Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System—Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options (2014) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 32-74
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32 4.1 Background Although many efforts have been made to define sustainability and to identify airport sustainability practices, no broad, industry-adopted system exists to rate airport sustainability performance. The ACRP Project 02-28 research team developed a Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System (Prototype Rating System)
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Development of Prototype Rating System 33 The Prototype Rating System reflects the research team's effort to respond to and incorporate the design specifications: The system's key structural components were developed to meet design specifications. Additionally, features of the Prototype Rating System and its scoring framework were designed to address the final design specification -- flexibility.
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34 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System -- Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options 4.2 Research Approach This section presents the research approach used to prepare the Prototype Rating System. Feedback from the Phase I stakeholder outreach indicated that the stakeholders felt the rating system should be informed by existing rating systems.
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Development of Prototype Rating System 35 following this phase of the research. The federal government now recognizes Green Globes as an accepted system for evaluating sustainable building performance.)
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36 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System -- Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options Preliminary User Guide The Prototype Rating System comes in the form of a User Guide that includes all of the necessary background and implementation information required for an airport user to pilot, and eventually adopt, the rating system. For ACRP Project 02-28, the research team prepared an annotated outline of the Preliminary User Guide that includes the following key sections: • Table of Contents.
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Development of Prototype Rating System 37 Figure 4-3. Example User Guide excerpt.
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38 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System -- Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options – Consider performance that would be within the direct control of the airport. – Provide flexibility so that airports can choose how best to pursue sustainability.
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Development of Prototype Rating System 39 broad spectrum of activities into manageable groups with similar objectives so an airport can focus its efforts. Sustainability categories are not, however, intended to overlook the important synergistic nature of sustainability or disaggregate sustainability into independent realms.
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40 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System -- Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options providing recycling bins; and they encourage employee development by offering staff trainings. The Prototype Rating System recognizes and represents each of these activities as a sustainability activity because they support the overall sustainability of the airport.
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Development of Prototype Rating System 41 Each sustainability category may contain few or many sustainability activities, depending on how well the activities cover the breadth of performance under each sustainability category. Within the Water & Waste sustainability category, for example, the only water-related sustainability activity is Potable Water Conservation, because it captures the high-level sustainability objective, which is to reduce the amount of potable water consumed at an airport.
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42 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System -- Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options uses quantifiable performance metrics to award points. The information from existing rating systems was sorted on whether it reflected individual actions or quantifiable metrics.
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Development of Prototype Rating System 43 advancing; rather than replicate guidance or endorse technologies, the Prototype Rating System establishes a high-level objective to serve as a goal for sustainability performance. This process was repeated for each of the eight sustainability categories, whereby metrics and projects were extracted from the existing rating systems and assessed for their ultimate sustainability objectives to develop sustainability activities.
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44 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System -- Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options of sustainability performance. For each sustainability activity, a set of approximately 10–12 performance actions that serve collectively as a good indicator of sustainability performance can be used to evaluate performance.
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Development of Prototype Rating System 45 narrow aspect. For example, an airport may wish to reduce airside equipment fuel use under the transportation sustainability category, but may lack the resources or capacity to upgrade infrastructure or equipment in the short term.
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46 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System -- Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options The research team also recognized the value of percentages, intensities, and baselines when identifying or adapting performance metrics. The scoring framework (discussed in the section titled "Establishing a Rating")
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Development of Prototype Rating System 47 are evaluated based on the extent to which they engage others outside their control, rather than on quantitative improvements in sustainability that are outside the airport's areas of control. Table 4-2 presents the final 50 sustainability activities identified for the Prototype Rating System by sustainability category.
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48 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System -- Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options Table 4-2. (Continued)
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Development of Prototype Rating System 49 Table 4-2. (Continued)
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50 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System -- Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options Table 4-2. (Continued)
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Development of Prototype Rating System 51 Table 4-2. (Continued)
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52 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System -- Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options Table 4-2. (Continued)
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Development of Prototype Rating System 53 The research team prepared definitions for each of the 50 sustainability activities to articulate the scope and extent of each. The definitions include: • A purpose statement that explains each activity's value and provides a rationale for why the activity was included in the Prototype Rating System.
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54 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System -- Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options Prototype Rating System incorporates EONS icons, which are symbols that identify the major aspects of the EONS framework that apply to an entire sustainability category (i.e., a set of activities supporting a similar sustainability theme)
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Development of Prototype Rating System 55 To account for this, the research team recommends including an innovation mechanism similar to LEED that would allow airports to claim credit for new, innovative, or under-represented practices that still fulfill the objective of the sustainability activity. The rating system should award airports for exemplary performance that goes beyond what is included in the rating system.
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56 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System -- Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options addressed in the existing system (LEED, STARS, ISI, CDA SAM)
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Development of Prototype Rating System 57 Under Evaluation Type 2, airports measure performance by completing actions from a menu of performance actions. Performance actions are measures the airport could take to improve performance within the sustainability activity (e.g., "prepare a vulnerability assessment" for the sustainability activity climate change adaptation)
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58 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System -- Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options Category-Level Scoring Based on feedback from stakeholder outreach to the airport industry, medium and smaller airports are also likely to use the rating system primarily as guidance for starting, improving, or expanding a sustainability program rather than for rating overall performance. The flexibility that this offers is a distinguishing feature of the Prototype Rating System.
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Development of Prototype Rating System 59 If, for example, the total points possible across the entire rating system is 180 points and several sustainability activities totaling to 30 points are deemed immaterial to an airport, those 30 points would be subtracted from the total points possible, yielding a revised total possible points of 150. In this example, if the airport earns 135 points, its overall score would be 90 percent (135/150 = 0.90, or 90 percent)
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60 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System -- Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options rating system, what entity might be responsible for implementing and maintaining the rating system, and the functions and costs needed for implementation and maintenance. The remainder of this chapter discusses the following points: • Purpose and likely use of an airport sustainability rating system.
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Development of Prototype Rating System 61 full-time dedicated environmental staff have more available resources to pursue sustainability ratings. The larger airports could use the rating system to track performance internally and gauge performance against other, similarly large airports.
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62 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System -- Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options of certification and verification procedures that would accompany the rating system. Potential administrative and governance functions include: • Administrative Oversight.
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Development of Prototype Rating System 63 as well as increasing capital investment and operational expenses. The options are described in detail after Figure 4-14.
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64 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System -- Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options association would serve as a "virtual staff" to provide a minimal level of engagement or regular oversight functions, necessitating a minimal resource commitment as necessary to execute basic functions. To minimize related administrative cost, this option might leverage an existing organization's or association's expert committee skills to serve as an advisor group.
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Development of Prototype Rating System 65 duties required of the system. The staff and office would require sizable resources and substantial funding would be necessary for both the initial and ongoing operating costs.
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66 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System -- Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options independent certification and verification process (the most intensive approach) would likely far exceed the costs of a Best Practices and Metrics Manual (the least intensive approach)
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Development of Prototype Rating System 67 expenses include first costs associated with starting a new program service and are not commonly recurring expenses. For example, designing and deploying a new website would initially be a capital investment.
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68 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System -- Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options vehicles (GAV) , and other airport airside-related assets.
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Development of Prototype Rating System 69 collaborators creating the Zofnass Sustainable Infrastructure system. The associated costs of the Zofnass Program are unknown, and funding to establish the program came from a single external benefactor.
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70 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System -- Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options Airport Applicability. A few airports have published GRI reports (e.g., Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Toronto Pearson International Airport)
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Development of Prototype Rating System 71 The Phase I stakeholder outreach resulted in five design specifications that were used to develop the Prototype Rating System. These design specifications encompassed the need for an airport sustainability rating system.
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72 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System -- Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options as having verification funded through external organizations or requiring verification updates infrequently (e.g., every few years rather than annually)
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Development of Prototype Rating System 73 Phases I & II (Prototype Rating System Development)
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74 Prototype Airport Sustainability Rating System -- Characteristics, Viability, and Implementation Options primarily for internal or external use. Successful ratings systems often first deploy a beta test by recruiting willing participants to test the system and identify the attributes that work and places where improvements are necessary.
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