Heathrow’s Smart Resource Management Our approach to managing energy, waste & water

With 74 million passengers a year and 114,000 airport workers, Heathrow’s sustainability challenges are similar to those of a small city. Its electricity consumption is as great as that of the Isle of Wight.

To achieve our vision of giving passengers the best airport service in the world we have to manage the airport responsibly. While maximising Heathrow’s economic benefits, we’re also taking care of our environmental responsibilities and being a good neighbour to nearby communities.

Our sustainability strategy, Responsible Heathrow, sets out our plan to become the world’s best connected, most efficient and most environmentally responsible hub airport at the heart of an integrated transport system.

Our Responsible Heathrow goals include

• Reduce CO2 from energy used in our buildings by 34% by 2020

• Recycle 70% of Heathrow’s waste by 2020

• Reduce potable water consumption by 30%.

To achieve them, we published a series of ten-point plans in 2015: Blueprint for Reducing Emissions; Blueprint for Noise Reduction and Reducing traffic: our new plan for public transport. This document shows how we’re developing SMART resource management to improve environmental performance and move towards a closed-loop economy at Heathrow.

Responsible Heathrow 2020

Heathrow is big enough to operate as a SMART city. We’re already using world-leading approaches and technologies to achieve our vision of providing the best airport passenger service in the world.

Technologies such as e-gates at security and self bag tag – and in the future, wearable tech – will continue to revolutionise how we travel. We apply the same innovative approach to our environmental and cost goals. Overleaf, for example, you can read about our biomass Combined Heat and Power Plant in Terminal 2, the world’s first BREEAM-certified airport terminal. The plant is a zero-carbon onsite source of electricity, heat and cooling. There’s also a story about another world first: the Heathrow pods (Personal Rapid Transit system) that provide zero-emission transport from pod car parks to Terminal 5.

Energy: Securing a low-cost, low-consumption and low-carbon supply

Advances in technology, operations and alternative fuels are helping us cut emissions from our buildings and vehicles. Through the Heathrow Sustainability Partnership we’re also helping our partners reduce theirs. Providing a secure source of low-cost, low-consumption and low-carbon energy supply ensures that energy – affordable and efficiently used – will always be there when it’s needed.

Electricity consumption down by 70GWh

In the past four years we’ve cut our electricity consumption by 70GWh. We did it by improving our electrical efficiency and closing older infrastructure. Further savings are planned. We’ve also reduced CO2 emissions from energy used in our buildings by 19% since 1990, and our pods save 100 tonnes of CO2 a year. Other improvements include reducing fuel for hot water and heating in airport buildings, and an energy code of practice for on-airport partners.

Our 2020 goals

• 34% reduction in CO2 from energy used in our buildings (1990 levels)

• Reduce operational electricity demand to 6.5KWh per passenger

• Work with third parties to reduce electricity demand which is not controlled by Heathrow by 10GWh

• Increase the electricity supplied directly from on-site or near-site, low-carbon energy sources.

A new approach with expansion at Heathrow

The Independent Committee on Climate Change says that the south-east can absorb a new runway within the UK’s climate-change targets. We’ll continue to design smart buildings providing leading-edge, low-carbon energy supply and demand. And we’re committed to cutting CO2 from per-passenger energy consumption by 86% with a fully operational third runway1. That’s why we’re planning our closed-loop approach and other innovative technologies to serve Heathrow’s longer term needs.

Innovation in energy, water and waste

1 With 130 million passengers per annum

Water: A responsible custodian of water resources

Airports consume a lot of water. By managing the release of waste water into sewage systems and local water courses, we control their environmental impacts. At Heathrow, we manage our water through responsible sourcing, efficient use, well-managed disposal and regular monitoring of its impact on the surrounding environment. We are responsible custodians of our water.

Passengers use 6% less water

We’ve made good progress in improving water quality and efficiency, especially in our newest terminals where we have much better control over consumption. In 2014, water consumption fell by 6% per passenger. To prevent local water pollution, we’ve been working with our partners to minimise the use of aircraft de-icer. Overleaf you can read how we also filter the de-icer run-off in natural reed beds.

Other sustainability projects include ground-water extraction from boreholes beneath the airport, grey-water harvesting at Terminal 5 and a network of water-quality monitoring stations. Real-time monitoring helps protect local water quality, ecosystems and biodiversity. For eight years running we’ve held the Wildlife Trust Biodiversity Benchmark and we’re now working with stakeholders to develop an integrated strategy for flood protection, biodiversity and the environment.

Our 2020 goals

• Reduce consumption of drinkable water by 30%

• Reduce total water consumption per passenger by 20%

• No water-quality incidents.

Between 2014 and 2018, we’re investing over £16 million to develop an efficient, cost-effective, sustainable and resilient water supply. We’ll reduce water demand, make our sources more sustainable, manage water discharge responsibly and approach the subject holistically, rather than treat water issues in isolation. Our approach covers water supplied to, or purchased or extracted by, the airport as well as rainfall within the airport boundary.

A new approach with expansion at Heathrow

Airport expansion will open up new, publicly accessible green spaces such as woodland, sports pitches, picnic areas and allotments. We’ll make better use of rainfall run-off to increase Heathrow’s grey-water supply. Our innovative approach to water management and treatment will draw on the latest advances in water-network monitoring and management. It will bring sustainable drainage to an international hub airport without reducing aircraft safety, and improve water efficiency without detracting from the passenger experience.

Innovation in energy, water and waste

Waste: Responsible management of waste as a resource

Heathrow manages over 25,000 tonnes of waste a year. Waste that we can’t prevent, we manage as a valuable resource. If we can’t realise value through recycling, we recover energy from it, maximising the environmental and economic benefits. By working with other regional waste producers and managers, we also play a role in national, regional and local waste and recycling strategies.

Recycling reaches 46% in 2014

Our recycling rates are up from 30% in 2011 to 46% in 2014, and transforming how we and the international aviation sector treat airline and terminal waste. We did it by working closely with airport partners and stakeholders, and by analysing more than 100 tonnes of waste. It was the world’s most comprehensive airport-waste study. As a result we’re leading work with airlines, International Air Transport Association, and Sustainable Aviation to encourage regulators to permit recycling of aircraft cabin waste, which is currently incinerated.

Our 2020 goals

• 70% of operational waste recycled

• 90% construction waste recycled

• Sustaining waste per passenger at 2014 levels

• Recover energy from 90% of non-recyclable waste

• Zero untreated waste to landfill.

We intend to reduce, reuse and recycle as much as possible. Over the next five years we’ll be working our way up the waste hierarchy to prevent waste and increase reuse. The project will involve our whole supply chain and all of our airport stakeholders. We want everyone to recycle as much as is economically and technically practicable. What remains will be used as feedstock to generate energy to supply the airport. As well as diverting all waste from landfill, it helps us reduce our use of fossil fuels. We’re already turning waste cooking oil into fuel.

A new approach with expansion at Heathrow

We’ll push further up the waste hierarchy to reuse and prevent waste, and to maximise the capture of high-quality dry mixed recycling. We will make all airport recycling facilities accessible and consistently easy to use for passengers and colleagues. Our aim is to be net self-sufficient in recycling and recovery terms by 2025. We’ll keep waste per passenger to 2014 levels and recycle 80% of it.

1,288 flights leave Heathrow airport every day. That means that in the cold weather, de-icing fluid is needed to make sure the planes can take off during the winter months. If untreated, this fluid can cause pollution in the local water courses, effecting local wildlife and waterways.

Mayfield Farm is a leading edge innovative reedbed treatment plant and has been designed and built to treat de-icer coming from the airport, using natural processes to remove around 7 tonnes of organic pollution each year. The water containing de-icer coming from the airfield is sent to a set of reedbeds where naturally occurring bacteria can break down around 95% of the glycol in the de-icer, leaving clean water that can be sent back into the local watercourses. The facility accelerates this natural process by pumping oxygen directly to the roots of the reeds.

Affectionately known as the Heathrow Pod, and the first of its kind in the world, the Personal Rapid Transit system provides zero emission transport between pod Parking and Terminal 5 in autonomous, laser-guided vehicles. The journey is quicker, easier, cleaner and quieter than by bus transfer.

The pods run on demand meaning no wasted journeys, and with an average waiting time of 10-15 seconds enjoy 95% passenger satisfaction. The pods transport 400,000 passengers a year and have carried 1.6million passengers since 2011. The pods, run entirely on rechargeable 12V batteries, are helping us reduce congestion and air quality impacts by eliminating 70,000 bus journeys a year from Heathrow roads; they’ve travelled 2million miles to date and save the equivalent of 100 tonnes of CO2 a year.

We filter our de-icer run off naturally The Heathrow POD

We filterour de-icer

run offnaturally

Water Energy

Many of Heathrow’s restaurants and lounges use cooking oil to prepare food for the 200,000 passengers who travel through the airport each day. Rather than throw used cooking oil away, we use a local recycling company to turn it into biodiesel – a more sustainable fuel that can be used by diesel vehicles.

We collected over 90,000 litres of cooking oil in 2014, which produced around 85,000 litres of biodiesel. The biodiesel is used by local private hire companies around the airport – closing the loop! By using a proportion of biodiesel in their fuel tanks, they are also cutting CO2 emissions.

This is helping us move towards achieving our goal to recycle 70% of the waste generated at Heathrow by 2020 and reduce emissions from vehicles at the airport.

The Heathrow Energy Centre is a renewable source of 20% of Terminal 2’s energy. It makes us 40% more energy efficient than required through building regulations.

The energy comes from a 10MW biomass Combined Heat and Power Plant. It’s one of the largest biomass initiatives of its kind in the UK and just one example of how we’re moving to a low-carbon, energy district network. Fuel for the biomass boiler is woodchip, 75% of which comes from forestry waste gathered within 50 miles of the airport. It’s a sustainable source that cuts transportation CO2 and creates local jobs and supports local businesses.

When operating at its full potential, the plant will offset around 40,000MWh/year of gas and 12,000MWh/year of electricity. Compared to gas and grid electricity, it will save around 13,000 tonnes of CO2 each year. That’s equivalent to the annual emissions of 6,500 cars.

We turn waste cooking oil into fuel Terminal 2 energy centre biomass

We turn

cooking waste

oil into fuel

We use localrenewable woodchipsto heat T2

Waste Energy

If you have any comments or would like to know more, please contact:

w: heathrow.com/responsibleheathrowt: twitter.com/heathrowairporta: heathrow.com/appse: sustainability@heathrow.com

Produced on paper obtained from a sustainable source

© Heathrow Airport Limited 2015

TRI v1 October 2015

Our environment commitment has been recognised

• ACI Airport Eco-innovation Award 2015

• Business in the Community, the UK’s leading benchmark of responsible business practice, 4* rating 2015 (Top 25 companies)

• Wildlife Trust Biodiversity Benchmark 2015

• Green Business of the Year 2014 (West London Business Awards)

• ACI Carbon Accreditation Level 3 Optimisation since 2012

• Sustainable Leaders Award 2013 (Terminal 2)

• Ethical Corporation Award 2012 (Collaboration through the Heathrow Sustainability Partnership)

We’re Europe’s highest scoring airport for passenger experience over the past 12 months.