UN Climate Conference conducted in Copenhagen

Around 15,000 delegates from all over the world are currently participating in the COP15 Climate Conference in Copenhagen. This is a unique opportunity for CPH as well as our airline customers to create awareness and exposure of Copenhagen as a city, an airport and a destination.

Copenhagen Airport is ready to welcome foreign guests, including the large number of heads of state and government, ministers and other public representatives expected to participate in the conference. The majority of the participants will travel to Copenhagen on ordinary, scheduled flights, and their arrivals and departures will entail no significant changes to the day-to-day operation of the airport.

Copenhagen Airport: An environmentally responsible enterprise

“Copenhagen Airport has reduced CO2 emissions per passenger by 65 per cent since 1990.”

“By 2012, electrical power consumption at Copenhagen Airport will be cut by ten per cent, an amount corresponding to the power consumption of 1100 Danish households.”

In the months up to the UN climate conference in Denmark this December, messages and facts like these have been appearing on signs and banners in Copenhagen Airport terminals as the airport deploys its CO(2)OL Travel campaign to inform passengers of its own environmental and climate conservation efforts.

 “As a large-scale operation and workplace in the transport sector, we are responsible for the emission of a substantial amount of CO2, but we are also an environmentally responsible enterprise. In recent years, we have implemented various schemes that help reduce CO2 emissions from the airport's activities, and we'll be pushing even harder in the next few months with a number of new energy-related initiatives,” said Henrik Peter Jørgensen, VP for Communications at Copenhagen Airports A/S.

“Our efforts to become a more environmentally correct operation are long term. We have been focusing on environmental issues for decades: last year our Supervisory Board resolved that we must comply with the Kyoto Protocol by 2012 and cut our CO2 emissions by 21%. We have to be totally committed to our environmental protection work, so we've decided to include environmental considerations in all our decisions and to invite an open dialogue on the environmental aspects of our operation,” said Brian Petersen, president and CEO of Copenhagen Airports.

Much greater environmental benefits

When 15,000 delegates from all over the world fly home after the UN climate conference in Copenhagen, most of them will be onboard a flight that takes off from Copenhagen by climbing quickly and flying directly to its optimal operating level and route.

This saves fuel and reduces carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, compared with conventional take-off procedures involving a gradual climb and following standard routes. On an annual basis, employing this procedure means that aircraft taking off from Copenhagen Airport save some 10,000 tonnes of fuel and several million Danish kroner while also cutting CO2 emissions by almost 32,000 tonnes. These are the results of data analysis by Eurocontrol, the European organisation of air traffic management services.

Naviair, the organisation responsible for air traffic management services in Danish airspace, permits 95% of all aircraft taking off from Copenhagen Airport to climb continuously to a fuel-economical level – in industry-speak called a ‘continued-climb departure’ – and also gives the aircraft permission to turn onto the planned route at an earlier point than was previously the practice.

Unique location makes rapid climb possible

This deviation from the standard procedure is possible because of Copenhagen Airport’s location on the Øresund strait, with water on three sides. Most other European airports have urban areas on several sides, which makes it necessary for them to employ mainly a few well-defined take-off routes and allow aircraft to climb only gradually to various flying levels.

“That we have the option of using ‘green take-offs’ is a result of Copenhagen Airport’s unique location. But extensive use of the procedure is a deliberate choice by the air traffic management service and the airport, to handle traffic in a very flexible manner and with as little environmental impact as possible without compromising safety,” said Naviair Director Morten Dambæk.

Other environmentally friendly initiatives at CPH:

• New energy-saving LED light on the taxiways at Copenhagen Airport helps the airport to meet its target of reducing power consumption by at least 10 per cent by 2012. The LED technology is also becoming increasingly popular in other parts of the airport. In addition to saving energy, the LEDs also last longer than halogen fittings. In principle, the new fittings in the manoeuvring area can burn for more than 50,000 hours before they must be replaced.  This means that the fittings can be used for up to ten years, as opposed to the present fittings which need replacement every two-three years.
  
  
• Copenhagen Airport is also focusing on reducing power consumption in the terminals. This is being done, among other things, by optimising automatic lighting control so that light is not left on at night in areas where it is not necessary.
  
  
• Light control has already been installed in most of the terminal areas so that the light is switched off automatically during periods with plenty of daylight. This reduces annual power consumption by 20-25% for the installations involved. Moreover, the intervals between replacements of the light sources are longer.
  
  
• In certain areas of the airport, light dimmers have also been installed which gradually reduce the level of electric light based on the level of daylight, which saves even more power than pure on/off functions. More areas will be equipped with light dimmers in the years to come.
  
  
• Copenhagen Airport sets new standards for energy efficiency in an airport building with its planned low-cost pier, CPH SWIFT. Ground water cooling and solar panels together with optimal control of ventilation and lighting ensure a very low level of energy consumption for the new building scheduled to be opened in 2010. With a level of energy consumption of max 50 kilowatt hours per square metre per year, CPH SWIFT will correspond to a building in low energy class 1, the best energy class, for which energy consumption is only half that of traditional new buildings.