Dallas Fort-Worth carbon neutral airport

Creating a next-generation sustainability strategy at the world’s second busiest airport
Dallas Fort Worth
DFW is a global sustainability leader in the aviation industry, famously becoming North America’s first carbon neutral airport in 2016. Since 2019, Ramboll has supported DFW airport in realizing its sustainability and resiliency ambitions.
Our experts helped DFW develop a next-generation, cross-cutting sustainability management plan that supports the airport’s multiple strategic objectives – including transitioning to net zero emissions and 100% clean and resilient energy, aiming for zero waste and water and nature positive outcomes, and addressing health, safety, and equity issues while continuing to grow. Overall, the client aims to have a net positive impact, which means giving back more than what is taken in while at the same time, focusing on society, the environment, and the health of the global economy.
To support the airport’s implementation of the sustainability management plan, we developed detailed roadmaps that outline specific pathways to achieve the goals established within the plan. Actions include design and operational changes, technology adoption, procurement considerations, and partnerships, education, and engagement opportunities the airport will implement through 2040 to achieve its goals.
Current activities include:
  • Using digital twinning technology to inform sustainability decision and investments
  • Contributing to ‘ZEV Blueprint’ publication – comprehensive guidance on fleet electrification
  • Exploring an anaerobic digestor to process and recycle the airport’s organic waste
  • Eliminating waste from construction and demolition through onsite reuse and recycling
  • Reducing waste generation and improving diversion through green procurement policy
  • Addressing energy security and resiliency through electrification of central plant, and procurement of renewable energy
  • Developed a biodiversity baseline and tree conservation plan to guide low impact new development that protects the airport’s natural ecosystems
  • Analyzing air quality, noise, and employee and customer health and wellness
  • Exploring proactive actions to address climate risks such as extreme heat and storms
  • Reframing the airport’s environmental management system to integrate sustainability
Setting a biodiversity baseline
For DFW, a nature-positive future means that DFW will minimize and compensate for the loss of nature measured from its current status, reducing future negative impacts alongside restoring and renewing nature, to put both living and non-living nature measurably on the path to recovery.
To start, we assessed biodiversity baseline conditions using our innovative remote-sensing technology, Galago, to provide analysis and onsite ground truthing. We also developed a biodiversity metric scoring system​, which we adapted from Natural England Biodiversity Metric 3.0. Our metric is designed to standardize quantification of biodiversity to measure Biodiversity Net Gain through habitat type, area, condition, distinctiveness, and strategic significance to score biodiversity​ andtrack changes over time.
Our final habitat baseline map identified seven different habitat types across the entire 17,000 acres of the airport property. We used the areas of these habitats along with field data to calculate the biodiversity metric baseline. To determine the best path forward, we overlaid the existing development and land use footprint over our baseline to understand the expected biodiversity change over time in two scenarios -- business as usual and business as usual with habitat uplift. Our experts found that to achieve What we a net positive increase on biodiversity it will be key to strategically develop the site to include not only habitat uplift but also habitat creation.
Using our results, we were able to show areas on site where we should preserve biodiversity and areas where DFW should consider development. Our experts also applied the information within the full roadmap to develop a plan for how DFW can achieve nature positive by 2040.

View all

View all

  • Amy Malick

    Principal

    +1 415-796-1940

  • Rachel Moscovich

    Senior Managing Consultant

    Not available