With the need to reduce embodied carbon in new buildings ever more pressing, Atkins, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group, has partnered with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to create a suite of innovative digital tools for airports to estimate the embodied carbon associated with the construction of terminal buildings and aviation assets.
The collaboration marks the first embodied carbon tool for airport terminals. The toolkit will enable airports to better understand and mitigate the impacts of construction-related activities that contribute to carbon and meet net zero targets.
By delivering embodied carbon benchmarking for terminal buildings, runways and multi-storey car parks, the digital tools will enable airport development teams to understand their carbon footprint and communicate more efficiently with operators about how to mitigate it.
“Decarbonising aviation is the industry’s greatest challenge and the industry is fully committed and making progress,” said Nick Careen, IATA SVP Operations, Safety and Security. “However, reaching net zero by 2050 will require collective efforts from the entire industry supply chain and from policymakers. Our collaboration with Atkins on this innovative digital toolkit will help airports meet their own objectives by providing a crucial platform to evaluate and reduce carbon impacts for new airport developments.”
He added that by facilitating dialogue around carbon mitigation from day one, headway towards net zero aviation is easier to achieve.
Meanwhile, Andy Yates, Technical Director Aviation Infrastructure for Atkins, commented: “These tools allow clients to confidently explore the vital conversations around embodied carbon reduction as airports respond to the complex challenges that surround the sector’s net zero goals. The tools have been developed by a multi-disciplinary team including architecture, airport planning and structural design as well as carbon experts, ensuring a solution that understands the complexity and multi-faceted approach needed to assess embodied carbon.”
