Towards Sustainability

Ayce Celikel (MSc)
Alan Melrose (MCILT)
Maud Rotureau (MSc)

Result

Aviation offers major economic and social benefits. However aviation's environmental impact is growing due to high traffic growth. EUROCONTROL predicts that lack of airport capacity is emerging as the major constraint on the European ATM system and it could be argued that environment is the key airport constraint. In response, EUROCONTROL is funding an airport environmental project Environmentally Sustainable Airport Operations (ESAO). The result of the project will be web-based delivery mechanism (SOPHOS) that will be made available free of charge and will help airport stakeholders to improve environmental practice and performance. SOPHOS will provide guidance, practical resources and communications facilities for airport operational stakeholders (Air Navigation Service Providers, Airport Operators and Aircraft Operators). This paper shows the delivery, selection and support of test users, validation, performance assessment of the functionalities implemented in SOPHOS and the results of the ESAO project.

Aim

In the context of environmental framework, the challenge is very complex with a variety of local, national; and international stakeholders. They may have conflicting needs and policies and may apply different regulatory instruments without reference to each other. Thus the environmental regime at an ECAC airport could typically comprise a mixture of locally derived practice, locally imposed conditions, national policy and legislation, international policy, legislation, guidelines, standards and regulations. The precise nature and mixture of these measures for any single ECAC airport environmental programme will vary widely.

In partnership with stakeholders, ESAO is designed to promulgate and provide a Pan-European framework for the development of environmentally sustainable airport-ATM operations and operational capacity, within the EUROCONTROL applicability area. This is aimed to help the three main operational airport stakeholders (airport operators, ATS providers, and aircraft operators) to collaboratively adopt environmental good practice.

The ESAO concept aim is to support ATM stakeholders at each airport to achieve one or more of the following objectives depending on an airport's local circumstances:

• Minimise environmental impact
• Deliver more sustainable operational capacity enhancement
• Safeguard future operational capacity
• Maximise operational capacity within environmental regulations
• Harmonise methodologies where beneficial

Method

SAO comprises a web-based tool, referred to as SOPHOS that will spread best practice in environmental matters. In broad terms, SOPHOS will provide guidance, practical resources, case studies and effective communications for all airport ATM stakeholders in Member States. SOPHOS will seek to stimulate and support airport operational stakeholders to work collaboratively to conceive and progress the optimum local solutions for an airport within a harmonised European framework.

SOPHOS is a self-contained resource but also provides links to resources provided by others. SOPHOS offers resources in three key and interrelated applications quantification, evaluation and management. CEM (Collaborative Environmental Management) is a key concept for undertaking any of those activities.

SOPHOS will comprise 3 main applications 'Quantify, Evaluate and Manage' together with an 'Overview' section to introduce the user to the site. Key components include:

Overview

• Strategic guidance to ensure that the user understands the inter relationships between the various functionality within this site.
• A bulletin board, which will have the latest news and details of emerging issues. This will be supplemented by e-mail alerts to registered users and members.
• A discussion forum to allow member access to real-time discussion of real life topics with peers. This will be key both in developing this project in line with stakeholder issues but also in identifying key topics for research and development.

Quantify Application

• Recommended practices and the avoidance of bad practices covering noise and air quality modelling and monitoring and complaints handling.
• Environmental effects which will advise users on the sources and nature of environmental effects arising from airport ATM operations.
• A technical resource including, specification support and advice on metrics, their uses and limitations etc.
• On-line resources including, provision of aggregated and airport specific operational data.

Evaluate Application

• Recommended practices on evaluating the significance of environmental impacts.
• Practical resources covering environmental performance indicators (EPI) and benchmarking.
• A knowledge repository including, details of legislation, policy, research reports, planning decisions etc.
• An environmental assessment resource to guide users on how to evaluate environmental impact of options and scenarios etc. This will also address trade-off situations where a choice has to be made between differing impacts.
• An economic assessment resource that helps the user to understand and demonstrate the financial and economic costs and benefits of environmental mitigation and operational options and scenarios. This will build on the environmental assessment functionality.

Manage Application

• A recommended practice guidance function based on environmental management system principles and incorporating bad practice avoidance.
• A case study function giving access to real operational examples of others who have implemented best practice.
• Collaborative Environmental Management functionality that will advise users on roles, responsibilities and structures needed to ensure effective on-site partnership in dealing with environmental issues.
• Practical resources that will provide direct access to mitigation measures such as new CDA guidance etc.

Conclusion

In order to mitigate or remove environmental constraints it is critical that airports properly implement environmental best practice to ensure that airport capacity is increased or maintained. SOPHOS is a key enabler in this process to ensure that airports have ready access to up to date environmental best practice information and the potential to implement at the earliest opportunity.

SOPHOS offers resources in three key and interrelated applications: measurement, evaluation and management. It gives guidance on CEM (Collaborative Environmental Management), which is a key concept for undertaking any of those activities. Some practical resources such as environmental performance indicators (EPI) and benchmarking will be included. Those resources will support ATM stakeholders to achieve their objectives such as "minimising environmental impact, enhancing operational capacity through effective impact management, avoiding or mitigating environmental constraint, maximising airport capacity within environmental constraints and promoting harmonised rules".

Key Words:

Airport, Environmental Capacity, ATM, Environmental Impact, Collaborative Environmental Management