Ireland’s Cork Airport has made significant strides in its commitment to sustainability with the introduction of a number of environmentally friendly initiatives. In August 2024, the airport doubled the number of high-speed electric vehicle charging stations, expanded its electric vehicle fleet, introduced state-of-the-art waste management technologies and improved landscaping and biodiversity across the airport site.
To further reduce its carbon footprint, Cork Airport has added three new fully electric vehicles to its maintenance and electrical teams. This addition is part of a wider strategy to phase out older, less environmentally friendly diesel and petrol vehicles with greener alternatives. This move is expected to help reduce carbon emissions across the airport site.
To meet the growing demand for electric vehicle charging, Cork Airport has partnered with ePower to install six new, state-of-the-art charging stations. These high-speed chargers are now available to passengers, taxi services and airport vehicles, making the airport more accessible to electric vehicle users.
“We have a very strong sustainability plan at Cork Airport,” says Niall MacCarthy, Managing Director of Cork Airport. “Further electrification of our fleet, high-speed charging stations for our passengers, smart electronic solar bins on our forecourt and enhancing the biodiversity of our campus with an attractive planting programme are just the latest in a series of very extensive projects to be implemented. We have a detailed and ambitious sustainability plan and I look forward to further extensive initiatives being implemented this year.”
Cork Airport has also introduced advanced waste management technology. New solar-powered bins for general and recyclable waste have been installed on the terminal forecourt. Not only do these bins have a larger capacity, but they also use solar energy to compact the waste, meaning it needs to be collected less often. In addition, the bins are fitted with sensors that alert staff when they need to be emptied, ensuring efficient waste management and better waste separation.
“Sustainability is very important to me and we are driving forward our 2025-2030 Sustainability Strategy at Cork Airport,” said Eibhlin McGrath, Compliance and Sustainability Transformation Project Manager at Cork Airport. “I am delighted and excited to be back at Cork Airport after an interesting and challenging overseas assignment and look forward to implementing Cork Airport’s Sustainability Strategy with new and innovative measures to ensure we maintain our leading position in Ireland in reducing carbon emissions among Ireland’s commercial parastatals.”
Cork Airport has been recognised as a leading commercial parastatal for energy savings by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) for the past two years. With these latest initiatives, the airport is well on track to meet the government’s carbon reduction targets well ahead of the 2030 deadline.
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