Environmental Strategy

We are committed to ensuring that Schönefeld Airport, Tegel Airport and the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport are operated in a manner that is as energy-efficient, resource-saving and environmentally-friendly as possible. We also aim to convince all our business partners, suppliers and passengers to work with us to help us realise this vision. In the Environmental Strategy the Board of Management has defined key milestones along the company’s path to becoming a truly Green Airport. We want to harness this Strategy to set new standards in sustainable airport operations, and so become a Green Airport that sets environmental precedents.

BER’s Environmental and Energy Management System steers and controls all operational processes at the airport that have an impact on the environment and the climate. It is one of the key tools in the BER Green Airport strategy. After BER has been operational for one year we aim to have our environmental management system certified according to the ISO 14001 standard. At the same time, energy management is to be certified according to ISO 50001.

Focusing all air traffic on the Schönefeld site means that more people in Berlin and Brandenburg no longer have to live with aircraft noise. However, in the vicinity of the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport local residents are now exposed to aircraft noise. This is an issue that we take very seriously. The aim of our Environmental Strategy is provide everyone affected or interested in the impact of aircraft noise with comprehensive information about the new flight routes, crossing altitudes and operational direction forecasts. New stationary and mobile noise measurement points will fully document any changes that take place after BER opens. Our aim is to enable our neighbours to advise us of particularly loud flight events so that we can contact the airlines. The noise-related fee that is charged for each landing event at the airport will be reviewed once BER opens and adjustments may be made. We are currently engaged in a dialogue with the airlines to develop a package of measures for the long-term reduction of aircraft noise. The Noise Protection Programme was restructured in 2012 and is now more citizen-centered.

We aim to keep on improving our programmes and making them even more effective. The best way to achieve this is to work with strong, competent partners. For instance, Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH is a member of the German Association of Environmental Management (B.A.U.M.), Europe’s largest environmental initiative with more than 500 member companies. The company is also a member of the German Sustainable Building Council (DGNB), and supports the construction and certification of sustainable, economically efficient and user-friendly buildings.

When it comes to air quality, the airport operators also believe in ensuring complete transparency. In a voluntary environment study programme we use honey and biomonitoring to analyse and document airborne pollutants in the vicinity of the airport. The data generated by the air measurement points around the airport are published daily on our website. Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH also documents all activities, data and results of our environmental and climate protection schemes in a comprehensive annual environmental report.

A core element of the Green Airport strategy is BER’s Climate Protection Programme, which stipulates that energy consumption at BER is to be steadily reduced after the airport opens. At the same time, the strategy aims to avoid the emission of climate-relevant gases by using renewable energy. After BER’s first year of operation, the company will set an ambitious and realistic CO2-reduction target and will define all measures needed to achieve this target. 

Even before the airport has opened, the company’s efforts are already bearing significant fruit. The combined heat and power stations situated close to the terminal are generating heat, cold and electricity with a high degree of efficiency. Already, around half the power needed at Schönefeld is generated here; the other half comes exclusively from renewable sources.