CET 11:07 Rome, Wednesday, 29 September 2021. Italy and France are leading the way in efforts to get to zero carbon emissions in the airports sector. Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur, an Atlantia Group company that manages France’s second biggest airport system consisting of the airports of Nice, Cannes and Saint-Tropez, has obtained the highest level of Airport Carbon Accreditation (Level 4+ Transition). Accreditation was issued by the body of the same name that coordinates the global certification programme for airports committed to meeting the challenge of decarbonising air transport.
The three French airports have achieved the highest rating - which certifies that all airports’ management systems are aligned with the achievement of international environmental protection goals – by formally committing to achieving net zero by 2030. Out of a total of 18,000 airports throughout the world, the Airport Carbon Accreditation scheme has so far certified approximately 350, based on six levels of accreditation.
The only airports to reach the highest level of 4+ Transition are so far Fiumicino and Ciampino (both operated by the subsidiary, Aeroporti di Roma, the first in Europe to receive this level of accreditation in 2021) and Rotterdam airport.
Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur’s achievement thus brings the number of European airports to receive the highest level of carbon neutrality certification to six (and to eight throughout the world, considering Dallas International Airport and Indira Ghandi International Airport). Of these, no less than five are part of the Atlantia Group, making it the global leader in airport sustainability. To achieve this level of performance, each of the Atlantia Group’s five airports has implemented a self-financed investment strategy with the aim of modernising their processes and infrastructure in order to significantly cut their environmental footprint.
Aéroports de la Côte d’Azur’s achievement comes only a few days after the upgrade of the Atlantia Group’s rating by the global rating agency, MSCI ESG Ratings, and the recent positive scores from the specialist international agencies, FTSE4Good and Refinitiv.