Dunedin airport achieves international recognition

Dunedin Airport is having a week of significant achievements.

After being named Medium Airport of the Year by NZ Airports Association this week, Dunedin Airport has announced it has now achieved Level 4 of the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme which further enhances its carbon management system. Level 3 accreditation success was achieved in 2024.

This level of accreditation reflects a step change in how the airport, and its partners approach a reduction in absolute emissions. Dunedin Airport has defined a long-term carbon management strategy oriented towards absolute emissions reductions, aligned with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. The Airport is able to demonstrate evidence of actively driving third parties towards delivering emissions reductions.

Dunedin Airport is in good company among 620 airports globally, including 11 in New Zealand, that are part of the Airport Carbon Accreditation programme, the world’s only independent carbon management certification specifically for airports.

Airport Carbon Accreditation strives to enable the airport industry to effectively reduce its carbon footprint, to benefit from increased efficiency through lowered energy consumption, shared expertise and knowledge exchange, as well as better communication of the results. The considerable number of airports certified at each level of the programme signifies clearly that regardless of size or geography, these airports are leading the way, actively lowering aviation’s carbon footprint on the ground.

Dunedin Airport has been tracking and reducing its carbon emissions since 2019 as part of its commitment to becoming Net Zero by 2030.

Dunedin Airport CEO Daniel De Bono is encouraged by results so far. “We’re pleased with the progress we’re making and extremely proud to achieve this level of international recognition.”

The airport’s Net Zero commitment focuses on reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 46% by 2030 and it achieved a 27% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions this year compared to the 2019 base year.

Stefano Baronci, Director General, ACI Asia-Pacific & Middle East, said: “We congratulate Dunedin Airport for its remarkable milestone in achieving Level 4 of the Airport Carbon Accreditation. By establishing itself as one of the leaders in efficient carbon management, Dunedin Airport displays a robust commitment to building a sustainable future. This accomplishment aligns perfectly with our industry's collective vision of achieving net zero emissions.”

Dunedin Airport has joined the Dunedin Zero Carbon Alliance, coordinated by the Dunedin City Council.

It has contributed to shared initiatives over the last six months alongside existing members Te Whatu Ora, University of Otago, Otago Regional Council and the DCC.

Dunedin Airport’s GM Sustainability, Louis Brown, notes the importance of bringing global best practice to the table. " Supporting and collaborating with the Dunedin Zero Carbon Alliance allows Dunedin Airport to share its learnings to understand shared city-wide emissions reduction priorities and ensure it works on common emissions reduction pathways and utilise common tools and methodologies.”

To reach its 2030 goal, Dunedin Airport will continue to focus on reducing Scope 1 and 2 emissions by a further 64 tonnes annually and is on target so far.

For more information, including details about Dunedin Airport’s sustainability strategy in the latest Annual Report and the 2025 Sustainability Report visit: www.dunedinairport.co.nz/corporate.