Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System—Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options (2014)

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1 Background ACRP developed Project 02-28, “Airport Sustainability Practices: Tools for Evaluating, Measuring, and Implementing,” in an effort to assist airports in making decisions regarding sustainability. The intended outcomes of ACRP Project 02-28 were a Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System (Prototype Rating System) that gauges airport sustainability performance and an industry-accepted Decision Tool that assists airports in evaluating and selecting best practices for airport sustainability. ACRP Report 119 includes a summary of the research (Chapter 2) and stakeholder outreach (Chapter 3) completed to inform the develop- ment of the Prototype Rating System, presents the functional components of the Prototype Rating System (Chapter 4), and explains how they were derived. The sources consulted in developing the Prototype Rating System are included in Appendix A, and the stakeholder outreach process is documented in Appendix B. The completed Prototype Rating System includes an annotated outline of the Rating System User Guide (Appendix C), five excerpts of Sustainability Activity Sheets (Appendix D), and definitions of the 50 sustainability activi- ties that compose the Prototype Rating System (Appendix E). A Potential Work Plan also was developed to detail the tasks for subsequent phases of the project (Appendix F). ACRP Report 119 also reports on the status of the Decision Tool, which will be published as part of the enhanced Sustainable Aviation Guidance Alliance (SAGA) website on completion of ACRP Project 02-30, “Enhancing the Airport-Industry SAGA Website.” Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System This section highlights the proposed Prototype Rating System that was developed as part of ACRP Project 02-28. The proposed Prototype Rating System meets the industry need as defined by an extensive stakeholder outreach process and includes a full set of sustainability activities and performance metrics, a scoring framework, an annotated User Guide outline, and example User Guide excerpts. Airport Stakeholder Input on Prototype Rating System The Prototype Rating System is based on the following design specifications gleaned from the stakeholder process and from the research team’s collective expertise: 1. Incorporate elements of existing rating systems to the extent possible. 2. Include a points-based scoring framework. S U M M A R Y Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System— Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options

2 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System—Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options 3. Adhere to the EONS (Economic Performance, Operational Efficiency, Natural Resource Conservation, and Social Responsibility) sustainability framework. (ACI–NA has defined airport sustainability as a “holistic approach to managing an airport so as to ensure the integrity of the Economic viability, Operational efficiency, Natural resource conservation, and Social responsibility (EONS) of the airport.”) 4. Recognize airport-wide sustainability performance (as opposed to individual focus on airport projects). 5. Emphasize flexibility to accommodate all airport types. The Prototype Rating System reflects the research team’s effort to respond to and incorporate the design specifications; wherein, the Prototype Rating System’s key structural components were developed to meet design specifications. Sustainability performance spans airport- wide practices including new construction, existing infrastructure, and daily operations. Additionally, features of both the Prototype Rating System and the scoring framework were designed to address the final design specification—flexibility. The Prototype Rating System is designed to initially allow individual airports to assess and track their sustainability perfor- mance internally, but the framework can also support ratings and comparisons between airports in the future, if desired by the airport community. An annotated outline of the Rating System User Guide is provided in Appendix C, which demonstrates how the structural components and content of the rating system would come together. Key Structural Components of Prototype Rating System The Prototype Rating System meets the design specifications provided by airport stake- holders by incorporating structural components that collectively provide a rating system framework. These components include: • Sustainability Activities. High-level undertakings that have a strong potential to improve the sustainability of an airport. Sustainability activities were developed using information from existing rating systems. • Sustainability Categories. Broad organizational levels that group sustainability activities of a similar sustainability theme. Sustainability categories were developed using information from existing rating systems. • Performance Metrics. Indicators of performance within a sustainability activity that allows the airport to measure and track performance over time. Performance metrics were devel- oped using information from existing rating or reporting systems and support a scoring framework. • Performance Actions. Efforts taken to improve sustainability that, when evaluated along- side other performance actions, serve as good indicators of sustainability performance. Performance actions span airport infrastructure, operations, and management functions. They were developed using information from existing rating systems and support a scoring framework. • EONS Icons. Four symbols—one for each aspect of the EONS framework—assigned to each sustainability category and accompanied by a discussion section for each aspect that demonstrates how the Prototype Rating System applies and embodies the holistic approach of EONS. • Innovation. The opportunity for additional points based on exemplary performance. • Scoring Framework. A mechanism to establish a sustainability rating for airports. A set of 50 sustainability activities, grouped into the 8 sustainability categories shown in Figure S-1, provide the framework of the Prototype Rating System. The revision of the

Summary 3 SAGA database, completed as part of ACRP Project 02-30, aligned the categories of sus- tainability practices with these sustainability activities to enhance the utility of the SAGA database when using the rating system. Appendix E of this report presents the definitions of each of the 50 sustainability activities that compose the Prototype Rating System. The performance metrics and actions, EONS icons, and the scoring framework provide the remaining substance of the Prototype Rating System. The components come together to form the Prototype Rating System, which is illustrated through example User Guide excerpts. The research team prepared five User Guide excerpts to illustrate the structure of the Prototype Rating System. The excerpts are attached as Appendix D to this final report. Figure S-2 shows an example User Guide excerpt for the Waste Diversion sustainability activity and Figure S-3 provides a full-size view of the first page. These User Guide excerpts illustrate the structure of a sustainability activity and the type of content that will be presented in the Rating System User Guide. Appendix C, the annotated Figure S-1. Prototype sustainability categories (8 categories) and sustainability activities (50 activities). Source: ICF, 2013

4 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System—Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options Figure S-2. Example User Guide excerpt.

Summary 5 outline for the preliminary User Guide, includes the description of a User Guide section that will define all 50 sustainability activities, each of which will look similar to the five sample excerpts included in Appendix D. The Prototype Rating System provides a proof of concept and is sufficiently complete to help the airport community determine whether to proceed with developing a full Draft Airport Sustainability Rating System (Draft Rating System). A scoring framework supports the rating system by providing a mechanism for establishing a rating (see Figure S-4). The basic construct of the scoring framework is simple: airports score points for achieving levels of performance within each sustainability activity. Points can be earned and summed for all sustainability activities to gauge airport-wide performance across the entire Prototype Rating System, within each category to gauge performance in sectors such as energy and climate or human well-being, or for a single sustainability activity to target performance in one area. This framework can be used to evaluate internal sustain- ability performance and scaled to accommodate more robust certification and verification or optional external comparisons over time. The Prototype Rating System provides participating airports the flexibility to use the system in the way that best suits their needs and resources without requiring high performance across all activities. Because performance is scored and tracked at the activity, category, Figure S-3. Structure of a sustainability activity excerpt from the User Guide. Source: ICF, 2013

6 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System—Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options and overall rating system levels, airports can gauge their performance at whichever level of adoption makes them most comfortable, and then progress easily toward a fuller adoption over time. This flexibility allows selective prioritization of the activities and categories, as air- ports can choose which activities resonate most with their stakeholders and adopt activities on a case-by-case basis, or pursue a more comprehensive approach—implementing a complete set of activities within a category or even the entire Prototype Rating System. The airports can gauge their progress based on a performance baseline before they adopt the rating system. Eventually, with a mature governance structure in place, airports may be able to compare their performance with other airports. Rating System Viability and Implementation Options This report also discusses the viability of the Prototype Rating System—including a dis- cussion of certification and verification—as well as options for implementing the rating system. The conclusion of the research team is that an airport sustainability rating system complete with certification and verification program could be viable, but that the costs of administration and governance would vary based on the robustness of the certification and verification program. The implementation options for a certification and verification program could range from releasing the rating system as a Best Practices & Metrics Manual that airports can use to evaluate sustainability performance internally, to coupling the rating system with a robust independent certification and verification program that involves external certification and verification parties and procedures (see Figure S-5). Provided that the airport community can find a partner organization or the funds to support maintaining the governance and related certification services, the eventual hosting institution is likely the best candidate to make decisions about the certification and Note: Example scores are for illustration purposes only Source: ICF, 2013 Figure S-4. Example scoring framework.

Summary 7 verification program. In the interim, however, if the airport community determines that the goal of the rating system should be to serve as universal resource to as many airports as possible, then a self-certification rating system may be better suited to focus on the universal benefits to all airports through a functional and flexible self-rating system. Adopting this option will establish the framework for ongoing rating system maintenance and provide the ability for airports to self-certify. The Prototype Rating System is designed to allow internal reviews of sustainability by airports at first, but the framework could also support external comparisons in the future, if desired by the airport community. A large, critical mass of participant airports of each type would then be necessary to overcome the likely functional and financial challenges to a more extensive level of implementation. Rating System Next Steps This report concludes Phase II of the development process that is covered by the current ACRP Project 02-28 scope of work and includes preparing a Prototype Rating System. Future phases, as depicted in Figure S-6, would depend on whether the airport community believes it is appropriate to move forward with preparing a full Draft Rating System. A summary of the work phases follows. • Phase I and Phase II (Prototype Rating System Development). These phases involved preparing draft and final versions of the Prototype Rating System. These phases are now complete. • Phase III (Draft Rating System and Pilot). This potential phase would consist of prepar- ing a functional Draft Rating System that would include a draft User Guide and scoring Figure S-5. Airport sustainability rating system implementation options. Source: ICF, 2013 Note: Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure Envision system is in the process of establishing a certification process to be performed by credentialed professionals.

8 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System—Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options framework and would assign draft points to each of the activities. At the conclusion of Phase III, the rating system could be piloted at a select set of airports. • Phase IV (Finalize Rating System and Release). Once the lessons learned from the pilots in Phase III were captured, the Draft Rating System could be revised into a fully formed, final airport sustainability rating system. Finalizing the rating system would likely require revising the scope of some activities, perhaps adding activities that were identified through the pilot, and likely recalibrating weighted point scores assigned to each activity, based on feedback from the rating system pilot. The development costs associated with finalizing the rating system would vary depending on the scope of the final product, but would likely be within a range of approximately $500,000 to $2 million—though they could rise to as much as $5 million if the final product were coupled with an advanced independent certification and verification program. Once complete, the rating system would require a hosting organization that would be responsible for ongoing maintenance of the system. (See Section 4.4, “Viability of the Rating System,” for more detail on implementation options, governance, and funding requirements.) Decision Tool and Enhanced SAGA Website ACRP Project 02-28 included a component to build a Decision Tool to help users identify, evaluate, prioritize, and select sustainability practices that are most appropriate for a par- ticular airport. As originally planned, the Decision Tool would not have a technical database associated with it, but instead would rely on users to populate the tool with information. Contemporaneously, ACRP Project 02-30, “Enhancing the Airport-Industry SAGA Website,” focused on improving the SAGA website that had been developed in 2009 with the intent of providing the airport industry with one central location for airport sustainability informa- tion and updating the technical information in the website’s searchable database of almost 1,000 sustainability practices. Source: ICF, 2013 Figure S-6. Rating system development phases.

Summary 9 At the start of both ACRP Projects 02-28 and 02-30, it was recognized that the projects in- volved overlapping efforts to create a useful tool and website. In February 2012, both panels came to a consensus to join the projects to produce one tool for the industry. A conceptual design for the tool and website was submitted to the panels for review in 2012, and following an interim meeting, an execution plan was agreed upon and the development of the joint tool and website began. Accordingly, the Decision Tool component of ACRP Project 02-28 will be incorporated into the enhanced SAGA website. Preliminary details about the content of the tool and website are outlined in this section. The final Decision Tool and website will be published upon completion of ACRP Project 02-30. Collaboration with ACRP Project 02-30 Both ACRP Project 02-28 and ACRP Project 02-30 kicked off with extensive user research and stakeholder outreach activities. These efforts yielded similar recommendations from the industry regarding what they are looking for in a sustainability resource. After reviewing the goals of the projects and the user research and stakeholder outreach results, a plan for collaboration was developed by the research teams and presented to both project panels. In particular, it was determined that by eliminating the overlap that existed between the tasks of the two projects, a more substantial sustainability resource could be developed through collaboration. In February 2012, both project panels reached a consensus that the projects would collaborate with the goal of incorporating an online Decision Tool into the enhanced SAGA website. Several benefits to ACRP Project 02-28 will be realized through this collaboration with ACRP Project 02-30. Specifically: • A technical database will be developed for the Decision Tool, which was not a component of the original scope of work for the ACRP Project 02-28 Decision Tool. The original plan provided for detailed data on 10 sustainability practices to test the Decision Tool. Using the collaborative approach, detailed data for 100 sustainability practices will be available to test the Decision Tool and seed the database so that it is immediately useful when it is introduced to the industry. The framework of the Decision Tool is designed so that the users can populate the majority of the data that supports the features. • Combining the two projects will allow for a web-based tool to be developed using an interactive concept that allows users to edit existing practices, add new practices, com- ment on practices, share lessons learned and case studies, share contact information, and upload documents. The Decision Tool is designed to be a self-sustaining information resource that allows users to add data (for public or private use) with minimal external support and administration and provide planning space for users to record their findings and to prepare reports that can assist with decision making. • By combining the projects and developing one web-based Decision Tool, there will be less confusion for the airport industry and the projects will give the users a sophisticated, meaningful tool for evaluating and selecting sustainability practices for their airports. Description of the Decision Tool The goal of the Decision Tool is to help airports identify, evaluate, prioritize, and select sustainability practices for airport capital projects, programs, and operations. The Decision Tool was envisioned to be self-sustaining by allowing users to input data on new practices and to update technical data for existing practices over time. Another goal of the Decision Tool is to customize each user’s experience by allowing them to input characteristics about

10 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System—Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options their airport and prioritize according to their most important criteria (e.g., capital cost, payback period, social benefits). The Decision Tool is intended to provide a planning space for users to record their findings and prepare plans that can assist in decision making. To achieve these goals, the research team has built a Decision Tool that has specific functionality. The foundation of the Decision Tool is a data set of over 950 sustainability practices, with information provided about each practice to assist in decision-making activities. In addition, a “Roadmap” is provided on the homepage of the Decision Tool and web page to assist in overall integration of sustainability into an airport operator’s business practices. Functionality of the Decision Tool The results of the stakeholder outreach results for ACRP Project 02-28 and the user research for ACRP 02-30 served as the main resource for developing the functionality of the Decision Tool and the enhanced SAGA website. Comments from both of the project panels also shaped the design. The stakeholder and project panel recommendations were combined to develop a list of seven functionalities for the Decision Tool, as follows: 1. Search. Users can conduct simple and complex searches for sustainability practices by entering search terms or selecting airport characteristics (e.g., geographic location), category (e.g., energy), or decision criteria (e.g., cost). The Decision Tool will look for the search terms in all of the attribute data (e.g., practice title and description, case studies, comments, and designated keywords). 2. Edit Existing Practices. Users can suggest edits to the detailed data for an existing practice for public use through a moderated process. Users also can edit the detailed data for their private use without approval by a moderator. 3. Add New Practice. Users can add a practice to the database for public use through a moderated process and using a template provided as part of the Decision Tool. Users can also add practices for their private use without approval by a moderator. 4. Customize. Users can specify characteristics about an individual airport (e.g., airport type) in the Decision Tool to identify applicable sustainability practices to a specific airport. 5. Prioritize. Users can apply custom weights or importance factors to the decision criteria. The weights and rating values for the decision criteria are used to generate a numerical score for each practice to assist in prioritizing the practices based on the users’ individual preferences. 6. My Plans. Users can create plans that group selected sustainability practices and track other information through the addition of notes for their private use. The plans can be used to support decision-making processes within an organization. The plans also can be uploaded to the SAGA website for other users to view. 7. Export and Print. Users can print search results, attribute data, and plans, or they can export the data from the site for use in external programs such as Microsoft Excel and Word and Adobe Acrobat. Data Set The data set that underlies the Decision Tool includes information for over 950 sustain- ability practices. Based on the stakeholder recommendations and input from the project panels, the following information is to be included in the Decision Tool for the sustainability practices. 1. Airport Characteristics. This information is intended to allow users to identify sustainabil- ity practices’ specific characteristics related to the types of operations and their geography. During the research, it was determined that the major drivers of determining whether a

Summary 11 sustainability practice can be applied at a certain airport are the level of passenger service and the geographic features. Airport characteristics include: a. Airport Type: Scheduled passenger service, general aviation (GA) airport and military/ cargo airport. Users can select more than one airport type to identify sustainability practices. For example, airports that have both military/cargo and scheduled passenger service can select both of these options to identify practices. b. Climate and Geography: Primarily hot, primarily cold, mixed hot and cold, and located on a major water body. Users can select “located on a major water body” in combination with one of the climate characteristics. 2. Detailed Data. These data include detailed technical information about the sustainability practices. The detailed data include: a. Practice Title: The detailed title of the practice. b. Practice Description: A more detailed, 1- to 3-sentence description of the practice that highlights why the practice may be beneficial. c. Decision Criteria: Nine stakeholder-identified decision criteria, quantified for each practice: capital cost, payback period, annual operations and maintenance (O&M) cost, staffing requirements, reportability of metrics, maturity of the practice, energy use impacts, environmental benefits, and social benefits. d. Related Documents: Documents that may assist users in evaluating, selecting, and implementing a practice. e. Links: A list of any appropriate links for more information on the sustainable practice and its potential benefits/challenges. f. Case Studies: Descriptions of experience implementing the practice. g. Applicability to LEED: Whether the practice contributes to achievement of LEED credits. 3. Keywords. These are words identified as the most relevant words related to the practice that will enhance the search function of the Decision Tool. 4. Categories. Each practice will be associated with a primary category so that practices can be identified based on a general area of interest. The categories are the same as those used for the rating system (energy and climate, transportation, economic performance, design and materials, engagement and leadership, water and waste, natural resources, and human well-being). The Decision Tool is designed to be a self-sustaining information resource that allows users to add attribute data for private and public use. The research team will provide information for airport characteristics, categories, and keywords for all of the practices. Detailed data will also be provided for 100 sustainability practices to test the Decision Tool and seed the database so that the Decision Tool will be immediately usable when it is introduced to the industry. The remainder of the attribute data will be collected by users over time. To assist in prioritization, each user can apply a weight by assigning a value of 1 through 10 to each of the decision criteria included in the detailed data. The weights are used to calcu- late a numerical score for each sustainability practice; the scores can be used to compare the practices to determine which ones meet a user’s preferences. Roadmap The opening page of the Decision Tool and web page is a framework to engage stakeholders of various backgrounds and provide guidance on how to transform day-to-day operations and business processes to be more sustainable. The Roadmap guides users beyond implement- ing a set of initiatives to begin making decisions that apply sustainability principles across all activities, departments, and partnerships at the airport. The Roadmap leads various kinds

12 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System—Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options of users (i.e., novices to sustainability, staff from various departments, and leaders with diverse objectives) through a process to understand basic sustainability principles, learn how sustainability can enhance an organization, and determine how best to use the information in the SAGA website to set and meet sustainability goals. Airport Sustainability Best Practices The SAGA website includes a searchable database of close to 950 sustainability practices. The ACRP Project 02-30 research team updated the technical data in the database by: • Reviewing the existing database content to reduce duplicates and consolidate existing practices. • Identifying new practices for potential inclusion in the database. • Creating fact sheets with detailed attribute information for a subset (100) of the airport sustainability best practices included in the refined SAGA database. The technical content of the existing SAGA database was completed in late summer 2009. Since then, both in the United States and internationally, airports have rapidly accelerated the consideration and use of sustainable practices. These airports have prepared new or modified sustainability guidance documents, have established metrics and thresholds to evaluate practices, and have started to report on their experiences. Additionally, substantial sustainability-related research has been or is being conducted through various organizations, including TRB (e.g., ACRP Report 42: Sustainable Airport Construction Practices). ACRP Project 02-30 will update the practices included in the SAGA database to include advancements completed since 2009. Although the SAGA database collected and reviewed over 100 resources from more than 30 individual airport sustainability policies, plans, and reports, individual practices were common to multiple sources. Yet, because each airport is unique, slightly different attributes of similar practices may be emphasized when one compares implementation of similar prac- tices at different airports. The result is that some measures overlap and appear redundant. Working with the project panel, the research team determined whether to simplify and generalize a practice or to retain its unique attributes in the database. The refined list of airport sustainability best practices is included in Appendix G to this report and will be available as part of the enhanced SAGA website. Of the close to 950 airport sustainability best practices in the original SAGA database, over 400 practices were revised, over 250 practices were either deleted or combined with other practices, and over 200 new practices were identified based on new industry research and activities. In total, 23 percent of the sustainability practices in the refined SAGA database are new practices.