Airport events aimed at conserving energy, saving money
ATLANTA – 2012-10-11 — /travelprnews.com/ — Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport leaders got employees excited about energy conservation with a kickoff event in the Atrium Tuesday morning to introduce a series of events held in conjunction with National Energy Action Month in October.
“Hartsfield-Jackson continues to make strides in reducing its environmental impact, and this designated month gives us an opportunity to focus specifically on saving energy,” said Aviation General Manager Louis Miller. “Environmental responsibility is a part of our Airport mission, and we are encouraging employees to contribute, even if it’s just turning off the office lights at the end of the day.”
Hartsfield-Jackson already has taken significant steps to reduce its energy consumption; these include installing energy-efficient, light-emitting diode (LED) lights in the parking decks; participating in the Atlanta Better Buildings Challenge, which pledges reductions in water and energy usage; and adopting its first sustainable management plan in 2011.
The activities of National Energy Action Month are designed to bring the overriding goals to a personal, employee-specific level and to emphasize that small personal efforts add up for a big impact.
“We want employees to get excited about conserving energy — not only at work but also in their own homes,” said Charles Marshall, utilities manager. “It’s also important that they realize that energy conservation benefits them as well as the environment in the form of cost savings.”
The National Energy Action Month activities at Hartsfield-Jackson include an Energy Awareness Fair and three sessions of a seminar that will share information about energy conservation; an energy forum that will feature experts from organizations such as ASHRAE, Southface, the U.S. Green Building Council, AECOM and Georgia Power; an energy conservation seminar at Mary M. Bethune Elementary School in College Park, one of the Airport’s Partners in Education schools; ongoing tracking of individual Airport buildings’ performance on energy and water usage; an Energy Conservation Idea Scavenger Hunt, through which employees will submit their ideas for energy conservation; and the launch of a quarterly Sustainability Outlook newsletter for stakeholders.
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Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport
Hartsfield-Jackson is the world’s busiest airport, serving more than 92 million passengers annually with nonstop service to 160 U.S. destinations and nearly 70 international destinations in more than 45 countries. The Airport is a frequent recipient of awards of excellence for concessions, operations, architectural engineering and construction – including the 2011 Global and North American Airport Efficiency Excellence Award from the Air Transport Research Society (for more information, go to www.atrsworld.org). It is undergoing $6 billion-plus in capital improvements, which include a new, energy-efficient rental car center; a new, 12-gate international terminal (for more information, go to www.atlanta-airport.com/internationalterminal/; and aesthetic and functional upgrades to its concourses, people movers and parking services. For more information, go to www.atlanta-airport.com. Check out the Airport’s YouTube channel by visiting http://www.youtube.com/AtlantaHartsfield, and become a fan on Facebook.