Align to Te Mana Tauranga Kuki Airani – Airport Authority Cook Islands (AACI) Strategic goals: to operate in a sustainable manner, it is important for the State Owned Enterprise to monitor and manage emissions from all its activities, and the buildings and facilities it owns, occupies, and operates.

Measurement of an annual carbon footprint will help AACI understand the emissions associated with its core operational activities and to develop reduction initiatives.

AACI together with Consultant Airbiz Aviation Strategies Pty Ltd (Airbiz) has prepared a greenhouse gas (‘GHG’) inventory and measure of the operational carbon footprint of Rarotonga International Airport (IATA code: RAR) for financial year 2022-23 (FY23). This has been done to support an application for accreditation at Level 1 Mapping under the Airport Council International’s (ACI) Airport Carbon Accreditation Programme. Developed and launched by ACI EUROPE initially for European airports, Airport Carbon Accreditation went global.

Airport Carbon Accreditation is the only voluntary global carbon management standard for airports. It provides a common framework for active carbon management and relies on internationally recognised methodologies, including the GHG Protocol and ISO14064-1:2018 to independently assess and recognise the efforts of airports to manage and reduce their GHG emissions through 7 levels of certification: Level 1 Mapping, Level 2 Reduction, Level 3 Optimisation, Level 3+ Neutrality, Level 4 Transformation, Level 4+ Transition, and Level 5.

For accreditation at Level 1 Mapping, AACI is required to submit:

  1. A policy commitment to emissions reduction signed by the Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Office
  2. An operational carbon footprint accounting for GHG emissions at RAR under the direct control of AACI (i.e., Scope 1 and 2 emissions)

The operational carbon footprint in this report has been prepared in accordance with the requirements set out under the GHG Protocol’s Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard Revised Edition (2015), as well as the requirements prescribed under the ACI’s Airport Carbon Accreditation Programme Application Manual.

An Airport Carbon Accreditation approved independent Verifier – To70 is in the process of reviewing all reports and supplementary information for Rarotonga International Airport prior to accreditation being issued. Once verified, a certification will be presented at the next Airport Council International conference.