The airport world marked the latest leg of its journey toward standardizing sustainability this month in Chicago. The Chicago Dept. of Aviation, which is running a $6.6-billion modernization program, has unveiled the latest version of a sustainability manual that now offers specific guidelines and scoring systems for design, construction, operations and maintenance, concessions and tenants at airports. “Say goodbye to the old manual and hello to a new sustainable airport,” says Eugene Peters, director with Ricondo & Associates Inc., a Chicago-based aviation consultant. “This applies to everything...not just what you build but how you built it.
“The Sustainability Airport Manual” (SAM) debuted at a the Airports Going Green conference held Aug. 5-7 in Chicago. It updates Chicago’s “Sustainable Design Manual” (SDM), which officials developed in 2003 and began actively using in 2006 to rate modernization projects. Based on lessons learned since then, the new manual expands those guidelines to include more construction activities. “In six years there have been a lot of changes and lessons learned,” says Ted Woosley, vice president with Landrum & Brown, a Chicago-based environmental planner. “Even the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program itself has changed.”