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Environment friendly

Written by Oliver Clark Thursday, 22 October 2009 11:54
Environment friendly
Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s award-winning environment and energy conservation programme is reaping real benefits, writes Oliver Clark.

When the Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa won the bid to design Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in 1990, it was with a vision to make Malaysia’s rainforest an integral part of the airport’s very structure – to create the first truly green airport.

A founder of the ‘Metabolism Movement’, an architectural school devoted to the idea that there is a symbiotic relationship between nature and architecture, Kurokawa planned to integrate lush vegetation into the halls and terminal buildings of the new international airport.

KLIA was constructed on 120 kilometres of wasteland under the slogan ‘An airport in the forest and a forest in an airport’ and half a million trees were transported to the site and planted around the main terminal building.

At the nearby satellite building an enclosed rainforest arboretum, the ‘Satellite Forest’ – complete with a waterfall – ensures that one of the first things arriving passengers see is a swathe of living greenery.

“A lot of thought has been put into the design of KLIA to incorporate as much of the environment as possible.

This brings together nature, technology and human imagination,” says Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad, managing director and CEO of Malaysia Airports.

“Take, for example, the roof of the airport’s main terminal building.

The roof is technologically designed to be flexible enough to withstand earthquakes, but when you gaze at it from inside it resembles the fronds of a palm tree,” he says.

Now, nearly 20 years on, KLIA’s officials are continuing the late architect’s vision with an environmental programme whose achievements were recognised with Green Globe 21 certification in 2004, the only airport in the world so far to receive the coveted award.

The Green Globe certificate is based on the Agenda 21 principles of sustainable development agreed by 182 heads of state at the United Nations’ Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992, and is awarded for a clear commitment to the continual identification, control and improvement of the environmental and social impact of the airport’s operations.

KLIA has won the award an impressive five years in a row largely thanks to its self-regulating Environmental Management System (EMS), which contains key goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, conserving energy supplies and improving planning and land use.

“KLIA is proudly a Green Globe certified airport.

In order to maintain this certification year-on-year, one criterion that needs to be met is the demonstration of continuous improvement.

Every year Green Globe revises its benchmark criteria for us,” enthuses Bashir.

To achieve this, the airport works to seven key green considerations, namely preservation of the natural environment, waste management, energy efficiency, resource management, noise control, water resource management and storm water management.

Recycling and conservation are at the heart of KLIA’s green system; chilled water is used as a cooling agent in the airport’s air conditioning system, which reduces CO2 emissions, only eco-label, recycled paper is used by its staff.

Detergents, sprays and the foam used by the gateway’s fire fighting units are made from biodegradable materials.

The airport monitors its use of electricity, natural gas and diesel, with the main terminal and satellite building equipped with sensors that automatically switch off lights, taps and air-conditioning systems when not in use.

The widespread use of large glass walls in the terminal’s design allows for greater use of natural sunlight, while carbon emissions are reduced through the use of a co-generation system (coGen), which produces electricity and heat at the same time.

While recycling and conserving energy provides an important part of KLIA’s environment programme, another key concern is the reduction of pollution generated by the gateway, whether it is noise, chemicals or air emissions.

The airport conducts monthly tests on its water supply to ensure it complies with local and international standards for physical, chemical and bacteriological content.

Noise pollution from aircraft landing and taking off is reduced thanks to the presence of the surrounding rainforest and oil plantations, which acts as an acoustic buffer to the roar of engines, while local noise levels are monitored within a 20 kilometre radius.

Meanwhile, a gazetted 10km x 10km area of the forest has been designated a ‘no residential build zone’ to prevent damage to the local habitat and animal life.

This may seem an unusual step, but the airport’s rainforest has proved far more important to its green vision than anyone could have imagined when it was built in 1998.

Boasting between 200 to 400 species of trees indigenous to Malaysia, including the Hopeaoborata and Dyera costulata, the surrounding rainforest is now home to many kinds of flora and fauna and insect life.

Established with the co-operation of the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM), which carefully uprooted and transplanted trees from the nearby forest of Senawang, the rainforest’s eco-system is so well established it now offers opportunity for scientific research.

The rainforest is even proving a useful revenue source for the airport, with the planting of oil palm on around 3,200 hectares of land around KLIA , earning the gateway in excess of $5.

7 million in 2007 through the sale of palm oil.

In its ‘Project Green Planet’, KLIA launched its commitment to promoting environmental responsibility for all visitors, including local and foreign travellers.

To carry its vision forward, some of this lush greenery close to the main passenger terminal has been converted into the ‘KLIA Green Park’, an area where the general public can view the work the airport is doing and experience Malaysia’s rainforest first hand.

Visitors can go jogging, trekking or cycling and children can even camp within the park’s confines.

In June, KLIA held a ‘Walk the Environment’ day to coincide with World Environment Day.

The event featured projects such as ‘pledge-a-plant’, where participants could buy a plant for $3, and a family oriented treasure hunt.

In 2007 the fifth floor of the airport’s main terminal building played host to a photography project initiated by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), which showcased provocative photographs of nature and the planet to environmental pollution and human devastation.

“In terms of visitor and passenger involvement, we initially started with small steps, but it is crucial that we educate and raise awareness through exhibitions and campaigns,” comments Bashir.

But KLIA’s enthusiasm for environmental projects seems to be infectious, with everyone from the airport’s retailers to taxi drivers getting involved.

Shopping chain Syed Mokhsain Holdings (SMH) has agreed to donate $0.03 to the Green Earth campaign every time a customer turns down the offer of a plastic bag and this goes towards the planting of trees.

Additionally, an ever increasing number of taxi companies in Malaysia, many of which serve the airport, have converted their cars to natural gas vehicles (NGV), reducing the emissions they produce.

So what about the future? Well, during the ACI World General Assembly/North America Conference and Exhibition in Boston, USA, last September, Bashir announced that Malaysia Airports would aim to become carbon neutral within the coming years, starting with its international airports.

But why stop there? Just as Kisho Kurokawa’s vision for the airport was one of unlimited opportunities for technology and nature to be combined, so KLIA is striving to play an important and ever evolving part in fighting climate change.

“Where KLIA is concerned, the future is one filled with endless possibilities,” says Bashir.

“We are aware of the growing pressure the aviation sector as a whole feels where the environment is concerned, but at the same time, we are all set to play our part to create a sustainable environment.”

Asia-Pacific Airports 2009 Issue 4
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