant staff sorts organic waste, napkins, disposable cups and

Personnel and passengers sort paper & cardboard, PMD (Plastics, Metals

packagings in waste containers in a temporary storage room.

and Drink cartons) and residual waste in the waste bins specially provided for this purpose.

Cleaning staff prevent littering, pick up the waste in

The security agents sort liquids and gels that are not allowed in

the toilets and keep the airport floor clean.

the hand luggage of travellers.

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PA RT N E R S A N D T H E E N V I R O N M E N T

VMM VERIFIES AIR QUALITY AIR EMISSIONS

At the end of 2015, the Vlaamse Milieumaatschappij or VMM (The Flemish Environmental Agency) did a study on the air quality in the vicinity of the airport, since European studies have shown that airports are a source of ultra­fine particles.

For two months at four measuring sites, the concentration of fine particles (PM10), ultrafine particles (UFP), black carbon (BC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) were measured every 30 minutes. The measuring sites were located in Diegem, Steenokkerzeel, Kampenhout and Evere.

The conclusion of the VMM study reads as follows: “In the area around the airport, the airport activities contribute no more to the air concentrations of soot particles (‘black carbon’ or BC), nitro-

gen oxides (NOx) and fine particles (PM10) than other sources, such as road traffic.” The study confirms that the airport activities do contribute to the UFP concentrations in the surrounding area. This effect is measured up to seven kilometres away, depending on wind direction and the number of flight movements.

Brussels Airport is aware of the problem and pays attention to it in its environmental policy. For example, CNG-powered service vehicles and electrical buses were purchased, work is being done to shorten aircraft taxiing times, and aircraft can directly plug into a 400 Hz power supply and receive preconditioned air which prevents them from having to use their own power units. The full study is available at www.vmm.be.

MEASURING POINT

KAMPENHOUT

MEASURING POINT

STEENOKKERZEEL

MEASURING POINT

DIEGEM

MEASURING POINT

EVERE

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NMBS TRANSPORTING MORE PEOPLE TO THE AIRPORT MOBILITY

In recent years, the NMBS has greatly expanded its offer to the airport, something travellers appreciate.

“In November and December 2016, more than one out of four passengers used the train to get to and from Brussels Airport”, Bart De Groote, Chief Marketing Officer at NMBS, notes with satisfaction.

25% OF THE AIRPORT PASSENGERS MADE USE OF THE TRAIN IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER.

Moreover, not everyone who takes the train, bus, car or bicycle towards Brussels Airport does so with a piece of luggage in hand. Quite a few commuters are simply travelling through the airport on their journey to work in Brussels or on the outskirts of the city.

Brussels Airport as a unique transport hub? Absolutely!

This is already demonstrated by the big increase in the number of train travellers to the airport in the last months of 2016.

SHERATON INVESTS IN ENERGY-SAVING DEVICES ENERGY

Last year, the Sheraton Brussels Airport Hotel installed new devices to reduce its energy consumption. New motion sensor thermostats were installed in the rooms, and the restaurant received new energy-saving refrigerators and a more efficient dishwasher.

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DHL ENCOURAGES CARPOOLING MOBILITY

In 2016, express courier company DHL conducted a large-scale mobility survey and concluded that greater emphasis should be placed on carpooling. The company is now working with carpool.be to make car-sharing easier and more accessible. Carpooling via carpool.be isn’t limited to DHL and other companies: anyone can use the tool to find carpool partners! In the meantime, 81 of DHL’s people have made use of the website in order to find carpool partners within their company or in other companies.

The DHL management sets the right example.

EMIRATES TURNS BOTTLES INTO BLANKETS WASTE

Since January 2017, Emirates airline has been using ecological blankets made 100% of recycled plastic bottles in Economy class. This sustainable in-flight project is the largest ever of its kind in the aviation industry. Recycled bottles are converted into chips and processed into threads which are then used to make fleece fabric.

28 BOTTLES = 1 FLEECE BLANKET

MINISTRY OF DEFENCE INITIATES SOIL REMEDIATION PROJECT SOIL

The Ministry of Defence’s 15th Air Transport Wing has its airport close to Brussels Airport. In 2016 it initiated the soil remediation of a few polluted zones.

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28 recycled bottles are required for a single blanket. By the end of 2019, Emirates will have processed 88 million bottles into blankets, i.e. the weight of 44 A380 airplanes.

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AVIAPARTNER OFFERS TREES FOR THE PLANET Aviapartner has its own Go Green Campaign and is actively working to protect the environment. Healthy smoothies and a participation in Earth Hour are just a few examples of this. The company replaced 80-gram paper with lighter 70-gram paper for its printing needs.

And for each customer who participates in its annual Customer Satisfaction Survey, Aviapartner plants a tree; in this way, 173 trees were planted in 2016.

173 IN 2016 AVIAPARTNER PLANTED 173 TREES

QATAR AIRWAYS: THE QUIETEST AIRLINE NOISE

The Brussels Airport Aviation Awards are celebrating their tenth anniversary this year. Every year, Brussels Airport presents these awards, to the airlines and its partners that have distinguished themselves in the past year in terms of network development and new routes, the environment, safety, performance and punctuality.

the noise certification values of the ICAO (the International Civil Aviation Organization) as a function of the weight of the aircraft, the number of engines and the number of take-offs made by the airline at Brussels Airport.

Qatar Airways, a young airline eager to reduce its ecological footprint, boasts an ultramodern fleet composed of Boeing 787s or Dreamliners to serve Brussels Airport … which enabled it to secure first place, ahead of All Nippon Airways.

The Environment and Safety Awards are presented to airport companies that made a special contribution to the protection of the environment, to the permanent improvement of safety standards or to senThanks to its classification Sebastiaan Wijenberg, Manager Cargo The Netherlands & Belgium (Qatar Airways) receives the award from Lode Ketele, in pole position for passensitization in this area. In 2017 Director Compliance & Operations Continuity (Brussels Airport). the Environment Award went ger transport and its 3rd to Qatar Airways, the Qatari place for freight, Qatar national airline, whose fleet has an especially small noise Airways deserves to be regarded as the quietest airline at footprint. When granting this award, Brussels Airport weighs Brussels Airport in 2016.

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Marylin Bastin • Head of Environment & Procedure Design, Belgocontrol • Industrial engineer • Since 2002 has worked in Belgocontrol in a range of technical positions.

• Since 2014, Environment expert relating to air traffic in the Directorate-General of Operations • Since 2016, head of the environment unit relating to air traffic and design procedures (7 employees).

• 2014-2016: chairwoman of the Standing Committee Environment of the FABEC platform (Functional Airspace Block Europe Central) • 2016-2017: Special master in environmental management HEC/ULg – thesis on reducing the impact of aviation on climate change.

Belgocontrol Belgocontrol is an autonomous public undertaking whose mission is to ensure the safety of air traffic on the ground and in the air within Belgian air space, by optimising costs and punctuality, by increasing capacity and by assuring sustainable development for air traffic. As the environmental dimensions have gained in importance, Belgocontrol has been given the means and the resources to respond to this development by creating the Environment and Procedure Design unit in June 2016.

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BELGOCONTROL

COMPROMISES SO AS NOT TO COMPROMISE THE ENVIRONMENT

Noise nuisance, CO2 emissions, air quality‌ are the day-to-day business of Marylin Bastin, Head of Environment & Procedure Design at Belgocontrol.

Her challenge? To successfully reconcile the interests of the regions, the federal government and Europe and propose solutions to reduce the environmental impact of aviation. She explains to us the projects that she is implementing in collaboration with Brussels Airport and the airlines.

WHAT MAKES IT SO DIFFICULT TO RECONCILE THE RULES, LAWS AND INTERESTS OF THE VARIOUS PARTIES? “Our instructions, with regard to whether or not a given zone may be overflown, come to us from competent authorities: the Directorate-General for Aviation and the Minister of Transport.

Our work on reducing the environmental impact must respect these instructions, taking into account firstly aspects relating to aviation safety, but also economic development, requests

of the users (the airport and the airlines) in addition to the European Performance Scheme. When it comes to the environment, there are no ideal solutions. Our environmental objectives are sometimes in conflict with one another. An example: to prevent noise pollution, our government asks that pilots take longer flight paths, which has an impact on fuel consumption. From the European side, we get the opposite request: give the shortest possible routes to our users in order to reduce flight times and thus fuel 45

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consumptions. It’s all a question of compromise. Where should the priority be placed? On noise pollution or on CO2 emissions? Belgocontrol can’t make these decisions alone. Whence the interest of the Collaborative Environmental Management (CEM)1 working groups.”

CONTINUOUS DESCENT OPERATIONS Benefits of CDO landings compared to conventional procedures:

HOW IS BRUSSELS AIRPORT PUTTING THIS COLLABORATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT INTO PLACE? “The implementation plan of the Single European Sky initiative requires that each airport operates according to the principle of Collaborative Environmental Management (CEM). With quarterly bilateral meetings between Belgocontrol and Brussels Airport, we’re already working together in this way. We recently prepared a joint environmental evaluation report on the introduction of an RNP2 landing procedure at Brussels Airport, combining their data relating to noise measure-

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Fuel

Emissions

Noise

A320

A330

(NARROW-BODY)

(WIDE-BODY)

-50 KG

-100 KG

-157 KG

-314 KG

-2 DB

-3 DB

Source: https://www.belgocontrol.be/environment-co2-emissions

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ments and our operational analysis. In 2017, this will be formalised by including the airlines as well. Defining the projects and priorities together greatly facilitates their implementation. The idea behind CEM is that the entire airport community together determines what it proposes to do to reduce the impact while also considering safety and capacity aspects as well as economic interests.”

within the limits imposed by safety.

During full traffic peak that isn’t possible because, without engine power, the airplane takes longer to descend.

The key to a successful continuous descent: communicating to the pilot the precise distance that he still has to go. His descent will be optimised if he doesn’t have to level off repeatedly or increase power... In 2015, the CDO applied for all runways.”

WHAT CONCRETE ACTIONS HAVE ALREADY BEEN COMPLETED THANKS TO THE CEM?

SINCE THEN, HAVE OTHER STUDIES BEEN DONE ON THE CDOs?

“In 2011, for the CDO3 (Continuous Descent Operations), we already put CEM into practice by bringing together Brussels Airport, Brussels Airlines and Belgocontrol. The environment carries more and more weight; it is now almost as important as safety – which of course always takes first place, obviously. The approach controllers in­ struct the pilots to carry out CDO’s

“In 2016, an aeronautical engineering student at the ULB devoted his thesis to improving the CDOs in Brussels.

With the aid of Brussels Airport, he questioned 160 pilots representing a majority of the airlines and our 42 air traffic controllers specialised in the Brussels approach. This thesis made it possible to highlight everything that does not facilitate the CDO (technical or security constraints, operational as-

AVIATION JARGON COLLABORATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT (CEM) An exchange platform in which the main operational players of an airport participate. They meet regularly in order to better understand the challenges and constraints each one of them is facing, to decide on realistic and sustainable actions to be introduced in order to improve environmental performance, to work out joint proposals and set common priorities.

RNP = REQUIRED NAVIGATION PERFORMANCE

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pects, phraseology not understood by the pilot, lack of training, etc.). His thesis demonstrated that the method for calculating CDOs was outdated.

Currently, the measured CDOs only take account of the number of explicit CDOs given by the air traffic controllers. On average that represents only 10 to 15% of the flights. In fact, planes have a natural tendency to make CDOs, even without having received the instruction. 50% of the planes descend without a stair-step approach, because that allows them to save litres of fuel. Consequently, it is the number of CDOs actually carried out that must be measured.”

WHAT OTHER INITIATIVES DO YOU HOPE TO SEE ACCOMPLISHED THANKS TO COLLABORATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT ?

“During our CEM meetings, we look together for ways to improve the CDOs. Other essential subjects must be addressed collaboratively: taking into account the wind in final approach (Winds aloft) for choosing runways, the departure routes (SIDs – Standard Instrument Departure), the de-icing of the planes, the air quality (fine particles and CO2), and the optimisation of the taxiways to reduce waiting times on the ground. The environment mustn’t be seen as a constraint, but as a process to best develop the activities of an airline or an airport. Hence the importance of these collaborations for setting up realistic and sustainable projects.” n

Usually, airplanes navigate with the aid of signals they receive from radio beacons on the ground.

An RNP approach is a procedure that uses satellite data, which makes the navigation more precise so that one can optimise the flight routes.

CONTINUOUS DESCENT OPERATIONS (CDO) Flight technique that makes it possible to simultaneously reduce noise pollution, fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The airplane performs a continuous descent instead of a stair-step approach, with minimum engine power.

1, 2 and 3: See “Aviation jargon”

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AGENTSCHAP VOOR NATUUR EN BOS

A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW THROUGH SAFETY GOGGLES

The airport’s vast green spaces make it very attractive to birds, which can create a risk for air traffic. In this context, how does one reconcile a nature policy with the strict safety regulations of an airport? Brussels Airport Company studied this issue together with the Agentschap voor Natuur en Bos, and in the process they came up with a species management plan.

“

O

ur job is to enable the bird and wildlife population in Flanders to thrive as well as possible”, explains Bert Verbist from the Flemish government’s Agentschap voor Natuur en Bos or ANB (Nature and Forest Agency). “The airport finds itself in a very specific situation. All of its green areas make it a highly attractive environment for many species of birds. At the same time, of course, these animals can pose a huge risk for aviation safety.

The challenge is to keep species protection possible without impacting aviation safety.” Walda Geusens, employee of the Airside Services department at Brussels Airport Company, adds: “The regulations can sometimes even be contradictory. As an airport, we’re obliged to follow the international

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safety legislation. But we’re located on Flemish territory, so we also have to respect the Flemish regulations on the protection of fauna and flora.”

± 8 000 an hour THAT’S HOW MANY BIRDS WERE OBSERVED DURING THE TEST PERIOD

BY THE BIRD DETECTION RADAR IN THE VICINITY OF THE AIRPORT. THIS FIGURE IS COMPARABLE TO A NORMAL ACTIVITY DURING MIGRATION PERIODS.

MULTI-STAGE APPROACH The cooperation between ANB and Brussels Airport Company resulted in a species management plan in 2011.

“This permits us to deviate from the species protection regulations in certain cases”, explains Bert Verbist. For example, Brussels Airport may remove nests, eggs and the young of certain animal species. And if an immediate danger threatens air traffic, it is also authorised to kill animals. “But that’s always the last resort”, Walda Geusens emphasises. “We work in a progressive way. The first step is to dissuade: we try to make the airport less attractive for birds. The second step is to chase them off. In this way we try to avoid the last step, which would be shooting the animals.”

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In the field, from left to right: Neal Van Acoleyen (Controller Bird Control Unit at Brussels Airport), Bert Verbist (ANB), Walda Geusens and Jan Geeraerts from Brussels Airport.

1

The first step is to keep the animals away from the airport, e.g. by planting bad-tasting grasses.

2

In the second step the animals are scared off with recorded bird distress cries.

3

Bird-bangers can also chase away the birds, which are only shot for real in emergency situations.

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BIRD CONTROL UNIT Out in the field it’s the Bird Control Unit of Brussels Airport that puts this approach into practice. A seven-person team headed by Jan Geeraerts patrols the airport grounds from sunrise to sunset. “The intention of our patrols is to keep the birds as far as possible outside the danger zones”, says Jan Geeraerts. “We use several techniques for this. We try to scare them off with distress cries, which are actual recorded bird sounds. Sometimes we also set off ‘bird bangers’: the bright flash of light and the loud explosion generally make them fly away.”

UNDER STUDY

EFFECTIVE BIRD RADAR Observing and watching out for birds is one of the main tasks of the Bird Control Unit. But visual observations have their limits. Walda Geusens: “Our bird and wildlife controllers are out in the field continuously from sunrise to sunset. But at night there’s not much more they can see. Also, ordinary

The Bird Control Unit also plays an important role in the preventive and proactive management of the fauna and flora on and around the airport. Jan Geeraerts: “If the birds of prey no longer find food here, they’ll stay away from the airport. And so we try, for example, to chase off rabbits and keep mice away.”

visual observations aren’t good enough for detecting birds at high altitudes.” Brussels Airport is therefore studying the installation of a bird detection radar. A test was conducted at the airport in August 2016. “Such a radar system can make observations day and night, that’s already a big advantage. Moreover, it also delivers additional data, including about flight patterns. That can help us to, for example, identify places of attraction such as nesting and feeding sites.” Brussels Airport is continuing to study the possibilities for a long-term project with the bird detection radar.

ALTERNATIVES The first species management plan ran until 2016 and was recently renewed, because both parties expressed satisfaction with the collaboration. Bert Verbist: “From our standpoint, all preventive measures are an added value. With Brussels Airport we’ve come up with a good model, one that we now want to roll out at the other airports in Flanders as well.”

BAD-TASTING GRASSES Brussels Airport is constantly reviewing new developments that can help optimise the habitat management on the airport grounds. For example, the use of endophytic grass varieties is being studied in collaboration with the

“For us, it’s important to have a range of measures that we can apply”, says Walda Geusens. “The animals sometimes get accustomed to certain actions. Through ANB we have access to a whole range of alternatives, as a result of which the measures retain their effectiveness.” n

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University of Ghent. These grass varieties contain a particular type of fungus in the roots that causes them to taste bad to animals that feed on them. “Along with rabbits, mice are a major source of food for the birds of prey around the airport”, explains Walda Geusens of Brussels Airport Company. “If we can reduce the mice and rabbit population, the airport will become a less attractive habitat for these birds. Mice and rabbits don’t like endophytic grass varieties, so we’re looking at whether we can grow precisely these varieties on the airport grounds.”

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ZAVENTEM, FLEMISH BRABANT AND ANB

A TEXTBOOK EXAMPLE OF A SUPER COLLABORATION

Several players with different responsibilities together created in the green spaces around the airport a recreational woods: the ‘Speelbos’.

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he idea of creating a recreational woods came from Brussels Airport itself. “We are the owner of the parcel of land closest to the airport site, and we had long been wondering how we could best use that green area”, Caroline Bossuyt, Environment Manager, explains. “It’s important for the airport that birds be kept away from the aircraft in as environmentally-friendly a manner as possible. Hence the idea of a recreational woods full of activity and noise. Then the birds will remain away of their own accord. Currently we already have a walking circuit, a biking track, a dog meadow, a picnic space and a few pieces of playground equipment. In the long run, a plane spotting platform and a fitness trail are going to be added.”

The recreational area already offers a walking circuit, a biking track, a picnic space, a dog meadow and a few pieces of playground equipment.

C aroline B ossuyt , E nvironment M anager , B russels A irport C ompany

EVERYONE ON THE SAME LINE The municipality of Zaventem was quickly won over by the idea. “You must understand that, in the regional plans of the 1970s, Zaventem was not

blessed with a surfeit of green zones”, environmental official Guido Declercq explains. “So if a good proposal comes along to expand an existing woods and organise it in a child-friendly manner, we’re the first to get on board.” Mayor Ingrid Holemans nods in agreement.

“It’s an ideal opportunity for children and adults to discover and enjoy a remaining bit of green on the fringe of the metropolitan area. Moreover, this recreational woods is really a textbook example of a super-collaboration. We’ll do everything necessary to make this project a success.” The province of Flemish Brabant, owner of two other adjacent parcels of land, also looked favourably on the plan. “We immediately offered our support”, says deputy Tie Roefs. “The INL team (Intermunicipal Nature and Landscape team) of the municipality of Zaventem will maintain the woods as necessary and ensure that the paths are kept clear throughout the year,” says Dirk Buysse, a member of the province’s Nature department staff.

THE AIRPORT’S GREEN SPACES

413 hectares OF AIRSIDE GRASSLAND

515 hectares ARE OPEN LAND

102 hectares OF LANDSIDE GRASSLAND

9 hectares

ARE CATALOGUED AS FOREST AND MANAGED IN A FOREST MANAGEMENT PLAN

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OF WHICH 10 HECTARES COVERED WITH SHRUBS AND CONIFERS.

9 hectares

THE TOTAL SURFACE AREA FOR WHICH AN ACCESSIBILITY REGULATION HAS BEEN DRAWN UP AMOUNTS TO 9 HECTARES, INCLUDING 2 HECTARES OF RECREATIONAL WOODS

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OFFICIAL RECREATIONAL WOODS “We’ve now confirmed something that already existed but which was being used to only a limited extent”, says Erik Rennen, Environment alderman in Zaventem. “The scouts of Nossegem and Zaventem have already been using the recreational woods for many years, but the official designation as a ‘Speelbos’ expands the possibilities.” The official commissioning is also associated with a series of safety rules. “We’ve put up the necessary signs, as well as a simplified version of the rules to be respected by visitors at various points in the woods”, says Johnny Cornelis of the Nature and Forest Agency.

“Should something go wrong here, the citizens involved are covered by insurance. If it was up to the competent Minister, Joke Schauvliege, ultimately every municipality would get such a recreational area devoted to leisure activities.” n

They helped make the ‘Speelbos’ possible › Tie Roefs, Representative, Flemish Brabant › Dirk Buysse, Nature department employee, province of Flemish Brabant › Ingrid Holemans, Mayor of Zaventem › Erik Rennen, Environment alderman, Zaventem › Guido Declercq, Environmental official, Zaventem › Johnny Cornelis, Employee, Nature and Forest Agency › Caroline Bossuyt, Environment Manager, Brussels Airport Company

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TEC4JETS AND TUI GROUP

AIRCRAFT TECHNOLOGY OR INNOVATION IN MOTION

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner has already received a great deal of media attention. “That certainly has to do with the comfort on board, such as improved cabin pressure control and unequalled room between the seats”, says Peter Vervliet, Quality Assurance Manager of Tec4Jets. “But the real genius of the Dreamliner lies in the technology.”

Tec4Jets and TUI Group Tec4Jets is the TUI Group’s maintenance company. With 120 employees, including 90 engineers, they maintain a 24-unit fleet that flies to more than one hundred airports.

Brussels Airport is the headquarters of the Tec4Jets maintenance services, but Tec4Jets is also responsible for maintaining different types of aircraft, belonging to both the TUI Group and other companies, in France (Lille), Morocco (Marrakesh), the United States (Lansing) and several other Belgian airports (Charleroi, Deurne, Liège, Ostend).

In the coming years the TUI Group will continue to invest in new airplanes and environmentally-friendly technology, such as electric recharging stations. In 2016 TUI also took many small environmental initiatives dealing with e.g. fuel consumption, waste processing and paper consumption.

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QUIETER AND MORE ECONOMICAL Peter Vervliet: “The Dreamliner is one of the most important innovations in recent years, from the chevrons on the engine through the use of carbon fibre to the curve of the fan blades. A lot of economic and ecological progress has been built into this aircraft.

For example, the Dreamliner flies much more economically than its predecessor, the B767. Over a distance of 7 000 km it requires two tonnes less fuel on average. That corresponds to around six tonnes less CO2 emissions. It’s also significantly quieter. The chevrons – those are the saw-tooth patterns on the trailing edges of jet engine nozzles – ensure a controlled mixing of the air that passes through and along the engine.

Due to this change, a gigantic plane such as the Dreamliner produces only 85 decibels of noise on takeoff, a reduction of no less than 60% compared to older aircraft types. With its 85 decibels, the Dreamliner thus generates no more noise than the traffic on a busy road.”

One of the most important innovations of the Dreamliner are its curved fan blades.

SMALL ADAPTATIONS, BIG DIFFERENCE Along with economic interests, environmental restrictions also encourage aircraft manufacturers to make techno­ logical innovations. Frederic Dewandel, Environment Manager of TUIfly Belgium and a pilot in training: “We don’t just comply with the environmental measures that the authorities impose on us. We also take sustainability

measures on our own initiative in order to reduce CO2 emissions even further.

For example, we recently implemented procedures as a result of which our airplanes, when taxiing, use only a single engine instead of two. All of these initiatives individually deliver a modest ecological advantage, but as we all know, many small steps make a big change.

And so these many minor adaptations in combination are producing a world of difference.” n

WHY IS THE DREAMLINER THE MOST RECENT AND BIGGEST INNOVATION?

LIGHTER

MORE ECONOMICAL

THE USE OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS SUCH AS

NEW TYPE OF UPRIGHT WING

CARBON FIBRE ELIMINATES A SUBSTANTIAL

EXTENSION (WINGLETS) THAT

AMOUNT OF WEIGHT, AND LEADS TO FUEL

REDUCES AIR RESISTANCE, LEADING

SAVINGS OF NO LESS THAN 20%.

TO A FUEL SAVING OF 1.5%.

MAINTENANCE

60% QUIETER

EASY TO MAINTAIN DUE TO SIMPLIFIED SYSTEMS –

SMALLER NOISE FOOTPRINT –

JUST THINK OF THE ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS.

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Gerd Van Damme, Dominique Brochier and Pieter BeliĂŤn from TCR: a 360-degree view of the environment.

TCR

TCR leases out ground support equipment such as baggage belt loaders and aircraft tow trucks, sells them second-hand, and has service and maintenance workshops at over fifty airports, including Brussels Airport.

The company has specialised knowledge in house, including in the areas of gate positioning and equipment bundling. The company has already received ISO 14001 environmental certification in several countries where it is active. Numerous environmental initiatives are being taken at the Brussels Airport site, from the use of rainwater for cleaning ground support equipment to the promotion of public transport.

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TCR

WE KNOW THE TOTAL CO2 IMPACT OF EVERY PIECE OF EQUIPMENT

On the tarmac of Brussels Airport you’ll see a lot of aircraft tow trucks as well as specialised equipment such as baggage belt loaders and mobile ground power units. Most of this equipment is leased out by TCR, a Belgian specialist in ground handling equipment, which actively supports Brussels Airport’s environmental policy.

T

CR addresses the environmental issue in a comprehensive manner. For them the theme fits within a broader vision of corporate social responsibility. To limit the environmental impact, they follow the Cradle to Cradle principle from the initial material choice to recycling at the end of service life. Dominique Brochier, Occupational Health, Safety and Environment (OHSE) Coordinator: “We issued a report on our corporate social responsibility for the first time in 2015. In ten working groups we then looked at various dimensions of our operations, and that process generated (amongst other things) five priorities for the environment and, along with energy, waste, water and

soil, there was also Green GSE (Ground Support Equipment).”

I would estimate that we have an electric solution for eighty percent of the cases.

P ieter B eliën , G eneral M anager , TCR

CO2 EMISSION TOOL Gerd Van Damme, Asset Director: “You always have to see something like Green GSE in the proper context. We have an impact on the equipment that we lease out and on the way it’s maintained – but not on the actual use.

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The electric baggage belt loaders run on green electricity.

we monitor all aspects over the entire life cycle, using an emission tool that we developed ourselves.”

our equipment, we’ve gathered an enormous amount of data”, says Gerd Van Damme. “The life cycle of each spare part is contained in our information and management system.

We use these data to provide feedback to the manufacturers. As a major player we can have a positive impact, certainly in Europe.”

POSITIVE IMPACT TCR’s tool takes account of the impact of material choice, transport, use and consumption, maintenance and repairs, and recycling at the end of service life. In this way TCR knows the total impact of the CO2 emissions of its equipment. “Because we not only lease out but also maintain all

ELECTRICITY NOT MORE EXPENSIVE Pieter Beliën, General Manager: “On the basis of our tool, we decide what

equipment we will and will not invest in. Electric vehicles certainly aren’t more expensive. An electric baggage belt loader is cheaper than a diesel belt loader that emits twice as much CO2. For small-scale equipment, electric has even become the standard.

Seventy percent of our belt loaders at Brussels Airport are already electric today, and I would estimate that we have an electric solution for eighty percent of the cases. At the initiative of Brussels Airport, we get together twice a year to examine the CO2 footprint of the airport’s activities in their entirety.

And we also see one another in various consultation committees. Here, too, the environment is the central focus of attention.” n

As a major player, we can exercise a positive impact.

G erd V an D amme , A sset D irector , TCR

TCR WORLDWIDE, IN FIGURES

150

MILLION EUROS TURNOVER

58

780+

FULL-TIME JOBS

24 000 FLEET UNITS

600+

MILLION EUROS FLEET VALUE

E N V I R O N M E N TA L K E Y F I G U R E S

2016

E N V I R O N M E N TA L R E P O RT

E N V I R O N M E N TA L K E Y F I G U R E S

AIR EMISSIONS EVOLUTION OF CO2 EMISSIONS FROM STATIONARY SOURCES (COMBUSTION, GAS, HEATING OIL, DIESEL)

2010

22 668

25 000

TONNES OF ACTUAL

20 000

CO2 EMISSIONS 15 000

2016

10 000

16 345

5 000

TONNES OF ACTUAL

0 2010

2011

2012

2013

ACTUAL CO2 EMISSIONS (TONNES)

2014

2015

CO2 EMISSIONS

2016

STANDARDISED CO2 EMISSIONS* (TONNES)

* For the standardised CO2 emission this is corrected on the basis of the outdoor temperature (correction to degree days)

WASTE

WATER TAP WATER CONSUMPTION (IN m3) 300 000 250 000 200 000 150 000

2 134

100 000 50 000

26%

TONNES OF RESIDUAL WASTE

RECYCLED NON-HAZARDOUS WASTE

0 2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

ENERGY EVOLUTION OF TOTAL YIELD OF GREEN ELECTRICITY (IN MWh)

ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION (IN GJPRIM/m2)

3 000

3,0

2 500

2,5

2 000

2,0

1 500

1,5

1 000

1,0

500

0,5

SAVING OF

11

%

COMPARED TO 2010

0

0 2010**

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

** Placement of first solar panels in 2011

3%

OF OUR ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION IN 2016 THROUGH SOLAR PANELS

2 828 MWh

=

808 FAMILIES

E N V I R O N M E N TA L R E P O RT

E N V I R O N M E N TA L K E Y F I G U R E S

MOBILITY

65 000

20 000

TRAVELLERS

20 000

EMPLOYEES

200

CARS

1 000

TRAINS

500

BUSES

TRUCKS

SOIL

4,0%

1,2%

2016

2000

PASSENGERS & FLIGHTS

IS POLLUTED,

IS POLLUTED TO

326 000

FURTHER APPROACH

A LIMITED DEGREE,

21 600 000

IS REQUIRED.

NO CLEAN-UP

21 818 418

IS REQUIRED.

224 000

+1%

-31%

PASSENGERS

94,8%

FLIGHTS

IS CLEAN

NOISE NIGHT SLOTS AND NIGHT MOVEMENTS

NUMBER OF PERSONS POTENTIALLY HIGHLY ANNOYED

26 000

35 000

24 000

30 000

22 000 20 000

25 000

18 000 16 000

20 000

14 000 12 000

15 000

10 000 8 000

10 000

DATA NOT AVAILABLE***

6 000 4 000

DATA NOT AVAILABLE*

5 000

2 000

0

0 2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

NIGHT SLOTS ARRIVALS

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

NIGHT SLOTS TAKE-OFFS

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

Source: Independent study directed by Dick Botteldooren, acoustics professor at the University of Ghent.

NIGHT MOVEMENTS**

* No monitoring figures from Belgian Slot Coordination available. ** Number of night movements – incl. helicopter flights and flights exempted from slot coordination (e.g. military flights, government flights, medical flights, humanitarian missions, etc.). *** Calculation performed with a different version of the INM computing model.

2008

2015

2016

W W W. B R U S S E L S A I R P O R T. B E