VINCI Airports’ commitment to the international ACA programme

VINCI Airports is the first international contributor to the ACI’s ACA programme, with more than 60 accredited airports, including 4 at the maximum level, ACA 5, in Portugal and France.

ACA accreditation

Airport Carbon Accreditation is the only institutionally-endorsed, global carbon management certification programme for airports. It independently assesses and recognises the efforts of airports to manage and reduce their carbon emissions through 7 levels of certification: ‘Mapping’, ‘Reduction’, ‘Optimisation’, ‘Neutrality’, ‘Transformation’, ‘Transition’ and ‘Level 5’, the topmost level in Airport Carbon Accreditation programme.

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Through its 7 levels of certification, Airport Carbon Accreditation acknowledges that airports are at different stages in their journey towards comprehensive carbon management. It is a programme for airports of all sizes, extending beyond hubs and regional airports with scheduled passenger traffic, to include general aviation and freight-focused airports.

  • Mapping: recognizes the carbon footprint measurement of an entity on the basis of an international protocol and its verification by an independent third party.
  • Reduction: certifies the carbon footprint reduction achieved in the direct activities of an airport averaged over 3 years.
  • Optimisation: requires the scope of carbon footprint measurement to be extended to include third parties, and more specifically: airlines in terms of their LTO (Landing/Take-Off) cycles and passengers and the method of transport used to travel to the airport.
  • Neutrality: is the level that requires neutralising remaining direct carbon emissions by offsetting.
  • Transformation: Transforming airport operations and those of its business partners to achieve absolute emissions reductions
  • Transition: Compensation for residual emissions with reliable offsets
  • Level 5: This new level certifies that an airport has reached and is maintaining a Net Zero carbon balance on Scopes 1 and 2, and has addressed Scope 3 emissions sources that it can significantly influence on the pathway to Net Zero.