Brussels Airport partners strengthen environmental cooperation

Belgocontrol and Brussels Airport Company have signed a cooperation agreement with Brussels Airlines, TUI Fly and DHL Express, on undertaking joint initiatives that further reduce the environmental impact of aviation activities. EUROCONTROL and airport trade association, ACI Europe, support and recognise this initiative on ‘Collaborative Environmental Management (CEM)’ at Brussels Airport.

By signing the cooperation agreement, the five partners formalise their long-standing cooperation on environmental issues. By joining forces and aligning all environmental efforts, the partners aim to accelerate projects and achieve more in the fields of carbon and noise reduction as well as local air quality. That is why, specialists from the various companies and organisations will meet at regular intervals to launch joint research and environmentally-friendly initiatives.

“In its Strategic Vision 2040, Brussels Airport committed itself to developing the airport in a balanced way. Some measures can also be taken by individual companies. However, continuing to reduce the environmental impact of our operations requires the expertise, collaboration and commitment of multiple businesses” says Brussels Airport Company CEO, Arnaud Feist.

Johan Decuyper, Belgocontrol CEO: “Belgocontrol already took environmental measures in the past. We execute more and more continuous descent operations or “green landings” on several airports. We work closely together with the wind turbine sector to facilitate the construction of wind turbines without risking the safety of air traffic. We collaborate with various universities and research institutions to investigate on other possible measures to further reduce the impact of air traffic on the environment. This CEM collaboration will help us gain new insights and take more initiatives together with our partners.”

The ‘collaborative environmental management’ concept (CEM) was developed by EUROCONTROL, the European organisation committed to making air traffic management safer, more efficient, more cost-effective and with a minimal environmental impact. The concept outlines a working arrangement for devising common solutions to environmental challenges at and around airports.

Philippe Merlo, Director European Civil-Military Aviation at EUROCONTROL: “CEM is a practical example of how EUROCONTROL supports aviation – not only now but in the future, too. With CEM, we facilitate collaborative solutions for environmental issues, allowing us to mitigate our sector’s environmental impact and to contribute to high-performance, sustainable airports.”

Olivier Jankovec, Director General, ACI EUROPE: “We are delighted to see Brussels Airport join the increasing number of European airports adopting Collaborative Environmental Management. As detailed in our Recommended Practice on CEM*, its value is that it takes into account the interdependencies between different aspects of airport operations, facilitating the creation of new efficiencies that can reduce the environmental impact of air transport. In this way, Brussels Airport’s engagement in CEM is a perfect fit with their recent achievement of becoming a carbon neutral airport operator.”

“As an airline, we take our environmental responsibility very serious. The closer cooperation with key-stakeholders of the airport allows us to join forces and to find common solutions to the environmental challenges we are all facing at and around the airport”, says Christina Foerster, CEO of Brussels Airlines.

Gunther Hofman, Managing Director of TUI fly Benelux: “TUI is the world’s leading tourism business, with a real opportunity to shape the future of sustainable tourism. We recognise our responsibility to pioneer and influence change for more sustainability travel. Our Better Holidays, Better World strategy demonstrates ambitious goals for the future. We already operate the most carbon-efficient airlines in Europe, have a strong history of backing new, Carbon-saving + noise reducing technologies and support progressive climate policies for aviation. The young fleet of TUI fly Benelux includes the most modern aircraft such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Boeing 737 MAX. Both aircraft produce significant less noise, use less fuel, fly further and have a strong reduced Carbon footprint. TUIfly and TUI Airways were named ‘ most climate-efficient airline in on medium haul flights’ in the atmosfair Airline Index 2017. We are leading the way by showing that more efficient flying is possible.”

Peter Caes, Director Airport Affairs & Security of DHL Express: “Sustainability has since long become one of the most important issues of our time. Our contribution to greater sustainability around the world is green logistics. To realize a more sustainable future we think it’s important to think big. Deutsche Post DHL Group has a climate change protection target of zero emissions by 2050. In this regard, all initiatives count. DHL Express looks forward to cooperating with key-stakeholders of the airport in supporting the objectives of this initiative at Brussels Airport”.

What is ‘collaborative environmental management’?

EUROCONTROL has developed the concept of Collaborative Environmental Management to support and facilitate the collaboration among core operational stakeholders. This concept has been translated into the CEM Specification with the support of ACI Europe.

The CEM working arrangement provides a platform for discussion and allows core operational stakeholders to identify synergies, quantify impacts and reach compromises from an operational, environmental perspective. In addition, the collaborative approach of the CEM working arrangement can support the search for solutions that ensure the maximum potential for current operations and the sustainable growth of the airport.

The working arrangements aim: