The construction of an airport inevitably leads to interventions in the ecosystem of a region. Yet, Munich Airport is committed minimizing such impact. To this end it has created a department to handle ecological issues such as aircraft noise, air management, energy supply or waste and water management. Munich Airport has set itself the goal of achieving its growth targets on a carbon-neutral basis by 2020 compared to the baseline year 2005.
Vehicles and transport systems consume energy and produce pollutants that advance global warming. Aviation's share in the total quantity of the global carbon emissions contributing to climate change is roughly two percent.
Munich Airport's pro-environment strategy allows for the operation and development of the airport in a manner that effectively controls and contains environmental impact and complies with statutory regulations and environmental requirements. For example, Munich Airport generates more than half of the power needed in an on-site combined heat, power and cooling plant. The outstanding efficiency of this form of energy conversion allows the airport to save around 30,000 metric tons of carbon emissions annually.
As part of this project, Munich Airport is currently running 115 vehicles on a diesel/ vegetable oil mix and a further 39 on bio-ethanol. The airport also classifies aircraft according to the noise levels measured during takeoff and landing operations. Aircraft in the lowest noise category pay landing fees eight times lower than those classed as the noisiest. Raw materials are becoming increasingly scarce all over the world, yet demand for them is rising all the time. Therefore Munich Airport seeks to reduce waste, to recover and recycle materials where it can, and to use waste as an energy source.