Journeys and airports go hand-in-hand. As we mark as another Earth Day, today is a good opportunity to reflect on our industry’s own journey of creating and fostering a more sustainable industry. Airports are in the business of being good neighbors to the local communities they serve, and our commitment to thinking about the future has never been stronger.
The journey toward our industry’s commitment to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 is only possible through collaboration and awareness. North America airports joined the global conversation in 2014 when the industry joined as a partner in the Airport Carbon Accreditation program, a certification program that recognizes the steps airports take to manage and reduce their CO2 emissions through independent assessment and verification. This year, we are proud to celebrate our 10-year anniversary of our partnership and participation with airports that are taking proactive steps to reduce and manage their CO2 emissions.
10 years ago, ACI-NA and ACI Europe signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) officially aligning ACI-NA with Airport Carbon Accreditation Program. Since then, the North American program has grown rapidly. 
We started with one airport earning their accreditation in 2014. This past year, in Long Beach, CA, ACI-NA recognized more than 70 airport participants in our annual ceremony. Throughout the ceremony, airports were recognized on six levels of commitment to lowering their CO2 emissions. Those six levels are mapping, reduction, optimization, neutrality, transformation, and transition. See all of the participating North American airports here.
As an ambitious industry, airports are doing their part to be good partners by promoting sustainability and environmentally responsible practices. We applaud the North American airports that have joined the Airport Carbon Accreditation program to lower their carbon footprint. We look forward to the growth in the program as these airports set our industry on a path toward continued success in innovation and sustainability.
