FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 25, 2016
WASHINGTON, DC – Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA) today announced the winners of the 2016 ACI-NA Environmental Achievement Awards. The Environmental Achievement Awards are presented to airports that strive to protect and preserve the environment through their programs, initiatives, and projects. This year’s recipients include Tampa International Airport, Gerald R. Ford International Airport, Vancouver Airport Authority, and Nashville International Airport. The judges selected runners-up in two of the categories as well, and include Allegheny County Airport Authority and Dayton International Airport.
“Each year, our member airports continue to impress in their ability to innovate and implement better and more sustainable strategies to protect and preserve the environment,” said ACI-NA President and CEO Kevin M. Burke. “Minimizing our industry’s environmental footprint not only protects valuable natural resources, but it also makes great business sense because we know that sustainable business habits reduce operating costs. The recipients of the 2016 ACI-NA Environmental Achievement Awards are true leaders in the field of environmental management, and I congratulate them on their success.”
Established by the ACI-NA Environmental Affairs Committee, the annual Environmental Achievement Awards acknowledge the hard work and achievements of ACI-NA members by promoting awareness more broadly within the airport community, the general public and regulators of the many notable and innovative efforts being undertaken by environmental professionals at airports.
ACI-NA annually awards up to four awards recognizing outstanding achievement in the categories of Environmental Management, Environmental Mitigation, Outreach, Education and Community Involvement, and Innovative/Special Projects. The winning airports must demonstrate the environmental benefit of their project and its innovative approach, effective implementation, applicability and cost-effectiveness. Many promising submissions were received this year, and the strong field created a challenging selection process for this year’s panel of judges.
The ACI-NA Environmental Committee also selects an individual award winner for outstanding contributions to the Committee. The winner of this year’s “Peer Recognition for Outstanding Individual Contribution and Leadership” Award is Paul Manasjan, Environmental Affairs Director for San Diego International Airport. Manasjan has served as the Chair of the Sustainability Working Group, in which he has facilitated the exchange of information and best practices on sustainability initiatives, expanded the Sustainability Working Group, and championed an effort to elevate sustainability within ACI-NA. Paul has dedicated much of his time and a wealth of experience with ACI-NA, and the Committee looks forward to his continued leadership!
Winners in each category were selected by a four-judge panel and based on the project’s environmental benefits, innovation, effective implementation, widespread applicability and cost-effectiveness. Judges for the 2016 awards were Paul Bowers, Publisher, Airport Improvement magazine; Matthew Griffin, Director of Regulatory Affairs, Airport Consultants Council; Jody Proctor, Director, Environmental Policy Analysis and Evaluation, Transport Canada; and Thomas Cuddy, Environmental Protection Specialist, Federal Aviation Administration.
Award winners will be invited to present the details of their projects and will be recognized at the 2016 ACI-NA Airports@Work Conference, set to be held April 18 – 21, 2016, in Austin, TX.
