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Environmental Report 2014

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Index Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

1 Brussels Airport in a nutshell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2 Environmental and sustainability policy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Embedded in our business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Environmental and energy policy statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Environmental certificate and energy certificate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Environmental and energy programme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Environmental communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8External environmental communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Internal environmental communication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Environmental communication plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

3 Noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10What determines the noise impact of the airport? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

The location and configuration of the airport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10The evolution of air traffic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10The noise performance of aircraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11The number of night movements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12Runway use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13Weather conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Mapping noise impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13By means of a noise monitoring system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13By calculating noise contours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14What is the evolution of the noise impact of the airport? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Limiting noise impact . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Ground noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Air noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

4 Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18A policy based on Trias Energetica . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Limiting energy consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Energy accounting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Fuel oil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Natural gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Electricity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Vehicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20LED lighting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Increasing the proportion of renewable energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Solar energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Cold-heat storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Efficient use of fossil fuels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

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5 Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Air emissions by Brussels Airport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Acidifying/ozone-forming emissions and particulate matter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22CO2 emissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Reducing aircraft emissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Continuous Descent Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Collaborative Decision Making . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

6 Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Water management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Mains water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Waste water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Rainwater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

7 Mobility and accessibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Train . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Bus and tram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Car . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Bicycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

8 Soil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Soil tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Soil information system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Soil sanitation projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Earthworks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36Environmental emergency plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

9 Waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Waste collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38Hazardous waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Non-hazardous waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Animal waste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

10 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

ForewordRESPECT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT IS CENTRAL TO EVERYTHING WE DO

Brussels Airport is an important company in Belgium . Courtesy of its central location, the airport plays a crucial role in the connectivity of the region and the whole country . In addition, Brussels Airport is one of the largest employers in Belgium, employing 20,000 people directly and a further 40,000 indirectly .

Every day, staff at Brussels Airport seek out the most innovative solutions to deliver the best possible service to their customers, passengers or businesses, and in doing so meet the requirements for an airport that serves as an international transport hub at the crossroads of economic and cultural relations . At the same time, we are always looking at how we can reduce the environmental impact as much as possible, in consideration of the requirements that exist in terms of technical feasibility, safety and security and the economic obligations we need to meet .

This environmental report provides a detailed overview of the various actions that our company has put in place to integrate environmental concerns in all its activities and to ensure the sustainable development of the airport through concrete targets .

In doing so, alongside being a company with a solar park that generates 3% of its energy requirements, Brussels Airport is also one of the few airports in Europe that has its own water treatment plant and the only airport that purifies the waste water from de-icing operations . Moreover, despite the growing number of passengers, Brussels Airport manages to limit its impact on the environment: the volume of waste is decreasing steadily, and average energy consumption is falling year on year . The noise levels measured in 2013 were also the lowest for 10 years . In designing new infrastructure, we use the latest state-of-the-art technologies in terms of sustainability in order to reduce the environmental footprint of our activities .

None of these actions would be possible without the many partners who assist us in the choice of technologies

and help us achieve the goals we set ourselves . Thanks to all .

In the development of Brussels Airport, we do not shy away from our major responsibilities as an airport operator . At the same time, we remain fully focused on the future with our sights locked on the sustainable development of our activities for the future generations .

Arnaud FeistCEOBrussels Airport Company

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1Brussels Airport is the main airport in Belgium, and links the capital of Europe with the rest of the world . In recent years we have developed to become a multi-modal hub based around passengers, airlines, business partners and airport staff and the co-operation between these players . As an economically powerful hub at the heart of Europe, we are focusing more than ever on our customers, on service and on accessibility .

As an airport we play an important role in international relations, trade, investments, exchanges between cultures and the development of Brussels as the capital of Europe .Eighty airlines connect Brussels Airport with over 230

Brussels Airport in a nutshell

destinations worldwide . Transporting 430,000 tonnes of cargo a year, the Brucargo hub plays a key role in inter-national logistics and in the success of specific industries such as the pharmaceutical industry .

With a growing number of over 19 million passengers a year, more than 260 airport companies and direct and indirect employment of 60,000 people, we occupy a unique and central position at regional, Belgian and Euro-pean level .

The strategic development of the airport is based on a sustainable and constructive relationship with all stake-

holders, including the entire local district and wider region . For many years we have been looking for the most sustainable solutions, taking the environment into account in every project we undertake . This sees us investing in projects that reduce the impact of airport activities on the environment and the surrounding area . We will continue to act likewise in the future .

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2Environmental care and a solid sustainability policy are important to us . They are an integral part of every activity, every project and every management decision . Two inter-national standards are cardinal in the structural imple-mentation of these concerns: ISO 14001 in the field of environmental management and ISO 50001 in the field of energy management . However, as the airport operator, we are not the only player at the airport . In all, around 260 companies operate at the airport, and, within the scope of our powers, we are committed to ensuring that each of these players pursues equivalent environmental care and energy management . We do so by providing information, through consultation and by raising awareness . As we have contractual ties with most of these businesses, their envi-ronmental care and energy management obligations are also laid down in these agreements .

Embedded in our business

Environmental and energy policy statementThe environmental and energy policy statement is an integral part of our environmental and energy manage-ment system in accordance with ISO standards . In this statement we reaffirm the importance of energy and environmental concerns in the sustainable development of the airport and we make a distinction between general principles and principles relating to specific environ-mental areas . The full policy statement is available to be consulted on our website .

Environmental certificate and energy certificateSince 1999 we have organised our environmental management in line with the ISO 14001 standard . This is

Environmental and sustainability policy

an internationally recognised standard that specifies the requirements which a sound environmental management system must satisfy . In 2000 our environmental policy was officially certified for the first time . Since then this has been successfully repeated every three years . In between times, an annual recertification audit is performed .

In 2012, our energy policy was also examined for the first time by external auditors . This audit too proved a success, making Brussels Airport the first airport in the world and one of the first companies in Belgium to be awarded the ISO 50001 certificate for its energy management .

The follow-up audit for environmental care and energy for 2014 was carried out in February . The external audi-tors concluded that efforts are continuing to develop the management system . The goals remain ambitious, and are aimed at continuous improvement .With regard to energy management, even more attention should be paid to monitoring and remedial action . The management system described and implemented meets the standards, with the exception of one minor devia-tion and two unresolved minor

“The core of our policy? To formulate ambitious but achievable goals that we

embed in our business strategy. To tackle problems and take on challenges, credibly

and without empty promises.”

Christel Vandenhouten - Brussels Airport Company - Head of Environment

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deviations from previous audits . It goes without saying that we will make additional efforts in 2014 to make sure these shortcomings are eliminated by the next external audit .

Environmental and energy programmeWorking on environmental care and energy management is never done and there is always room for improvement . That is why we devise an environmental programme containing measurable objectives every five years . For each of these objectives, every year actions are developed aimed at accomplishing these objectives step by step . The environmental programme specifies who is responsible, the timing for each action to be achieved and the allocated budgets . The energy programme sets out similar require-ments in the area of energy . The energy programme too is made concrete through annual actions .

The latest environmental programme dates back to 2011 and as such holds out objectives that should be achieved by 2015 . The energy programme also dates from 2011 and lays down objectives that should be achieved by 2020 .To be able to closely monitor the results of all envi-ronmental care and energy management actions, the Key Performance Indicators are tracked each month . Each quarter, these are presented to our Management Committee, which can adjust the environmental and energy actions if required .

Environmental communication

Our activities place us at the centre of the people, a lot of people . To begin with, our own employees and the 20,000 or so employees of the numerous other business that operate at the airport . But in addition there are also 19 million passengers a year and tens of thousands of people

who live near the airport . This makes careful external and internal environmental communication very important .

External environmental communicationThrough various channels, we endeavour to reach the widest possible audience with information about our envi-ronmental and energy policy, our environmental and energy performance and the environmental and energy objectives yet to be achieved . A first communication channel is consul-tation, with the neighbouring municipalities of Zaventem, Steenokkerzeel, Machelen and Kortenberg for instance . In doing so, important information about new projects and/or planned works is exchanged several times a year . Complaints are discussed and solutions devised to address any problems that may have arisen . The airport consulta-tion committee meets four times a year . The committee is made up of representatives from fourteen surrounding municipalities, the provincial authorities, local residents, interest groups, Belgocontrol and Brussels Airport obvi-ously . At these meetings, a lot of attention goes out to the issue of noise nuisance, but the committee members are also informed about our environmental policy .

Alongside these structural consultation platforms, 2013 also saw specific communication campaigns taking place . In 2013, in collaboration with OVAM and Fost Plus, a major awareness-raising campaign was staged to get passen-gers to sort the waste they produce at the airport more efficiently . And at the Brussels Airport Aviation Awards held on Thursday 20 March 2014, the ‘environment and safety award’ was presented for the seventh time, for the past year 2013 . Anyone who has particularly distinguished themselves in terms of environmental care and has contrib-uted to the continuous improvement of safety standards and awareness is eligible for the award . For 2013 Jetairfly won the environment award for modernising its fleet to include the quietest and most environmentally friendly

aircraft in its class and for implementing new, quieter landing procedures at the airport . Jetairfly also invested heavily in energy-saving technologies for the construction of its new hangar .

Anyone can contact our Environmental Department for complaints or questions relating to the environ-ment (ems@brusselsairport .be), with the exception of complaints relating to noise nuisance . These do not come under the responsibility of Brussels Airport, but are dealt with by an independent federal ombudsperson: www .airportmediation .be .

Internal environmental communicationWe are constantly working to improve environmental and energy awareness among our employees . As a result, ‘the environment’ has become a fully-fledged aspect of our company’s activities, that now plays a leading role in all projects and decisions . Because there is greater aware-ness of the Environmental Department, this department is contacted more often than was previously the case . The number of questions is on the rise, and unprompted proposals for improvements are being made .

We keep our colleagues informed of and involve them in the company’s environmental policy in many different ways via the intranet, in-house training courses, aware-ness-raising campaigns, etc .

The environmental co-ordinators of businesses that are based and/or carry out activities at the airport meet regu-larly at the impetus of Brussels Airport’s Environmental Department . The idea is to exchange information and adopt a joint approach to any environmental problems .

Environmental communication planIn the future, we are keen to communicate on a proactive basis about our environmental policy . To this end, in 2013 we put together an environmental communication plan . Key aspects of this plan include the definition of target groups, the formulation of key messages, the evaluation of the existing means of communication and the proposal of new means of communication . As part of this environ-mental communication plan, we have unreservedly chosen not to approach the environment as a ‘problem’ but as an ‘opportunity’ .The environmental communication plan will be imple-mented on a step-by-step basis from 2014 .

AimTo organise our activities in accordance with the ISO 14001 and ISO

50001 standards .

To communicate on a proactive, regular and positive basis about the

schemes we are putting in place to reduce our impact on the environ-

ment .

Actions for 2014The implementation of the environmental communication plan,

including the revamping of the annual environmental report and of the

‘environment’ section on the website and the creation of new partner-

ships at the airport .

The organisation of an Environment Day at the airport .

The creation of environment corners in the terminal buildings and

Piers .

Some of the treated surface water from the airport enters the Vogelenzang pond in Melsbroek . This pond recently became home to . . . a beaver!

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3If we are talking about the noise impact caused by the airport on the surrounding area, we need to distinguish between ‘air noise’ caused by airborne aircraft and aircraft taking off and landing on the one hand, and ‘ground noise’ on the other, which is caused by all manner of activities carried out at the airport itself .

The impact of ground noise is confined to the immediate vicinity of the airport . Here Brussels Airport has important responsibilities .

Air noise, conversely, also has an impact far beyond the airport . However, this is the responsibility of the federal government and Belgocontrol and falls outside of the scope of responsibility and powers of Brussels Airport . Nonetheless, as the airport operator we sedulously continue to measure and record both ground and air noise levels .

What determines the noise impact of the airport?

The location and configuration of the airportThe airport is situated to the north-east of Brussels . The airport site, which covers 1,245 hectares, is located on the territory of Machelen, Steenokkerzeel, Zaventem and Kortenberg .We have three fully equipped take-off and landing runways . Because a runway can be used in both direc-tions, in theory aircraft can take off and land in six different ways . Runways 07L/25R and 07R/25L are more or less in parallel and can consequently be used simultaneously .

The evolution of air trafficThe events of 11 September 2001 and the bankruptcy of Sabena in 2001, in amongst other airlines, brought an abrupt end to the strong growth in the number of move-

Noise ments at the airport . The number of passengers and flights fell by almost one third . Since 2002 the number of passengers has been rising, but with improved average load factors and the use of on average larger and quieter aircraft, the annual number of flights barely increased . In 2013, the number of movements fell to 216,678, a drop of around 3% compared with 2012 . In spite of this devel-opment, we have seen a slight increase in passenger numbers in each of the past two years . The use of larger aircraft and the further optimisation of the load factor per aircraft continue to play an important role in this respect .

The noise performance of aircraftThe noise performance of an aircraft is primarily deter-mined by the aircraft size and engine type . Gener-ally speaking, the larger the aircraft, the more noise it produces . And also: the more heavily loaded with passen-gers, cargo and fuel, the more noise the aircraft gener-ates . However, courtesy of the fast-paced technological developments, it is also true that the newer the aircraft, the less noise it makes . This explains why a large new aircraft often makes less noise than a smaller but older aircraft .To be able to pursue an efficient policy against noise nuisance, all aircraft are issued with a noise certificate .

RATIO OF TOTAL NUMBER OF AIRCRAFT MOVEMENTS TO TOTAL NUMBER OF PASSENGERS

1998

1999

200

0

200

1

200

2

200

3

200

4

200

5

200

6

2007

200

8

200

9

2010

2011

2012

2013

18,4

20

21,6

19,7

14,4

15,215,6

16,116,6

17,8

18,5

17 17,1

18,8 18,919,1

300

314

326

257252 252 253

255

264 259

232226

234

223

216

NUMBER OF PASSENGERS(in million)

NUMBER OF AIRCRAFT MOVEMENTS(x 1.000)

12 13

The aircraft are divided into categories, also known as ‘chapters’ .Chapter 2 aircraft are relatively old models whose engines no longer comply with the technological standards in terms of noise control . As a result, these airplanes have been banned from European airspace since 2002 . An example of this type of aircraft is the B-727-200 .

Chapter 3 aircraft were introduced onto the market between 1977 and 2006 . As this group covers a wide range of aircraft, within this group a further distinction is made between aircraft that only just meet the Chapter 3 requirements, i .e . the so-called marginally compliant aircraft, and aircraft that fully meet the requirements . Marginally compliant aircraft are no longer allowed at

Brussels Airport at night . Examples of this type of aircraft include the A320 and the B737-300 .Chapter 4 aircraft are the most recent, state-of-the-art aircraft . This group has been in existence since January 2006 . It includes aircraft that were developed only since then, or aircraft that are able to demonstrate, by way of a re-certification procedure, that they meet the Chapter 3 requirements with 10 dB(A) to spare . An example of this type of aircraft is the B-737-800 .

The number of night movementsOver the 2005-2007 time frame, the number of night movements approached the then ceiling of 25,000 move-ments per annum . Since 2008 this number has fallen sharply, partly through the departure of DHL and the

stricter measures introduced in 2009, also known as the ‘Schouppe Plan’ . This plan requires the number of night slots that may be issued each year by the airport slot co-ordinator to be confined to 16,000 a year, of which 5,000 are for departures . Over the 2009 - 2013 period, the number of night movements systematically rose from 13,233 in 2009 to 14,831 in 2013, of which 4,508 were departures .

Runway useThe preferential runway use is imposed by the competent Federal State Secretary for Mobility . This indicates which runway should preferably be used in consideration of the time of the flight, and in some cases also the destination and the type of aircraft used . The noise contour report for

2013, available at www .brusselsairport .be, provides an overview of the preferential runway use .Because safety is paramount at all times, the preferential runway use is made contingent on wind limits . If the cross wind or tail wind exceeds certain limits, the competent air traffic controller Belgocontrol selects the most suit-able alternative . Obviously Belgocontrol can also do so if a runway cannot be used, due to works for instance .Because the prevailing winds in our region are south-west-erly, aircraft normally take off in a westerly direction and land coming in from the east .

Weather conditionsAircraft preferably land and take off against the wind . In case of high winds, this is the only option in fact . But it is not only the wind that affects the noise impact . Generally speaking, an aircraft’s noise nuisance increases as the temperature rises . This is because hot air is thinner and offers less lift, which means an aircraft will take longer to climb to the desired height .

Mapping noise impact

By means of a noise monitoring systemA policy aimed at limiting the noise impact is impossible without a thorough understanding of the actual noise data . This is why our noise monitoring network (Noise Monitoring System or NMS) continues to remain so valu-able . Rolled out around the airport in 1990, it now consists of 21 noise measuring posts . The location of the meas-uring points was chosen in consideration of the normal flight paths . The measuring posts located a long way away from the airport measure the noise of overflying air traffic . Measuring posts closer to the airport record the noise of aircraft on the ground in addition to the noise of overflying airplanes .In order to comply with a number of statutory obliga-tions as imposed in our environmental permit, in 2012 we commissioned a completely modernised noise meas-uring system: the Airport Noise and Operation Manage-ment System (ANOMS) . This system links operational and meteorological data to the regular data supplied by the 21 noise measuring posts . The new system comes with a number of major benefits .

By linking noise data to flight data, the system checks to see if individual aircraft are generating excessive noise

MELSBROEK

NVILVOORDE

MACHELEN STEENOKKERZEEL

ERPS-KWERPS

KORTENBERGZAVENTEM

DIEGEM

TOPAS

PIER A

PIER B

25R/07

L

25L/07R

01/19

14 15

and whether or not they are deviating from the normal flight paths . These checks enable us to investigate complaints from local residents . Systematic noise recording allows the evolution of aircraft noise to be closely monitored . In amongst other things, these insights form the basis for establishing the noise contours .Due to the ever-increasing amount of data, we are constantly learning more: the flight behaviour of indi-vidual flights, for example, or which areas are most frequently overflown . The system also enables us to run quality simulations to determine the possible implica-tions of changes to flight routes .

By calculating noise contoursTo be able to map the noise levels at any location in and around the airport, annual noise contours have been compiled since 1996 . Noise contours are lines that join up points that have the same average noise level . A distinction is made between day, evening and night contours . The noise contours as such are not measured: they are calculated using simulations based

on an internationally recognised arithmetic model . In amongst other elements, these calculations are based on the flight paths (radar data), the aircraft types and their noise characteristics, the distance aircraft require to reach a particular height and other variables .The fact that the calculated noise contours provide a good depiction of reality is apparent from the fact that the actual data from the noise measurements closely match the data obtained from the model, with a margin of error of ±2 dB(A) .

What is the evolution of the noise impact of the airport?We know how the noise impact is evolving by comparing the surface areas within these noise contours . Between

2000 and 2003, the total surface area within the noise contours fell by 52% .The number of highly annoyed people, determined in compliance with Vlarem regulations inside the 55 dB Lden noise contour, has greatly diminished, from just under 34,000 people in 2000 to fewer than 12,000 people in 2013 . This represents a reduction of 66% . The decrease in the number of (night-time) movements and the evolution towards the use of more modern (and therefore quieter!) aircraft, in particular, have played an important part in this . Alongside the reasons cited above, this result was influenced by weather conditions in 2013 . Because of the comparatively high proportion of wind coming in from the east, aircraft were seen to take off more often from runways 07L and 07R, which meant

less densely populated areas were overflown .Detailed noise contour reports from 2000 through 2013 are available on our website .

THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE HIGHLY ANNOYED

200

0

200

1

200

2

200

3

200

4

200

5

200

6

2007

200

8

200

9

2010

2011

2012

2013

40000

35000

30000

25000

2000

15000

10000

5000

0

Source: K.U.Leuven, Laboratorium voor Akoestiek en Thermische Fysica, 2014

EVOLUTION LDEN OF THE NOISE CONTOURS FROM 2000 THROUGH 2013

0 2. 600 5 . 2001 . 300 Meters

LegendLden noise contour of 55 dB

YEAR 2013

YEAR 2000

16 17

Limiting noise impact

Ground noiseContrary to what is true for the noise nuisance gener-ated by airborne aircraft, Brussels Airport is competent to limit the noise generated by ground operations . Over the years, quite a few measures have been put in place to roll back this nuisance as much as possible .To reduce the noise from taxiing aircraft, sound walls have been built along Steenokkerzeel village centre .Since the 1990s, all new contact gates and the western remote aircraft stands have been equipped with 400 Hz ground power supply and pre-conditioned air hoses . This has enabled us to avoid resorting to noisy aircraft power units or mobile ground power units .Most aircraft are fuelled with kerosene from underground pipes, so that the airport is now almost completely free of tanker traffic .Run-up tests of repaired aircraft engines are performed only at the most central location of the airport . This has significantly reduced the nuisance for the surrounding area, certainly compared with the unavoidable back-ground noise of an operational airport . The same location is used by the Belgian Air Force to perform engine run-up tests for its C130 aircraft .

Air noiseOver the years, a great many measures have been put in place to reduce the impact of airborne noise around the airport .

Flight banChapter 2 aircraft have been banned from the European airspace since 2002 . Since 2008, marginally compliant aircraft are also banned between 23 .00 and 06 .00 . ‘Marginally compliant aircraft’ are aircraft that meet the noise standards of Chapter 3 aircraft by too small a margin .

Quota restrictionsUsing an arithmetic formula, a ‘quota count’ (amount of noise) is calculated for each aircraft for landing and for take-off setting out from the noise certificate . By imposing a maximum value on the permissible amount of noise nuisance per flight, noisy aircraft are banned during certain periods . The restric-tions imposed by way of the ‘quota counts’ make Brussels Airport one of the strictest European airports in terms of controlling the impact of noise .

Collaborative Decision MakingCollaborative Decision Making (CDM) has a positive effect on taxiing times and therefore also on ground noise and emissions . CDM is a collaboration between Brussels Airport and Eurocontrol, Belgocontrol, the main handlers and the main airlines . On average, we are managing to cut taxiing time per flight by three minutes, which has a significant effect on total annual noise generation .

Limiting the number of night slotsEach calendar year there is a maximum of 16,000 night slots, of which no more than 5,000 are for aircraft taking off .

Quiet weekend nightsSince 25 October 2009, night slots can no longer be allocated for departures during the night of Friday into Saturday between 01 .00 and 06 .00 and during the nights of Saturday into Sunday and Sunday into Monday between 00 .00 and 06 .00 .

Differentiation of landing feesThe noise characteristics of the aircraft are taken into consideration in the rates applied for landing and take-off fees . The more noise is generated, the higher the fees . For older, noisier aircraft, airlines pay 10 to 40% more than they do for more modern, quieter aircraft in the same weight class . In addition, considerably higher landing and take-off fees are charged for night flights to discourage the latter . In doing so, the difference between the fees for two aircraft of the same weight can be up to five times as much, purely as a result of the amount of noise generated and the time of the flight .

AimsTo pursue reduced noise impact of airport activities .

To fulfil the statutory obligations relating to the noise data manage-

ment .

To pursue a stable statutory framework .

Actions for 2014To set up an action plan to reduce the impact of ground noise on the

surrounding area .

To optimise the existing noise reports by using the full potential of the

new Airport Noise and Operations Monitoring System (ANOMS) .

“The noise standards here are among the strictest in Europe.

Our airlines therefore not only choose quieter aircraft,

they also constantly strive for greater efficiency

and technological progress.”

Steven Palmans

Brussels Airport Company - Head of Cargo

www.brusselsairport.be/en/db

18 19

4Operating an economic growth engine such as the airport inevitably goes hand in hand with considerable energy consumption . Inside the buildings this is mainly for heating and cooling units . Lighting, both inside the buildings and on the tarmac, is also a major consumer . Various energy sources are used: from fossil fuels, ranging from gas and fuel oil, to purchased green elec-tricity and our own electricity generated by solar panels . Over the years we have managed to significantly slash our total energy consumption .

A policy based on Trias Energetica

Both from a business economy perspective and from an environment viewpoint, we attach great importance to

keeping our energy consumption as low as possible and on limiting the environmental impact of unavoidable energy consumption as widely as possible . 2012 was a turning point in this regard, as this was when Brussels Airport became the first airport in the world to be certi-fied in accordance with the principles of the ISO 50001 energy management system . This certification was the impetus we needed to focus our ambitions . The target is to reduce primary energy consumption per square meter by 20% by 2020 .To bring about a continuous improvement in energy performance and also be able to systematically reduce CO2 emissions, we have adopted the cornerstones of the Trias Energetica:

Energy

Limiting energy consumption

Energy accountingIn order to meticulously map the evolution of our energy consumption, we use a telemetric measuring network . A total of 32 users are monitored who use the heat generated in the two central combustion plants . As with gas, there is also a telemetric network for electricity . All of these consumption data are entered directly into an energy accounting programme . From this energy accounting we learned that our total energy consump-

tion has fallen over the years . We also see that our energy consumption has no direct link to increasing passenger numbers, but is largely dependent on the energy efficiency of the infrastructure and, obviously, … the weather .

Fuel oilOnly a small number of individual combustion plants for heating buildings and the emergency generators are powered by fuel oil . As a result, fuel oil represents a mere 2% of the total energy consumption .In 2013, the total amount of fuel oil consumed stood at 133,077 litres .

Natural gasTwo large boiler rooms powered by natural gas are responsible for heating a considerable number of build-ings at the airport:6 boilers with a joint thermal input of 139 .2 MW2 boilers with a joint thermal input of 19 .4 MWIn 2013, the total amount of natural gas consumed was 92,771,420 kWhgcv . This equates to the annual consumption of around 4,000 families . Gcv stands for gross calorific value and indicates the energy content of the natural gas .

redu

ce e

nerg

y co

nsum

ptio

n

1

increase proportion

of renewable energy

2

3efficient use of fossil fuels

With thanks to the bar-brasserie Belle & Belge

20 21

Aim for 2020To reduce the primary energy* consumption of Brussels Airport by 20% per m2 compared with the 2009 base year .

* ‘Primary energy’ is the energy required at the source to cover the ultimate energy consumption . This means that for a consumption of 1 kWh of electricity for example, as much as 2 .72 kWh energy is needed at the source . The reason being that a considerable percentage of the energy is lost during the generation of electricity, during transport, etc .

Actions for 2014To complete the CHP study and get phase one under way .

To further examine solar energy projects on the airport site .

To continue ‘good housekeeping’ inside the terminal buildings (e .g ., detailed installation analysis)

Aerodrome lighting systems: use LED technology .

Various replacements of the old lighting by new, more energy-effi-cient lighting in the terminal and street lights .

Replacement of the cooling installations in the new terminal .

Pilot project on demand-based ventilation in the terminal zone .

Further reduction of the electricity consumption of baggage hand-ling (‘Wave’ concept)

During an extensive internal audit we were unable to show whether all the documents required by law were in place . This year, all the information will be combined in a database and the missing info will be supplemented .

To compile new energy plans for 2014-2018 .

To update the energy measuring system and review our methods .

To step up awareness of the principles of the energy policy within the company (e .g ., energy campaign) .

ElectricityElectrical power consumption at the airport is to be attributed both to consumption inside the buildings, including for the purposes of lighting, ventilation, cooling and baggage belts, and to outdoor lighting and marker beacons on the tarmac and the runways . The power supplied to aircraft at the gates also contributes to this consumption .The total amount of electricity consumed by Brussels Airport in 2013 stood at 82,526,640 kWh . This equates to the annual consumption of around 24,000 families .

VehiclesThe consumption of our company vehicles represents just 3% of the total energy consumption . Yet here too, we are looking into new possibilities, in collaboration with the airport partners . The chapter on mobility discusses this at greater length .

LED lightingTo limit the demand for energy, new techniques are being tested . Lighting using LED bulbs is a key element in this, as the use of this kind of bulbs results in signifi-cant energy savings . Inside the buildings, energy-saving bulbs are used wherever possible, and a new genera-tion of LED bulbs is now also being used . LED bulbs are also a viable alternative for the operational aerodrome lighting systems . In 2013, more than 600 bulbs were replaced by LED bulbs on runway 25R and taxiway A6 . Initial results are promising: together, the beacons at the airport consumed 10% less in 2013 than in previous years .

Increasing the proportion of renewable energy

Since September 2010 we have only bought green elec-tricity . However, we have made the deliberate decision to generate some of our electricity ourselves using renewable energy .

Solar energyInstalling solar panels at an airport is not exactly straightforward . A feasibility study investigated whether solar panels affect radar and other air traffic control systems and/or reflect sunlight that could cause problems for pilots, for example . A trial project on the roof of one of the fire service buildings in 2010 provided a conclusive answer, and in doing so also gave the go-ahead for larger installations to be put in place .

In 2011, a large solar panel park was installed on the roof of a Brucargo freight building, with 7,220 panels now delivering an annual energy yield of around 1,500 MWh, which is comparable to the electricity consump-tion of around 450 families . At the end of 2013 a second solar panel park was opened . The new park is at ground level on the edge of the airport site . In total, these 5,760 extra solar panels, covering a surface area of 1 .7 hectares, generate 1,100 MWh, comparable to the annual electricity consump-tion of more than 300 families .

This takes the total annual generation of our own solar energy facilities to 2,600 MWh, which equals the elec-trical power consumption of 750 families . The solar energy, which is fed straight into the airport’s distribu-tion network, now generates more than 3% of our elec-tricity requirements .

Cold-heat storageCold-heat storage (CHS) is a method of storing energy in the ground in the form of cold or heat . In the summer, cold ground water is used to cool buildings . If this ground water is heated after the summer, this heat can be used by a heat pump to heat buildings during winter .In 2013, a pilot project was put in place, with a positive outcome . As a result, CHS is one of the technologies that will be used to provide the Connector, the building that will connect the terminal to pier A, with sustain-able heat and cooling . The first phase is set to get under way in 2014: the installation of a heat pump .

Efficient use of fossil fuels

Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is not a sustainable energy source in itself, but means that electricity and heat are generated simultaneously, thereby producing energy savings in the process . One requirement for this is that the heat and electricity can be used on site . This is obviously not a problem on a densely built-up airport site .

In 2012, a study got underway that looked into the feasibility of a CHP installation . This would allow us to generate some of our own electricity and use the residual heat released for heating purposes . The result of this study was positive, and the concept will be further examined as part of the four-year energy plans . The first phase of the implementation is planned for 2014 .

At the same time, we are looking into possible improve-ments to the conventional installations This applies to the cooling and heating installations, for instance . Because these installations consume so much energy, stepping up their energy efficiency by just a few per cent leads to significant savings .

HOW DOES COLD/HEAT STORAGE WORK?

HEAT PUMP

HEAT EXCHANGER

COOLED GROUNDWATER HEATED COOLING WATER

BUILDING HEATING OR

COOLING

www.brusselsairport.be/en/kwo

22 23

5Our policy for limiting air emissions obviously focuses on the aspects for which we are competent . In practice this comes down almost exclusively to the emissions gener-ated by our combustion plants . Yet we also help avoid air emissions from air traffic . We do so by working with other partners at the airport in accordance with the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme .

Air emissions by Brussels Airport

Acidifying/ozone-forming emissions and particulate matterIn total, sixteen combustion plants are used to heat the airport buildings . Fourteen of these plants have a limited capacity, and together account for around 3% of the total heat generation . The two other boiler rooms jointly provide almost all the heating for the airport infrastruc-

ture . Because of the size of the activity, various air emis-sion rules apply to the two largest combustion plants . Due to their limited size, the emissions of the fourteen smaller installations do not need to be analysed every quarter, only every five years . The two largest combustion plants are checked for emis-sions of acidifying and ozone-forming emissions such as CO, NOX and particulate matter (PM10 and PM2 .5) . The values measured are tested both against the threshold values of the European emissions register and against the emission limit values set out in Vlarem II . The emission limit value is the permissible quantity of a substance that may be released into the air along with the flue gases of a combustion plant over a certain length of time . For the various flue gas measurements taken at Brussels Airport in 2013, the measured values are well below the emission limit values for all the standards cited .

Air

CO2 emissionsSince the combustion plant of Building 16 has a capacity of more than 20 MW, it is considered a ‘greenhouse gas (GHG) installation’ and qualifies for carbon dioxide emission offsetting . For the 2013-2020 offsetting period, the amount of CO2 that we are allowed to emit is limited . This amount is seen to go down year on year . If we exceed this limit we are required to purchase extra emission rights elsewhere .Thanks to a whole series of small and large ener-gy-saving measures on the combustion plants, over the past ten years we have managed to achieve a hefty reduction in CO2 emissions . As such, 2013 was the year with the lowest CO2 emissions ever . Over the years ahead too, we will continue to bring efforts to further drive down CO2 emissions . These actions have been laid down in the energy programme .

Emission limit values according to Vlarem II (in mg/Nm³)

Dust SO2 NOx COBuilding 16: boiler 1, 2, 4 and 5

50 35 300 250

Building 16: boiler 3A and 3B

50 35 150 250

MAXIMUM QUANTITY OF ‘FREE’ CO2 EMISSIONS (IN TONNES)

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

11.3

04

10.11

7

8.96

0

7.84

0

6.75

4

5.70

3

4.68

6

3.70

7

24 25

AimTo reduce the primary energy consumption of Brussels Airport by 20%

per m2 in 2020, compared with the 2009 base year .

Actions for 2014To maintain ACA level 3 certification . To this end, we are taking the

following steps:

updating our emissions inventory

updating our action plan

corroborating the CO2 reduction

Investigation of alternative fuels (filling station for trucks that run on

natural gas) at Brussels Airport’s ‘Brucargo’ cargo site .

To further examine and test electric cars for use both airside and

landside . We will also endeavour to involve handlers in this .

Thanks to these and other actions together with the airport partners, in 2013 we again obtained the level 3 certificate from the Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) programme, established by Airport Council Interna-tional Europe (ACI), the professional association of airport operators . ACI represents over 400 airports from around Europe and encourages its members to

unambiguously and independently establish their CO2 emissions and to promote schemes to reduce these emissions . The scheme has four levels . The first level confirms the make-up of an externally audited CO2 footprint of the airport company . In a second phase a CO2 reduc-tion action plan is put together, including long-term targets . The joint development of measures to reduce CO2 emissions with other airport partners is the third step . The fourth and highest level rewards airports that are completely carbon neutral .

The colder it gets, the more fuel has to be burned . There are years with severe and mild winters, which makes it difficult to compare one year with another . To accurately interpret the efforts to reduce CO2 emissions, for each year we also calculated a ‘weather-corrected’ emission . This figure factors in the official reference temperatures of the KMI (Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium) .

Reducing aircraft emissions

Although emissions from aircraft engines do not come within our scope of competence or responsibility, Brus-sels Airport is collaborating on projects that will help reduce CO2 emissions by aircraft in the short or long term .

Continuous Descent OperationsBelgian airspace is one of the busiest and most complex in Europe . Aircraft therefore generally land here using a stair-step approach instead of constant angle descent (a continuous gliding movement) . However, if the airspace

gets a little less busy, in principle aircraft could land in a single gliding approach . This technique is known as Continuous Descent Operations (CDO) .

Which is why, along with Belgocontrol, Brussels Airlines and with the support of the European Union, we exam-ined which benefits CDO could offer us . The results of more than 3,000 test flights showed a remarkable fuel saving and consequently a significant reduction in CO2 emissions . The perceptible noise level from the ground was also measurably lower . For example, an Airbus 320 saves 160 kilograms of CO2 by performing a CDO landing . This equates to an average car journey of 1,000 kilometres . In addition, 2 dB(A) less noise is produced upon landing . An Airbus 330 saves as much as 315 kilograms of CO2 adopting the CDO landing technique, which equates to an average car journey of 2,000 km and produces 3 dB(A) less noise .This green landing technique is currently being continued by the companies that carried out the test . The results will be published in official procedures to hopefully inspire other airlines .

Collaborative Decision MakingCollaborative Decision Making (CDM) involves strict procedures for operational collaboration between different parties involved in preparing and carrying out a flight . As such, CDM brings shorter taxiing times and a lower fuel consumption and consequently a drop in emissions and ground noise . In 2010, Brussels Airport became the second airport in Europe to be certified as a CDM airport . Since 2007 the average duration of an outgoing ground movement at the airport has fallen by more than three minutes . This yields a reduction of 18,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum .

CO2 EMISSIONS PER ANNUM BY THE COMBUSTION PLANTS (IN TONNES)

2003

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

26.6

83 28.0

66

23.0

74 24.9

55

21.3

33 23.2

91

19.0

89

23.4

96

19.9

38 21.2

89

19.3

77

20.7

00 22.6

68

19.8

17

17.0

81

20.9

35

18.0

82

18.3

62

16.7

65

15.6

15

ACTUALLY EMITTED

CLIMATE-CORRECTED

“In both Zaventem and Steenokkerzeel, a VMM measuring station constantly monitors the quality of the air against a wide range of parameters. Both municipalities are among the best-monitored locations in Flanders.”

Koen Toté - Vlaamse Milieumaatschappij - Dienst Lucht - Specifieke Studies

CDO (CONTINUOUS DESCENT OPERATIONS)

www.brusselsairport.be/en/cdo

26 27

6At the airport, we are exposed to a great deal of water, in every guise going . There are the large volumes of rain-water that need to be removed from the paved airport surfaces after every shower . There are also the tens of thousands of travellers and employees who consume mains water every day . Finally, there is also the large amount of waste water that requires treatment .

Water management

We have an important responsibility in the management of water inside and outside the airport . Which is why we have laid down the details of this water management approach in a policy with clear objectives .The consumption of the main buildings (terminals, Pier A and B) is monitored and analysed each month . We

monitor the consumption of smaller buildings (offices, fire stations, central warehouse, garage, etc .) at least once a year . Using all these data we are set to put out a detailed water balance in 2014 . Once the water sources and consumption levels have been properly mapped, we will be in a position to set afoot our ambitious water strategy for the years ahead .

Mains water

The great number of passengers (on average 50,000 a day) and employees (in total around 20,000) consume a significant amount of mains water . The water is chiefly used for sanitary purposes, cooling and air humidification in the terminals, the piers and in the smaller buildings . At present, we only use mains water for these purposes .

Water Which is why it is so important to adopt water-saving tech-niques and to use rainwater instead of mains water, wher-ever possible . To make this possible we are keen to adapt the existing infrastructure wherever feasible . Henceforth, when constructing new buildings we will analyse water consumption as part of a preliminary study . This will be done for the first time as part of the study project for a new fire station .From now on, we will also be fitting all new buildings with waterless urinals in both the existing public toilets and future toilet blocks, which will enable us to save a total of 8 .5% mains water .

From now on we will rinse the rotary sieve in our water treatment plant using treated waste water instead of mains water, which represents a saving of 1,460,000 litres per annum .

Waste water

In 2010 we commissioned our own water treatment plant . This plant treats up to 2,400 m³ of waste water a day, including:waste water from the sanitary facilities in the airport buildings;

waste water from aircraft toilets;rainwater that runs off the platforms where aircraft are de-iced during the winter period .Because the composition of our waste water varies considerably, it is difficult to treat . A unique treatment concept was therefore developed in collaboration with Trevi . This plant is comparable to a treatment plant that treats waste water for 8,000 residents .In spite of this considerable capacity, our water treatment plant does not process all of the airport’s waste water flows . Water from the area around the entrance road is drained to the public Brussels-North water treatment plant . Waste water from Brucargo, Belgocontrol and the military airport is treated at the Aquafin public water treatment plant in Steenokkerzeel .

In 2013, an ‘additional central de-icing platform’ was constructed where the de-icing water from aircraft is collected in two underground tanks before being taken to the water treatment plant .

Brabant Golf Club is irrigated with surface water from the airport .

www.brusselsairport.be/en/wastewater

28 29

To put in place the water balance and the necessary moni-toring controls, two flow meters were installed to be able to continuously monitor the flow of sanitary waste water and de-icing water .

Rainwater

The entire airport site covers approximately 1,245 hectares . Almost half of that, some 500 hectares, consists of paved surfaces and roofs . Viewed over a full year, each day an average of 10 million litres of precipitation (rain, hail and snow) is carried away . Which is the same amount as the volume of five Olympic swimming pools! All of this water is carried away via separate sewers to two balancing reser-voirs . Together these balancing reservoirs have a capacity of 260,000 m³ . They see to it that the collected rainwater is gradually released into the Lellebeek, Leibeek, Bare-beek and Molenbeek . This prevents the municipalities situated more downstream from having to process too much water coming from the airport in extreme weather conditions . A small amount of the rainwater is drained off

to the Brussels-North waste water treatment plant via the mixed sewer system .

To prevent oil or kerosene from ending up in the balancing reservoirs, the rainwater passes through at least one hydrocarbon separator . The capacity of the largest hydro-carbon separator allows the total contents of a kerosene tanker of 80,000 litres to be processed in the event of an accident at the airport .In 2013, a permanent shut-off valve was installed in the southern part of the airport grounds that holds back extinguishing water or heavily polluted water in case of an emergency, after which it can be removed . Mobile shut-off valves were also purchased, so that the sewers can be sealed anywhere in the airport in case of an envi-ronmental incident .

Carrying rainwater away en masse could lead to a drop in groundwater levels . To address this we built a large infil-tration basin by the ‘Korenberg’ long-stay car park . Here, rainwater can easily penetrate into the substrate through

ten vertical gravel shafts . To avoid any risk of pollution, here too the rainwater is first made to pass through a hydrocarbon separator and a sludge .

In accordance with provincial and regional rainwater regu-lations, when constructing new buildings, the hierarchy of reuse, infiltration and buffering of rainwater is observed .In 2013, oxygen meters were installed in the two balancing reservoirs so that the aerators can be activated if the oxygen demand increases .

AimTo reduce the annual consumption of mains water for our company’s

activities by 2% compared to the 2010 reference year .

Actions for 2014 Modification of the water treatment plant: dimensioning study of an

extra buffer reservoir for the storage of de-icing water .

Development of a water strategy based on the water balance .

“By treating the waste water,

the quality of the water in the Lopende Beek stream

has improved significantly. Life has been restored

to the stream and the water can now also

be used to irrigate the nearby golf course.”

Jacky Mortelmans - Trevi – bestuurder

Because the composition of the waste water varies considerably, the water treatment plant was developed according to a unique concept .

www.brusselsairport.be/en/reservoir

30 31

7Brussels Airport is keen to help solve the issue of traffic congestion around Brussels . We can achieve this by developing our airport into a fully-fledged mobility hub for the airport users as well as for the entire region . This means that you should be able to swiftly switch from one mode of transport to another at the airport, be it aircraft, train, bus, bicycle or car . To ensure this, the focus of attention now needs to go out to better and more frequent public transport and improved cycling facilities .

Train

On average, 180 trains stop at the airport every day . The commissioning of the last piece of the Diabolo link in

June 2012 meant that the airport is now also directly connected to Mechelen and Antwerp . As a result, direct connections to The Netherlands are now also possible .From December 2014, the number of trains and train links will be stepped up even further . This will see six trains departing for Brussels every hour, with more direct links to The Netherlands, Bruges, Kortrijk and Mons .Train links with the south of the country will be made possible once the infrastructure works in Brussels city centre are completed in 2016 . The important thing is that this will also allow travellers to reach the heart of the European quarter in Brussels directly by train without having to take the saturated North-South link .We have structural consultations with the NMBS and

Mobility and accessibility

Infrabel on a regular basis to jointly set up actions to further promote the use of trains to and from the airport . For instance, we now have two ticket dispensers in the baggage reclaim hall, allowing passengers to buy their ticket whilst waiting for their luggage . The NMBS infor-mation screen in the arrivals hall has also been updated to provide clearer travel information and focus attention on the train .

Bus and tram

Every day, around 1,000 buses shuttle to and from the airport . We are also actively working with De Lijn to further improve local links . At the end of 2013, the third-party payer agreement was extended for four years, so that the use of buses at the airport site remains free of charge .

“By strengthening the airport as a mobility hub, we are helping to solve the problem of

queuing around Brussels. At the moment this means focusing mainly on more public transport and improved cycling facilities.”

Alain Vandenplas - Brussels Airport Company - Mobility & Intermodality Manager

32 33

We also have structural consultations with De Lijn on a regular basis to jointly set up actions to further promote the use of buses to and from the airport and to better match the bus services to the needs of the companies operating at the airport .We are also actively involved in a study by De Lijn to ensure better local access from the region around the airport with new tram connections .

Car

In 2012, we launched a trial project on the use of electric cars, in which charging points and an electric car were tested over a six-month period . We have since purchased our first electric car as a company car, and the purchase of a number of electric service vehicles is planned . The first charging point has been installed at the offices so that visitors can charge their vehicles for free . In doing

so, we want to help find a solution to the chicken-or-the-egg problem whereby not enough charging points are installed because there are not enough electric cars and not enough cars are bought because there are not enough charging points .In 2013, it was agreed to install more charging infra-structure . The next charging point will be installed in the airport’s largest staff car park in the first half of 2014 .In 2013, we also introduced a flexible mobility budget for company employees . Since then, executive staff members can choose a car in combination with a railway or bus season ticket . This enables them to use public transport for workplace travel and the car in their leisure time .

Bicycle

There is a decent cycling infrastructure at the main loca-

tions of the airport, but this could be improved further . For example, we can be reached safely via a shielded cycle path from the roundabout in Zaventem and there is a covered and CCTV-monitored bicycle and motorbike parking facility .In building the new access roads to Brucargo, cyclists were taken into consideration . Since 2011, they can reach the airport via a separate cycle bridge over the E19 and a tunnel under the interchange .

A further 32 spaces have been added to the bicycle park at the bus station . Agreements have been signed with Bluebike to make shared bikes available at the bus station .

The province of Flemish Brabant is continuing to develop its fast bicycle link between Leuven and Brus-sels . In 2014, a technical implementation study will be performed to allow this route to branch off to the airport and run through the airport site .

AimTo reduce our primary energy consumption by 20% per m2 in 2020

compared with the 2009 base year .

Actions for 2014Further implementation of the new mobility policy for our staff .

Develop a parking plan .

. .

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8In the past, aviation and aircraft maintenance often involved soil contamination . Which is why we are charting the quality of the soil by way of soil tests . Depending on the nature and location of the contamination, the contaminated plots will then be cleaned up .

Soil tests

The soil and groundwater quality of all the land sold to Brussels Airport by the Belgian State in 2001 has been systematically mapped . This was done by means of 898 exploratory soil analyses (ESAs) . In one third of cases a descriptive soil analysis (DSA) was required to obtain more details of the nature of the contamination . In

accordance with the provisions of the Soil Decree, we also carry out ESAs and DSAs when concluding new contracts or renewing existing contracts .

The ESAs performed show that 94 .8% of the airport plots examined are not contaminated . For 4% of the land, the contamination found remains to be tackled . For 1 .2%, there is limited contamination that does not require a clean-up .

If there is no statutory requirement to perform an ESA when concluding new contracts or renewing existing contracts, then we take it upon ourselves to have an indicative soil analysis (ISA) carried out . With the ISA

Soil the condition of the soil and groundwater at that time is recorded and included in the contract . A similar soil analysis is then carried out at the end of the agreement . If contamination is identified, the third party will be required to restore the quality of the soil, in consultation with Brussels Airport .

Soil information system

The results of all soil analyses are recorded in a soil information system (SIS), purpose-designed for us . The system allows us to map the quality of the soil and groundwater at the airport site . In doing so, we at all times have a fully up-to-date picture of the quality of the soil at the plots we own .

Soil sanitation projects

If soil contamination is identified after carrying out a DSA, a soil sanitation project is drawn up . At the same time, the feasibility of one or more clean-up techniques is reviewed . Only after this can the actual clean-up work begin . Since Brussels Airport became the owner of the land, seven soil sanitation projects have already been drawn up:

• Substation – building 319: contamination with mineral oil;

• the old fuel farm: contamination with mineral oil, PAHs and BTEX;

• Building 23: contamination with chromium (6) and chlorinated solvents;

• the Old Access Lane: contamination with mineral oil and naphthalene;

• SECA station: contamination with mineral oil;• Building 212: contamination with mineral oil, chlorin-

ated solvents and BTEX;• Building 40 (DCM): contamination with mineral oil .

Some of these have already been cleaned up . As soon as the soil sanitation projects are approved by OVAM, we can also begin cleaning up the land at building 23, building 212 and building 40 (DCM station) .

In 2014, the soil sanitation project for buildings 7, 8 and 13 (North Complex) will be completed and a soil sanitation project will be drawn up for the contamination found at building 739 as a result of a leaking fuel oil tank and at car park 28, where an old kerosene tank was the cause .

In 2013, a clean-up operation was performed at outer

36 37

6 after 700 to 800 litres of kerosene leaked onto the grass there at the end of 2012 (as a result of a leaky fuel tank in the left wing of a Boeing 744) . The necessary soil samples were collected on the day of the incident . Anal-ysis revealed a serious soil contamination . Based on this it was decided to excavate the contaminated soil as a precaution . In total, 54 cargos of contaminated soil were removed for processing .

Earthworks

A great deal of construction work takes place at the airport each year . Since 2003, contaminated soil that is excavated during such work has had to be processed in a soil treatment centre .Every time we give the order to bring in, excavate or take away soil, this soil is examined by a recognised soil sanitation expert . In this way we ensure that the quality of the soil delivered to a site is at least as good as the quality of the soil already present . Our Environmental Department co-ordinates the production of all technical reports, checks the transport documents and the soil management reports approved by the recognised soil sanitation organisation .

In 2013, there was a great deal of earthworks due to construction and/or infrastructure works on apron 9 caused by the moving of the airport perimeter road, the creation of the landscape hill and the construction of the Connector . The soil excavated to build the Connector was processed in a soil treatment centre . The soil from apron 9 was checked and used to create the landscape hill .

Environmental emergency plan

Our organisation is not only geared to normal situations, but also to exceptional events such as environmental

incidents . The main environmental risks at the airport are leaking containers, the illegal dumping of waste or contaminated soil, air emissions following a fire and the discharge of extinguishing water into the sewer system .

All the arrangements for the reporting and subsequent handling of environmental incidents are set down in the environmental emergency plan . With the help of a risk analysis it is determined which of these incidents are the most significant and what steps have to be taken in that case .Co-operation between different departments is vitally important in preventing and handling environmental incidents . Both fire-fighters and airport safety inspectors, who play an important role in managing environmental risks, receive regular training on environmental incidents . The environmental emergency plan is also practised twice a year by staging an environmental incident .

In 2013, there were a great many initiatives to further improve the efficiency of the emergency plan: on 27 April a major crash simulation was carried out with fictional injuries and fatalities . This occasion was also used to practise the environmental emergency plan . The results were positive .• To be able to tackle an environmental incident

quicker and more efficiently, the airport fire service was equipped with an environmental truck containing all the materials needed in the event of an environmental incident .

• To block off the sewer system within the smallest possible perimeter from the environmental incident, extra mobile sewer sealing cushions were purchased .

AimsTo clean up soil and groundwater in the event of contamination .

Actions for 2014Clean up the contamination at building 23 and building 212 .

Carry out and report on soil analyses as part of the merger of Brussels

Airport Holding and The Brussels Airport Company in July 2013 .

This merger transferred the land from The Brussels Airport Company

to Brussels Airport Holding and the Vlarebo legislation had to be

followed . This means that all at-risk plots had to be analysed .

“Together with Brussels Airport,

we not only manage historical pollution

of the soil, above all we

also avoid new contamination.” .

Herman De Bruyne

ESHER milieuadvies - manager

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9Our waste policy is ambitious and successful: year after year we increase the proportion of waste that is selec-tively collected . Over ten years, the amount of residual waste has fallen by 25% . We therefore encourage all companies that are active at the airport to adopt our waste policy . We contractually impose specific guidelines on them, inform them about the possibilities for waste sorting and organise awareness-raising campaigns .

Several commercial partners in the terminal buildings and various freight companies organise their own waste management . Baggage handlers, catering companies and airport users with activities outside the terminal buildings are also responsible for collecting their waste .

The results of their waste policy are therefore not included in the figures in this report .

Waste collection

Since 2012 we have been working with waste collector and processor Sita . Sita collects our own waste along with that of most of the commercial partners at the airport . The different waste fractions are weighed and the costs of processing the waste calculated . Good sorting is rewarded financially .

The airport companies make intensive use of the various container parks for selective waste collection in

Wastethe terminals (waste from public areas, shops, restau-rants and offices) and at Brucargo (waste from technical installations and freight companies) . In addition, various smaller collection points are provided at strategic loca-tions: in office buildings, fire service buildings and tech-nical services .

Trained staff are available at the collection points to record the waste stream and provide advice and assis-tance with sorting . To further optimise the selective collection of waste, we raise awareness among our own employees, staff of commercial partners and employees of maintenance companies by:• providing training on waste sorting;• organising consultation meetings between the

various partners;• organising waste workshops;• communicating the results of the waste sorting .

The following actions were implemented in 2013:• the waste delivered to the container parks is

weighed;• the selective collection of the waste delivered to

the container parks is more strictly controlled;• faster and more detailed reporting ensures swifter

follow-up .

In 2014, we will also investigate whether it is possible to process kitchen waste, grass clippings and the sludge from the water treatment plant in our own waste diges-tion plant .

www.brusselsairport.be/en/waste

40 41

Hazardous waste

This category comprises a great many types of waste, such as:• waste oil, oil filters, aerosols and other mate-

rials used for maintenance work on vehicles and installations;

• absorbent materials from fire service interventions;• polluted soil from soil sanitation work;• electronic waste, mercury vapour lamps, packaging

for hazardous products, aerosols, etc .

Non-hazardous waste

With 20,000 members of staff and an average of 50,000 passengers a day, the airport is like a small town . The main waste stream therefore consists of non-hazardous waste . This waste is mainly formed by:• residual waste, paper and cardboard from offices;• kitchen waste and glass from commercial partners

in the terminal buildings;• various sorts of waste from passengers .

Unfortunately it is extremely difficult in practice to force passengers to sort waste . Also, passengers from other countries are not always familiar with our sorting rules . In 2013, we therefore launched a major aware-ness-raising campaign together with OVAM and Fost Plus . Waste bins were given new stickers in recognis-able colours . They were also placed in more visible, stra-tegic locations . Recent measurements show that these actions have been successful . Before the changes, a little more than half the waste ended up in the wrong bin, meaning that it often had to be processed as residual waste . Today our passengers correctly sort 71% of PMC and even 89% of paper and cardboard . The amount of PMC collected has risen from 5 to 27 tonnes .

In total, around 1,838 tonnes of residual waste, 27 tonnes of PMC, 363 tonnes of paper and cardboard and 188 tonnes of kitchen waste were collected and retrieved in 2013 . This equates to 133 grams of waste per passenger .

Animal waste

Animal waste consists of:• food seized by customs from baggage;• food found by baggage handlers in baggage;• birds and rabbits from the airport’s Bird Control

Unit .

Animal waste is collected according to a strict procedure . To prevent odours and contamination, it is collected in hermetically sealed containers that are stored in refrig-erated containers until retrieved .

In 2013, 1,732 kg of animal waste was collected and retrieved for processing by the airport itself, and a further 7,078 kg came from handlers and customs .

Aim30% of non-hazardous waste is recycled .

Actions for 2014Start of invoicing: from now on, contractors will pay the processing

costs for the waste they deliver to the container parks . At the same

time, good sorting will be rewarded financially .

Financial and operational study of the possibilities of building our

own digestion plant for processing kitchen waste, grass clippings and

sludge from the water treatment plant .

“SITA is an expert in waste management.

Together with Brussels Airport, we ensure that

the waste from the airport is sorted, collected and then

also processed efficiently, safely and sustainably.”

Dina Verbeeren

SITA - Senior Key Account Manager

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First and foremost, the airport is a place where people come together . It is also an economic engine for a whole region and the rest of the country . For many years Brus-sels Airport has pursued a policy of sustainable devel-opment based on economic, environmental and social criteria .

Besides obtaining certificates, accreditation systems and performance indicators and as well as complying with rules and legislation imposed by the competent author-ities, the airport’s commitments are consistent with the challenges facing our society . Our environmental and energy policy statement, which was approved in 2011,

reaffirms these commitments and serves as a basis for evaluating the environmental and energy impact of new projects already in the design phase .

Brussels Airport wants to accommodate all its partners and provide an answer to essential questions from both its customers and employees and society itself . There-fore, together with our partners and the 260 companies active on the airport site, we have defined clear objectives: reduce energy and water consumption, recycle waste, reduce noise impact, immediate clean-up in case of soil contamination, improve mobility and intermodality and transparent communication .

As we have shown in this report, sustainable develop-ment, the quality of our services, risk management and safety are central to us, every single day .

ConclusionSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: AN EVERYDAY CONCERN

44

Responsible editor:

Nathalie Van Impe

Brussels Airport

1930 Zaventem

4

www.brusselsairport.be