The 5th of June has been established as a day dedicated to protecting the environment. This year's celebration focuses on "Connecting People to Nature".
For Athens International Airport, an important component of its environmental protection programme is the monitoring and protection of Biodiversity, not only at the airport, but also in the region surrounding the airport. A unique initiative in this area is the programme for the Restoration and Conservation of the Vravrona Wetland, which is implemented in collaboration with the Hellenic Ornithological Society (HOS) under the auspices of the Municipality of Markopoulo. In addition to the environmental objectives of the programme, it also targets organized visits of students, teachers, members of local citizen groups and other institutions to the wetland where experienced, expert HOS personnel guide the visitors through the site. In 2016, more than 2,000 students visited the wetland while over the last decade that the programme has been running, more than 10,000 persons have participated in such tours.
In addition, during the 2016-2017 academic year, Athens airport implemented a new action for environmental awareness aiming to increase the environmental sensitivity of the younger generation that reside in the Mesogaia area where the airport is located. The programme includes presentations to high school students from the local municipalities as well as tours of the airport's environmental and cultural heritage facilities, such as its environmental monitoring stations, its Sewage Treatment Plant, the airport museum, etc. Since the beginning of the school year, eleven (11) visits have taken place in which 450 students and their teachers have participated. Further to its success, the programme shall continue into the 2017-2018 academic year.
The Airport has long been recognized for its high level of environmental performance covering a wide range of issues such as Waste Management, Recycling, CO2 Emission Reductions, as well as its overall contribution to protecting the environment and promoting sustainability. An indicative selection of initiatives undertaken by AIA is as follows:
1. Upgrade of its accreditation to the final level of Carbon Neutrality in the voluntary programme launched by Airports Council International aiming to help airports manage and reduce their carbon footprint, Airport Carbon Accreditation. After reducing emissions from its facilities by 41%, AIA zeroed out its remaining carbon footprint, once again demonstrating its commitment to the fight against climate change and securing its place amongst the top airports in the world with regard to this aspect.
2. Achievement of a recycling rate of 58% in 2016.
3. Rewarding of the schools of the Spata-Artemis Municipality for the active participation of their students in AIA’s Recycling Programme with educational materials and environmentally themed excursions. In 2016, the students recycled 10.7 tonnes of paper, bringing the total amount of material recycled since the programme started in 2005 to more than 75 tonnes.
4. Implementation of an environmental education programme for the 2nd year in a row in cooperation with the NGO Mediterranean SOS at local elementary schools in order to improve students’ awareness on water management issues. By the end of 2016, more than 3,000 students have participated and been educated on the proper use of this valuable natural resource.
5. Scholarships for 2 postgraduate students at the University of the Aegean (Department of Environmental Studies) for the 15th straight year in order to encourage and strengthen academic research in the field of environmental protection.
Environmental publication “Care for the Environment”
The latest edition of our annual publication “Care for the Environment”, which describes in detail AIA's environmental activities in 2016, is available at the following address:
AIA Press Office
tel: 210 3537227
fax: 210 3537838