Improving Air Quality Around Heathrow
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Our ten-point plan to manage and reduce emissions Improving air quality Aircraft activity Airport traffic Airside vehicles Energy around Heathrow 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Our goal: to reduce ground-based NOx emissions by 5% by 2020. Provide more and Reduce emissions Phase out the better electric- Pool vehicles to Lead the move from aircraft at oldest and vehicle charging Incentivise low- Work with partners to set up Reduce emissions reduce numbers to electric Modernise our The air quality in some areas near Air pollution around Heathrow comes the gate dirtiest aircraft Improve taxiing efficiency points emission vehicles emission zones and standards from our own fleet and emissions vehicles airside heating supply Heathrow – and in many other parts of from the airport and from a variety London and the UK – exceeds the EU’s of other sources: surrounding roads, When their engines are Some aircraft pollute Taxiing produces just over 40% of our ground-based To encourage more Heathrow has invested On our local stretch of the M4, 13% of vehicle- More than 400 companies Pooling of ground- We encourage investment On-site energy turned off, aircraft rely more than others. The aircraft emissions. By working more collaboratively electric vehicles to millions in public transport generated NOx comes from airport-related operate around 8,500 support equipment in electric vehicles by generation, a more health limit for the pollutant, nitrogen industry, heating and background levels on on-board generators, worst are aircraft that with our airline partners, we’ve streamlined the Heathrow, we’ve installed to host the UK’s largest traffic. To tackle the whole problem, we have vehicles airside at could cut the size of this exempting them from efficient district heating dioxide (NO2). of NO2. As a responsible neighbour, known as APUs, for were built before the decision-making process, which helps to reduce taxi 21 charging points in our free travel zone and to work with local authorities, TfL, GLA, the Heathrow. We’re leading element of the airside the maximum age limit network and the we and the bodies responsible for internal power and climate introduction of a series times and emissions. We’ve also been working with car parks. They’re part deliver the Personal Rapid Highways Agency and other stakeholders. the way for the airport fleet by up to 40%. for airside vehicles. We construction of an 11MW Most NO2 in the air comes from the control. To discourage of higher international the air-transport community to develop a code of of the Source London Transport system to community by cutting During 2015, we’ll already have hundreds of biomass plant is helping those other sources of emissions are In 2015, we will work with partners to champion burning of fuels. Combustion creates APU use, we’ve invested emissions standards. In practice that encourages the turning off of one or network. In 2015, we’ll provide electric transport emissions from our own continue our pooling electric charging points, us cut emissions from working to bring local air quality within a joint approach to reducing emissions from road nitrogen oxides (NOx), a mixture of around £20 million on 2014, these aircraft types more engines during taxiing – known as ‘reduced- upgrade the charging for passengers between (Heathrow Airport Ltd) trials and, by the end of and nearly all of our 800 Heathrow’s energy use. traffic in the Heathrow area and work with TfL, EU and UK Government limits. equipment to supply accounted for just over engine taxiing’. infrastructure in our short- the business car parks fleet of 220 vehicles – the year, put a contract baggage tugs are electric. We’ll continue to cut NO (nitrogen oxide) and NO2. Some GLA, and local key stakeholders to help formulate a pre-conditioned air and 6% of Heathrow flights. stay car parks and look for and Terminal 5. Since and monitoring progress out to tender for a emissions by modernising NO then reacts with oxygen in the At the airport, we and our partners During 2015, we’ll do more by: Regional Strategy for Air Quality to include a roadmap In 2015, we’ll increase electrical power to aircraft the best way to introduce 2002, we’ve been home once a month. During single supplier of pooled our heating infrastructure. atmosphere to form more NO . are working to improve air quality To encourage airlines to for compliance with NO2 limit values by 2020. our investment in 2 at many gates. We’ve also 1. Working with NATS to record the frequency points for our taxi feeder, to one of the biggest 2015, we’ll review our equipment. Wherever We’ll replace old fly cleaner aircraft, we airside electric-charging by reducing emissions from aircraft, set limits on the use of and effectiveness of reduced-engine taxiing long-stay passenger and employee car share Measures we’ll investigate include: entire fleet to help us practical, we’ll specify equipment and move already link our landing infrastructure. Through vehicles and buildings. Our goal is to APUs by aircraft standing colleague car parks. schemes in Europe. plan ahead; our goal for that pooled equipment towards a more efficient fees to an aircraft’s NOx the Heathrow Clean at gates offering ground- 2. Increasing the frequency 1. Establishing emissions standards for 2020 is that every car should be electric. network in which heating cut ground-based emissions of NOx emissions. In 2015, we’ve We want to encourage Vehicles Partnership, we’ll based air and power. of reduced-engine taxiing Heathrow buses and coaches aligned or small van we own and energy are shared. by 5% by 2020 (from 2009 levels). proposed to nearly double a wider range of low- By the end of the year, all run trials to generate with London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone or lease will be electric To help achieve this, we our NOx landing fees 3. Upgrading taxiways to maximise efficiency emissions vehicles at airside vehicles will carry data on the costs and Increases to our biomass 2. Working with bus and coach operators or a plug-in hybrid. Combustion creates NOx – N Nitrogen will encourage airlines and will work at a senior 4. Investigating other approaches such Heathrow. So we’ll tracking devices to give operational needs of a capacity are already in O N O NO to increase the number of hybrid buses a mixture of NO and NO2 O Oxygen 2 to regularly use ground- level with our airline as hybrid-electric aircraft tugs that tow develop incentive the airport community range of electric vehicles the pipeline. Until that In the air, nitrogen oxide (NO) reacts with oxygen based air and power partners to encourage aircraft to the runway while their engines schemes for low or zero- 3. Seeing whether we can set up a geofence the data it needs to and charging facilities. happens we’ll wind N O NO to create more nitrogen dioxide (NO2) with a target to increase an earlier phase-out of are off. emission buses, coaches around Heathrow that forces hybrid vehicles reduce vehicle numbers, We’ll also look at how down operations in usage by 15% in 2015, older aircraft. We’ll work and taxis. The sort of to operate in electric-only mode. emissions and costs. We’ll we can favour cleaner one of our oldest boiler investigate ways to expand to add the international measures we’re looking also start planning for vehicles by adapting houses and replace it with and upgrade our supplies NOx standards to our at include lower fees the introduction by 2025 the pricing structure for low-NOx boilers. And and publish an investment quarterly Fly Quiet league for better performing of an airside emissions airside vehicle passes, we’ll upgrade Terminal Responsible Heathrow 2020 is our plan to support plan by the end of the table to create a single vehicles and priority to zone aligned with the and how we can contract 5 boilers with the same the UK and local economies, reduce Heathrow’s year. We’ll also ensure comparison table for hybrid or electric taxis standards of London’s and provide charging for low-NOx technology. environmental impacts and look after passengers and that airlines adhere to airline performance on in our taxi feeder park. Ultra Low Emission Zone. electric airside buses. people. It’s a step towards achieving our ambition to be the limits we’ve set on noise and emissions. We’ll also review our APU use. By comparing colleague incentive one of the most responsible airports in the world. our performance and schemes to encourage standards against low or zero-emission cars other leading airports, for staff commuting. we’ll work to be among the best. Air quality monitoring sites around For exact locations of the monitoring stations see www.heathrowairwatch.org.uk/latest Heathrow emissions in context Non-airport related emissions % of total NOx Airport related emissions % of total NOx Heathrow 2013 performance Heathrow is just one of many local sources of NOx emissions. Although Measured as 60 NO mg/m3 the airport is a significant contributor of NOx, it’s by no means the largest. 2 Heathrow’s blueprint Most NOx in the Heathrow locality comes from general road traffic. 16% 50 Railways and industry also generate NOx. M25 48% M4 6% 84% 94% for reducing emissions 40 EU limit value 9% 22% 13% 23% 11% 15% 13% 31% Our ten-point plan to reduce 91% 30% 87% 89% Traffic not aircraft Working together 87% 78% 85% 30 77% Heathrow’s emissions in 2015 Data from the Hillingdon monitoring station shows to improve air quality 52% 69% that non-airport traffic generates more than twice as 70% 20 much NOx as all airport sources combined.