Environmental Matters
Airport operations and air traffic have a major effect on the environment. Fraport is committed to fulfilling the environmental requirements associated with this effect.
It is particularly important to deal intensively with environmental concerns, especially when planning to expand facilities. The Group’s growth targets must be pursued in line with environmental protection. The expansion of both Lima Airport and Frankfurt Airport are subject to environmental requirements. For the financing of Terminal 3 at the Frankfurt site, the European Investment Bank (EIB) requires a project progress report every year that also includes all significant environmental aspects.
Fraport is committed to issuing a report each year on its environmental activities and performance (see www.fraport.com/responsibility). To this end, the Group companies complete a comprehensive catalog of standardized environmental indicators once a year. The indicators are combined for reporting (see the ”ESG Fact Book“ at www.fraport.com/publications and the environmental statement at https://www.fraport.com/en/environment/environmental-management).
Climate protection
Objective – In order to measure the environmental impact, the Executive Board has identified the scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions as the most important indicator. The goal is to reduce this indicator on a Group-wide level to 95,000 metric tons per year by 2030; Fraport seeks to be carbon neutral by 2045 (see also the “Control system” and “Non-financial performance indicators” chapters).
Concepts, measures, and results – CO2 emissions of Fraport AG and the Fraport Group are measured and monitored by the department of Environmental Management within the “Corporate Development, Environment, and Sustainability” central unit. The Executive Board is informed twice a year of the development of Fraport AG and the Group issues as part of the Interim Report Q2/6M. In addition, the scope 1 and 2 CO2 emissions trend is reported to the Executive Board half-yearly via detailed monitoring for each building at Fraport AG.
Fraport has used its own monitoring instrument, the CO2 and energy consumption monitoring system, to present, analyze, and manage energy consumption at the Frankfurt site. It creates transparency about consumption and consumers, helps to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy costs. It also allows qualified statements to be made in a timely manner with regard to current CO2 emissions at Fraport AG and allows any undesirable trends with respect to the strategic CO2 targets to be detected at an early stage. The monthly energy consumption of buildings, plants, and equipment serves as the basis for the data. All energy sources, such as electricity, district cooling, district heating, gas, fuel for vehicles, and other fuels, are taken into account.
The “Energiezirkel”, which is chaired by the Executive Board, reports all decisions regarding the energy management of Fraport AG at Frankfurt Airport to the Executive Board. This is where the current long-term energy savings measures are monitored, and where possible further measures are continuously examined with a view to uncovering levers for improving the energy efficiency of buildings, plants, and processes.
Fraport is gradually switching to emission-free alternatives for its vehicles on the apron. To this end, the airport operator put two electric buses for transporting passengers into operation in 2020 as part of a funding project from the State of Hesse and has developed a charging strategy for these buses, which can also be applied for further planned acquisitions. In addition, 66 electric vehicles were acquired for the Ground Services in 2022. To complement this, Fraport is starting to establish a fast charging infrastructure on the apron, which will be available for use by all those active in this area. There is also a continuous expansion of charging points in the parking garages and on landside parking areas, based on the needs of customers and legal requirements. A number of electric vehicles were also procured for the Group companies in 2022, which are used in particular in the operational area, for example as follow-me vehicles.
Fraport intends to continue to invest in wind and solar energy. The aim is to use renewable energies to meet our own electricity needs at the Frankfurt site as far as possible. For this purpose, in October 2022, another installation to increase the proportion of green electricity was put into operation in addition to the existing photovoltaic installations at the Frankfurt site. The demonstration installation at the south west end of Runway West has 20 PV panels and an output of 8.4 kilowatts. These are known as fence systems, which are arranged vertically rather than at an angle, thereby ensuring high electricity yields in spite of their small footprint. At the same time, the vegetation underneath is not substantially affected by the structure as the system neither prevents rainfall reaching it nor provides permanent shading. The installation is to be expanded in the future. In the final stage of expansion, it will extend to a length of 2,600 meters parallel to the runway and generate a photovoltaic output of up to 13 megawatts.
An important milestone in reducing CO2 emissions was also reached at Lima Airport. In 2021, a contract was concluded to supply the terminal and the expansion project with renewable energy. The existing terminal has been operated with green electricity since 2022. In addition, photovoltaic installations are planned at the Bulgarian Group airports in Varna and Burgas in order to increase the proportion of green electricity in the coming years.
The variety of individual measures that have already been decided upon and implemented in the last few years represent important steps to achieving the climate protection objectives of Fraport. A master plan for decarbonization up to 2045 was developed to ensure the comprehensive consideration and structuring of further measures for decarbonization. It describes the strategic principles and defines the framework for successful implementation of the measures and thus represents a policy document for decarbonization.
The participation of Fraport in the Airport Carbon Accreditation program of the ACI (Airports Council International) serves as proof of its successful CO2 management. It has evolved into the global standard for CO2 reporting and management at airports. Participation at level 2 (“reduction”) or higher requires proof of both a CO2 reduction target and CO2 management program in accordance with international requirements, and annual emission reductions verified by external auditors. Frankfurt Airport reached level 3 (“optimization”) back in 2012. Ljubljana Airport reached level 2 in 2015 and is aiming for level 3+ (“neutrality”) in the medium term. The Varna and Burgas Group airports in Bulgaria are also at level 2. The Greek airports in Kefalonia, Mytilini, Rhodes, Thessaloniki, Chania, and Samos are at level 1 (“mapping”), as is Lima Airport. The airport in Antalya is at level 3+ (“neutrality”). The other Group airports have yet to participate; however, they are obligated to have their CO2 footprint assessed by way of an external audit.
Performance indicator – CO2 emissions (Scope 1 and 2) in the Group and Fraport AG (see also the “Control system” and “Non-financial Performance Indicators” chapters).
Protection of environment and nature
Objective – Fraport’s environmental policy obliges all Group companies to make use of natural resources and the environment in a sustainable, conserving, and preventive manner. This goal is systematically implemented through environmental management. Based on their business activities, Fraport AG and the fully consolidated Group companies have defined the objective of introducing and implementing such an environmental management system that is classified as “fundamentally environmentally relevant” according to the relevant ISO Standard 14001 and the European EMAS Regulation. The “Eco Management and Audit Scheme” (EMAS) is an environmental management and audit scheme developed by the European Union, which companies can implement voluntarily. This audit is carried out by state-authorized environmental experts. EMAS is considered to be the world’s most demanding environmental management system. Fraport AG has been validated by EMAS for over 20 years.
Concepts, measures, and results – Environmental management systems serve to systematically organize, manage, and monitor corporate environmental protection within the company. The environmental management systems cover all environmental factors relevant to the company such as energy consumption, CO2 emissions, air pollutant emissions, effects of business activities on nature and biodiversity, water consumption, and waste. The Coordinator for the Environmental Management System at Fraport AG reports to the Chairman of the Executive Board in management reviews. The long-standing experience of Fraport AG employees in the area of environmental management benefits all Group companies, for example in the form of technical support, including on site. Companies that join the Fraport Group and do not yet have an environmental management system are obliged to introduce such a system in the course of the acquisition. At the end of the past fiscal year, 75.9% of fully consolidated, environmentally relevant Group companies, weighted according to revenue, had such a system certified according to ISO 14001 or EMAS.
Wherever possible, Fraport AG extends the green areas at the Frankfurt site. Fraport AG will upgrade some 2300 hectares of land in the immediate and wider vicinity of the airport from a nature conservation perspective to fulfill a legal requirement under the zoning decision for the airport expansion: deciduous forests, orchards, marshes, and nutrient-poor grassland. Measures to counterbalance the Expansion South project, in particular Terminal 3, are already included in this extensive package of measures.
The implementation and evaluation of the measures are subject to continuous monitoring. For ecological compensation measures, Fraport Group held provisions in the amount of €11.1 million as at the balance sheet date of December 31, 2022 (see Group Notes, note 40, and Fraport AG’s Notes, note 29).
Promoting biological aviation safety is the responsibility of Wildlife Hazard Management. Wildlife Hazard Management at the international Group airports is implemented according to international regulations as well as, where appropriate, based on national and local targets. Corresponding monitoring systems are implemented. Wildlife Hazard Management at Group airports is concerned, among other things, with the monitoring of birds in order to ensure safe operations. In addition to biotope design and standardized animal observations at and around the airport, this also includes aversive conditioning through acoustic and visual stimuli. Maintaining the green spaces is a prerequisite for reducing the number of potential animals on the airport grounds which are relevant to air traffic safety. This is also ensured by Wildlife Hazard Management.
Performance indicator – Proportion of fully consolidated, environmentally relevant Group companies with certified environmental management systems (EMAS or ISO 14001), weighted according to revenue.
Air quality
Objective – There is no legal obligation for airports to monitor air quality. However, Fraport has set the objective of gaining a deeper understanding of the emission of air pollutants (emissions) by the airport and their effect on people and the environment (immissions). Air quality has been monitored at several sites at Frankfurt Airport since 2002. And it is also regularly monitored at some international airports.
Concepts, measures, and results – From an organizational standpoint, the “Noise and Air Quality” department of the Aviation strategic business unit is responsible for air quality issues at the Frankfurt site. In an annual report, it informs the Executive Board about the measured annual average and annual indicators of air pollutants on the airport grounds. Fraport AG regularly publishes the results of the measurements on its website in the “Air quality annual report”. The measurements show that the air quality on the airport site have remained unchanged at an urban level since the first time air pollutant limits were measured.
Fraport AG cooperates with the German Aviation Association (BDL) and the Airports Council International (ACI). In addition, there are collaborations with the Hessian Agency for Nature Conservation, Environment and Geology (HLNUG) and the Umwelt- und Nachbarschaftshaus (UNH) in Kelsterbach to study so-called ultra-fine particulates (UFP). Unlike conventional, limit-controlled air pollutants, airports have proven to be a major source of UFP. There are no reliable statements yet on possible health effects. In order to gain further knowledge, the Forum Flughafen und Region (Forum Airport and Region) (FFR) has taken up the subject area in its work program at the request of the state government. A “UFP” working group has been set up at UNH, in which Fraport AG is also involved. Building on the measurement results of the HLNUG and the findings of a previous hearing of experts, the UFP working group has now developed a research design for a UFP pollution study. The pollution study is expected to start in 2023. The results should form the basis for an impact study on the possible health effects of UFP, to be carried out at a later date. Information regarding the way in which questions concerning the survey and the effect of UFP in the region around the airport will be handled and how the issue will be addressed by the FFR is published on the UNH web pages and can be viewed at www.umwelthaus.org/umweltmonitoring/ultrafeinstaub/auf-dem-weg-zu-einer-studie/.
The HLNUG published its “4. Bericht zur Untersuchung der regionalen Luftqualität auf ultrafeine Partikel im Bereich des Flughafens Frankfurt” in January 2022. As was already shown in the previous reports, Frankfurt Airport clearly contributes to the UFP burden in the surrounding area. At all measuring sites, the UFP concentration increases when the wind blows from the direction of the airport area during flight operations. Although the UFP concentration decreases exponentially the further away the measuring sites are from the airport, the airport’s influence still visibly stands out from the baseline concentration. In addition, the analysis of measurements showed that the impact of motor vehicle traffic and air traffic emissions are approximately the same but differ greatly in the particle size distribution. The temporarily very low number of aircraft movements as a result of the coronavirus pandemic is now constantly increasing again. This is also causing the concentration of ultrafine particles at the HLNUG measuring stations to rise again.
At the local level, there is an overlap of air pollutant concentrations related to the airport and those not attributed to the airport. The airport’s impact on the air quality in the surrounding areas is largely limited to zones within a close proximity and to the nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions component. Measurements and modeling suggest, however, that external influences, such as road traffic, also play a role in the air quality on airport grounds. In addition, the level of pollutant concentrations depends heavily on the weather.
To gain information on the proportion of the overall exposure in a region, computational models have been developed that include all the relevant sources of pollution and their emissions for a given zone. The LASPORT program takes into account various airport-related emission sources in the lower atmosphere, prepares spread computations, and illustrates the exposures. The Airport Association ADV (Association of German Airports) commissioned the program in 2002. The provider has since expanded the program in close collaboration with Fraport AG and other users.
Fraport is continuously working to record the air pollutant emissions of all relevant emitters through airport operations at the Frankfurt site on an annual basis in order to achieve a systematic inventory of air pollutant emissions. The selection of the pollutants to be observed depends on their relevance. They are especially important if they are regulated by a threshold value and are recognized in a noticeable amount at Frankfurt Airport. Drawing on an extensive database, potentials for reduction measures can be identified and control procedures can be developed. The data collected also serve as a basis for calculating the airport’s proportion of immissions in the surrounding area.
As an airport operator, Fraport can only indirectly influence emissions from aircraft. In order to motivate airlines to use low-emission aircraft, Fraport collects airport charges on nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbon at the Frankfurt site. Airlines pay the emissions-based fee per kilogram of nitrogen oxide equivalent emitted by an aircraft during takeoff and landing (“landing and take-off cycle”, LTO). Charges are levied per landing and per takeoff. The necessary information on aircraft and engine types is determined by way of a recognized fleet database.
Aircraft turbines mainly emit carbon dioxide (about 7%) and water vapor (approximately 3%) in addition to mixed air (about 90%). The additional resulting pollutants of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, hydrocarbons, and soot account for less than one percent overall. The emission spectrum of aircraft turbines corresponds to that of road traffic. Fraport publishes the quantities of these pollutants emitted by the aircraft at the Frankfurt site in its annual environmental statement.
In addition to flight operations, air pollutants at airports also arise from the apron and vehicle traffic as well as the operation of heaters run on oil or gas. As a way of reducing pollutants, Fraport has gradually upgraded its fleet of vehicles at Frankfurt Airport to include low-emission and electric motors. 540 of the Fraport vehicles used by Ground Services at Frankfurt Airport already have electric engines. This corresponds to approximately 27% of the vehicles.
The international Group airports follow the respective requirements in their national laws. Air quality is also monitored at the Greek regional airports Thessaloniki, Corfu, and Rhodes. Regular evaluation of the air quality also takes place at the Brazilian Group airports. Fraport Slovenija has set the goal of improving relationships with the stakeholders affected by aircraft noise. A partnership group for airport environmental protection formed of relevant interest groups and a dialog forum meets regularly for this.
Performance indicator – Fraport strives to extensively measure the air pollutant emissions by material sources. A key performance indicator in the strict sense is not defined in the air quality category.