WHEN RUNWAYS GO GREEN

Building an airport is both an art and a science. There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution to build eco-friendly airports, writes SRINIVAS VALLABHANENI, Director and CEO, Vishwa Samudra Engineering Pvt. ltd.

- SRINIVAS VALLABHANENI

“The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased; and not impaired in value.” –Theodore Roosevelt

Conservation of the world’s natural resources is a big contributor to the global sustainability index, limiting the exhaustion of certain particles that are not available abundantly on the planet.

The role of the aviation industry in the global sustainability index, is significant. It’s not just the drastic increase in the number of planes in the sky over the years, but also the emergence of airports in abundance across every country.

Airports all over the world adopt innovative eco-design approaches in conserving natural resources at all stages of their construction and operations. Their contribution to sustainability is crucial given the constant rise in frequency of travelers every year.

The eco-design approach refers to the overall process across all stages of airport planning, design, construction, operations, maintenance, and refurbishment, with an intention to create highquality, low-maintenance structures for the longterm, with an overall aim to minimise impact to the natural environment and human health. The factors to consider here also include climate change and safety.