Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has recently announced its 2050 Net Zero Carbon Pledge, committing to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, with a midpoint target of a 55% absolute emissions reduction by 2035. This is a significant and ambitious goal, given that the airport is one of the busiest in the world for both passenger and cargo traffic. To achieve this goal, HKIA has chosen SITA, the global IT provider for the air transport industry, to provide a carbon management platform that will monitor data on carbon emissions across the airport environment and support HKIA’s carbon reporting efforts.
SITA’s carbon management platform is set to be fully deployed by summer 2023 and will collect and aggregate data on carbon emissions from a variety of sources within the airport, spanning scopes 1, 2, and 3 emissions. This includes data from 29 participating business partners across the airport value chain, overseeing services such as ground handling, aircraft maintenance, air cargo logistics, and catering. The platform will provide accurate, clear, and customizable visualizations of this data, allowing HKIA greater efficiency and precision in its carbon reporting efforts.
Hong Kong International Airport – Concourse
One of the key challenges that HKIA faces in achieving its net zero carbon goal is tracking scope 3 emissions, which are indirect emissions originating from the airport’s value chain and business partners. These emissions are more difficult to track and represent a significant contributor to overall airport emissions. In the case of HKIA, airport business partners account for more than 50% of airport-wide ground emissions. However, SITA’s solution, supported by leading net-zero technology partner Envision Digital, aggregates data streams from across the airport environment and participating business partners, consolidating them into a single customizable dashboard. This dashboard interface facilitates carbon performance tracking, providing the granularity to monitor individual emissions sources against specific targets.
HKIA has adopted an airport-wide approach to carbon management, working collaboratively with business partners to set carbon reduction targets and implement measures to accelerate airport-wide carbon reduction. While HKIA already has an online emissions tracking system, it does not unify emissions data collected from the many sources active in the airport environment, requiring more time-consuming manual processes. Having all available data in one place supports HKIA in aligning its carbon reporting to government and industry measurement standards such as ISO and complying with Airports Council International’s Airport Carbon Accreditation programme for which mapping of greenhouse gas emissions is key.
SITA’s solution is an important step for HKIA in achieving its net zero carbon goal, and it demonstrates the company’s commitment to meeting sustainability goals within its organization and facilitating such efforts across the air transport industry. As a certified CarbonNeutral® company currently setting emissions reduction targets aligned with the Science Based Targets initiative Net-Zero Standard, SITA has a firm understanding of the complexities of the airport environment and the ability to tailor its solution to suit the needs of HKIA.
In conclusion, HKIA’s commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 is a significant and ambitious goal, and the airport’s collaboration with SITA to provide a carbon management platform is an important step in achieving this goal. SITA’s solution will provide accurate and customizable visualizations of carbon emissions data, allowing HKIA to better track and monitor its carbon footprint. As a result, HKIA will be better equipped to align its carbon reporting to government and industry measurement standards and comply with the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme. This partnership between HKIA and SITA is a positive example of how technology can help the air transport industry achieve its sustainability goals.
Written by: Don Power
