A top priority for Athens International Airport is the responsible and effective management of all environmental challenges, including noise, water and waste management and the natural environment.

As part of its environmental policy, AIA is committed to minimising or preventing, where possible, the negative impact on the environment and local communities. Communication with all stakeholders is based on cooperation and mutual respect and is facilitated by regular exchange of information and training.

An environmental management system was established in 2000 and recertified in 2005, while a growing recognition of the threat of climate change led the airport to develop and implement an annual Climate Change Corporate Action Plan.

Measures have included the upgrade of the airport vehicle fleet to run on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG), the replacement of older vehicles with hybrid alternatives and initiatives addressing green design, tree planting, recycling and renewable energy sources.

The airport is also an active participant in ACI Europe's Airport Carbon Accreditation and achieved the mapping and reduction levels in 2009.

Last but not least, a sense of corporate responsibility has a significant influence on the airport's actions in the environmental and social domain. Since its opening in 2001, AIA has consistently pursued minimising its impact on the environment of the surrounding area, investing, to date, more than €40 million in a number of pioneering environmental projects and initiatives.

AIA's projects include a number of community-related environmental programmes, as well as wider-scale initiatives. Placing special focus on recycling activity across the airport has led to 41% of recycled waste in 2009, of the total recycled solid (non-hazardous) waste.

As part of its environmental responsibility, in recognising the growing importance of climate change, the gateway stepped up its efforts in 2009, the second year of implementation of its Climate Change Corporate Action Plan.

In this context, a protection programme for Vravrona, a site near the airport with historical and environmental value, was launched. The protection programme for the 'Vravrona wetlands'  include a clean-up operation involving 150 volunteers from AIA and the airport community.

Moreover, remarkable progress to AIA's recycling rate (41%) has been made, which led to Athens revising its long-term goal upwards from 40% to 50% by 2012.

It is worth mentioning that AIA obtained the official Electricity Production License, or the Photovoltaic Park (PV-Park) of 8.05mw, paving the way to its implementation during 2010.

Once operational, the PV-Park will generate 30% of the airport's power needs and save more than 10,000 tonnes of CO2, equivalent to the absorption capacity of more than 1.5 million trees.

Almost 10 years after it was opened, Athens International Airport has not only established itself as a key gateway to south eastern Europe, but has also become a important economic engine for the Greek economy.