Hamad International Airport (HIA) through its Memorandum of Understanding with KAHRAMAA, in partnership with the National Programme for Conservation and Energy Efficiency ‘Tarsheed’ launched the ‘One Degree Makes a Difference’ campaign in solidarity with the Annual Sustainability Week in Qatar.
The initiative promotes energy conservation, part of Qatar National Strategy 2018-2022 objectives, for saving resources through conservation and energy efficiency, to achieve 8% per capita decrease of electricity consumption by 2022.
The airport has increased the AC temperature by one degree for a period of two months at the beginning of November, to demonstrate that simple tactics conserve energy and benefit the environment. Awareness videos and visuals are also on display in different areas of the HIA terminal, encouraging travellers to participate in environmentally-conscious practices.
According to HIA Vice President of Commercial and Marketing Abdulaziz Al Mass, HIA holds itself to the highest environmental standards and to responsible business practice. He said that a key component of their contribution to the national energy saving initiative is cooperation with instrumental and action-oriented organisations. He emphasised their commitment to Tarsheed’s initiatives for awareness, conservation, and efficient use of water and electricity.
The airport’s sustainable practice, comprised of several energy management initiatives and participation in the Airports Council International (ACI) Airport Carbon Accreditation programme, is paving the way to mitigate environmental impacts wherever we operate. We hope to be a leading example in encouraging other corporations in Qatar to take environmentally-conscious practices as seriously as we do.’
Engineer Abdul Aziz Al Hammadi, KAHRAMAA’s Conservation and Energy Efficiency Department Manager, said the campaign is part of Tarsheed’s overall goal to decrease per capita consumption of electricity, encouraging efficient use of apparatus and decreasing CO2 emissions.
As one of the most sustainable airports in the world, we are proud of this ongoing partnership which continues to result in valuable outputs. We have just completed our Energy audit for the airport, including an energy assessment report which will increase energy-efficient practices in HIA operations.’
Earlier this year, HIA successfully retained its Airport Carbon Accreditation at Level 3. The airport’s renewal came after successfully reaching Level 3 ‘Optimisation’ status last year in the Airports Council International Airport Carbon Accreditation programme. The airport is the first airport among the Gulf countries and only the second in the MENA region to achieve this accreditation.
Tarsheed, a national programme for conservation and efficient use of water and electricity, was launched in 2012 by Qatar General Electricity and Water Corporation under the slogan ‘Qatar is Pulsing‘.
For updates and more information about the energy-saving campaign at HIA, visit their website at dohahamadairport.com.