Press release

Airports Council International-North America has honored Seattle-Tac Airport, along with Portland and Spokane Airports, with the Environmental Achievement Award for Special/Innovative Projects for their work with the Sustainable Aviation Fuels Northwest Program (SAFN).

"We are proud to be recognized by our peers in the airport industry," said Mark Reis, Managing Director of Sea-Tac Airport. "The Port has been one of the leaders in our region to push for ways to reduce our environmental footprint. This is another example of our leadership role to benefit the entire region."

"Airports remain focused on better understanding and mitigating impacts to their natural environment and local communities by implementing inventive programs that reduce the environmental effects of their operations," said Greg Principato, ACI-NA president. "ACI-NA's Environmental Achievement Awards provides the opportunity to showcase how committed airports are to green building, sustainability and environmental management in their construction projects and everyday operations."

Together with their Steering Team partners - Boeing, Alaska Airlines, and Washington State University - and consulting facilitator Climate Solutions, these three airports convened more than 40 stakeholders and observers to assess the feasibility, challenges and opportunities of scaling up a commercially viable and sustainable renewable aviation fuels industry in the Northwest.

The SAFN initiative takes place within a global network of seven similar stakeholder processes led by Boeing, which all support the broader aim of achieving carbon-neutral growth across the aviation industry beyond 2020. The SAFN results, published as a report on May 25 provide a "flight path" for scaling up this industry in the Northwest. Stakeholders in other regions of North America are already considering the innovative SAFN approach and results for adoption. For more on the report, visit http://www.portseattle.org/news/press/2011/05_26_2011_01.shtml

Since being established in 1997, the Environmental Achievement Awards contest has generated interest throughout the industry and has catalyzed numerous environmental programs at airports. The Sustainable Aviation Fuels Northwest Program, comprised of the Port of Seattle, Port of Portland, and Spokane International Airport, won the Special/Innovative Projects Award.

Award winners were recognized at the ACI-NA's 20th Annual Conference & Exhibition in San Diego, during the Chairman's Honors Luncheon.

Winners in each category are selected by a three-judge panel based on the project's environmental benefits, innovation, effective implementation, widespread applicability and cost-effectiveness.