Changi knows it takes a community to be sustainable

Lim Ching Kiat, managing director for air hub development at Changi Airport Group, shares his insights on sustainability as the airport looks to renew its commitment to making a sustainable Changi a reality.

Can you share how the Changi Airport Group is contributing in making sustainable air transport a reality?
Although airports account for only about 2 percent of global aviation emissions, we form the common platform upon which a multitude of aviation partners operate—from airlines and ground handlers to airport tenants and concessionaires. Apart from reducing Changi Airport Group’s own emissions by optimising the energy consumption of our terminal buildings, we actively engage the airport community in efforts towards a more sustainable Changi.

To realise our common goals of making air transport (passenger and freight) sustainable, we need cleaner fuels to power aircraft, equipment on the ground, as well as to cool and light our terminal buildings. In this journey which will require innovation and effort, we focus on two broad thrusts.

One is reinventing how our partners power their businesses, by supporting airlines’ and ground handlers’ transition away from fossil-based jet fuel and diesel respectively. We work closely with industry and regulatory partners on stakeholder engagement, as well as facilitate trials and studies on infrastructural needs to enable the adoption of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), renewable diesel and electric ground service equipment. These include the conversion of internal combustion ground service equipment such as baggage tractors and forklifts to electric variants and provision of common-use charging ports.

Then there’s reinventing how we power ourselves. Over 99 percent of CAG’s Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions come from the use of electricity in operating our terminals. As such, we concentrate our efforts on raising building energy efficiencies through constant upgrading of our systems to the best-in-class energy efficient models. We also seek to expand on-site generation of solar energy, as well as tap potential renewable sources beyond the airport.

There are also similar efforts by our air cargo partners. For example, dnata recently launched a 3.5 megawatt-peak rooftop solar power system across dnata’s cargo and catering facilities at Changi Airport. Some of our partners have started trialing solar-powered equipment at their premises. Specific to the cargo business, we are also facilitating closer industry collaboration through higher end-to-end supply chain visibility. We have put in place processes and protocols that could help improve the overall quality of the supply chain, which prevent degradation of products and reduce wastage. We have also launched initiatives to that attempt to reduce carbon emissions. One such example is the truck dock slot booking (TDSB) application introduced under the Changi Air Cargo Community System (ACCS). By evening out cargo lodgment and collection at the air freight terminals, the application provides greater insights to landside freight movement activities and lead to lesser truck waiting time, hence reducing carbon emissions.