Reducing the water footprint is one of the many measures included in the Heathrow 2.0 plan, an ambitious sustainability strategy developed by Heathrow to ensure sustainable growth.
The airport’s plan aims to deliver sustainable growth through initiatives to prevent and reduce the negative impact of noise and air quality resulting from airport activities. These initiatives include increasing recycling, reducing waste and protecting and improving biodiversity in the area surrounding the airport.
In terms of water management, Heathrow will continue to implement some of the measures adopted over the last few years whilst also introducing ambitious objectives to reduce water consumption, increase the amount of water from sustainable sources, reduce potential pollution risks to the greatest extent possible and improve local water facilities to protect biodiversity in the area surrounding the airport.
Heathrow is therefore working on several projects to ensure greater water efficiency and by 2020 the airport aims to reduce total water consumption by 10% and to reduce total water consumption per passenger by 20% compared with 2010.
Heathrow is therefore working on several projects to ensure greater water efficiency and by 2020 the airport aims to reduce total water consumption by 10% and to reduce total water consumption per passenger by 20% compared with 2010
The airport is investing in new approaches and cuttingedge industry technology, such as runway cleaning vehicles that reutilize water from melted snow and water purification systems that help reduce the airport’s water consumption. Furthermore, it is Heathrow’s intention to become a leading airport in the implementation of water leak reduction measures at its facilities.
Protecting the local ecosystem is also one of Heathrow’s priorities and it has won the Wildlife Trusts’ Biodiversity Benchmark Award nine times. Over the coming years, the airport will increase the amount of non-drinking water from sustainable resources and will ensure good quality waste water through a robust plan expected to be in place before 2020.
Another area of focus within the airport’s sustainability plan is Heathrow’s supply chain, encouraging its stakeholders to engage in responsible water management. As well as improving its own environmental impact, Heathrow aims to be at the forefront of good environmental practice within the industry. This year the airport has launched a new £20,000 prize for ideas submitted around waste recycling, the use of sustainable materials and improving its impact on local communities. Once these ideas have been tested at Heathrow, they can be rolled out to other airports.
