The Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, became as of Friday the first air terminal in Central America to be certified as carbon-neutral.
In order to earn the certification the Airport had to first quantify the greenhouse gases that were being generated and then had to elaborate a plan to reduce this number considerably and also recover refrigerant gases.
The installation of a logistic center for the treatment of aeronautic residues was one of the changes implemented which allowed this airport to reach the goal they had established. 18 airlines operating in the airport use the logistic center to properly dispose of their residues, which translated into benefits for the environment and a reduction of health risks.
An investment of $150 thousand was required for the remodeling of the residue collection center; while the replacement of fluorescent light bulbs to LED lights represented another $172,525.00 and translates in savings of 275,631kWH of electricity a year, the equivalent of a reduction of 10.5 tons of carbon dioxide annually. Another $23 thousand were used to change the wind curtains in the boarding gates to automatic doors that prevent the waste of air conditioning promoting savings in electricity and producing 0.6 tons less of carbon dioxide a year.
In total with all the changes implemented and the actions taken the airport was able to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 148 tons in its base year (2015-2016)…
