Port of Seattle Completes First Greenhouse Gas Emissions Study

Sea-Tac Airport already taking steps to significantly reduce emissions

In a forward-looking step to reduce future greenhouse gas emissions, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport released a comprehensive benchmark study which will lead to goal-setting environmental strategies. The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory ( 1.6 MB, PDF) identifies air emission sources associated with the airport; at this time, there is no industry standard measurement tool for quantifying aviation emissions.

The comprehensive inventory identifies airport air emissions from the broadest impact worldwide to the very specific air emissions in the region and within the airport footprint. This method of tracking greenhouse gas emissions associated with the airport is the first broad-based study of its kind in the industry and Sea-Tac Airport environmental officials hope this will become the standard measurement tool.

Overall the inventory identifies air emissions associated with activities originating from Sea-Tac Airport, including the activities of the Port of Seattle, the public, and aircraft during 2006. The Port of Seattle's Aviation Division represent 4.8% of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the airport, while the public's portion is 11.4%; these activities include ground access and support vehicles, facility sources (such as lighting, heating, air conditioning, etc.), as well as public and employee transportation to/from the airport. As expected, the highest source of air emissions - 83.8% - comes from aircraft operations, which is consistent with national and international estimate figures.

"Sea-Tac Airport is one of the first airports in the nation to take the initiative to identify our greenhouse gas emissions footprint," said John Creighton, Port of Seattle Commission president. "I view the information in this study as a call to action. In the next several weeks, the Commission will be considering both action at the local level and advocacy of initiatives at the federal level to more comprehensively address airport air emissions. We will use the information in this study to help us create strategies to reduce our air emissions and environmental impacts."

Last year, Sea-Tac Airport completed its first environmental benchmark study, identifying the programs in place to reduce environmental impacts, as well as identifying potential next-steps for the airport. These independent studies, each reported to the public, are the first of their kind in the industry.

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