ACI-NA - Environmental Achievement Awards

Environmental Achievement Awards

Since 1997, ACI-NA has recognized its airport members that strive to protect and preserve the environment through its programs, initiatives and projects. Established by the ACI-NA Environmental Affairs Committee, the annual ACI-NA Environmental Achievement Awards acknowledge the hard work and accomplishments of ACI-NA members by promoting awareness more broadly within the airport community, the general public and regulators of the many notable and innovative efforts being undertaken by environmental professionals at airports. Environmental and planning staff at our airports deserve recognition for their efforts in developing and implementing programs that protect the environment while keeping their airport’s projects on schedule, minimizing community and regulatory controversy and using creative means of maximizing overall cost-benefit. Awards may be granted in the categories of:

Environmental management
Mitigation
Outreach/education/community involvement
Innovative/special projects
Environmental improvement with limited resources.

Only entries meeting the award criteria will be considered. Airports do not need to designate a specific category for their project in the application. Rather, the judges will consider all entries for the five categories and select the best example for each category. Due to this, airports need to only submit each project once – however airports may submit more than one project in the same year. However, each project requires its own entry form and fee, and should be submitted via separate entries.

AIRPORT PROJECT AWARD CATEGORIES

One award may be granted each year for an airport project in each of the following categories:

Environmental Management	Examples include environmental management systems, sustainability programs, deicing systems, green buildings, etc.
Mitigation	Examples include wetlands restoration, stream mitigation/restoration, noise mitigation, etc.
Outreach, Education, and Community Involvement	Examples include environmental awareness campaigns, tenant engagement activities, wildlife training programs, community roundtables, etc.
Environmental Improvement with Limited Resources	This category recognizes an airport that may have limited resources to devote to environmental improvement projects, and are making great strides within their existing situation.
Innovative/Special Projects	This category is designed to include unique, innovative projects that may not fit within the other broader categories.

SELECTION CRITERIA FOR AIRPORT PROJECTS
Entries for each award category will be measured against the following criteria by a panel of four independent judges, including representatives from the FAA, Transport Canada, the media and industry:

Environmental Benefit - Project, initiative or program should achieve overall environmental benefits. Benefits should be demonstrated through a comparison of the state before implementation of the project, initiative or program to the state after implementation using life-cycle analysis, risk analysis or other quantitative or qualitative performance measures.
Innovation - Project, initiative or program should exhibit innovation in working toward an environmental improvement or solution at the airport or surrounding community. Examples of innovation include new technologies, methods or information, or innovative methods of implementing or utilizing existing technologies, methods or information.
Effective Implementation - Project, initiative or program should be effectively implemented in a manner that achieves maximum environmental benefit while cooperating with necessary stakeholders and partners and minimizing time, effort and cost.
Widespread Applicability - Project, initiative or program should contribute information, technology or techniques that provide an environmental benefit while demonstrating the potential for applicability at other airports.
Cost Effectiveness - Project, initiative or program should be cost-effective as demonstrated through cost-benefit analysis, life-cycle costs or other cost comparison technique.

ELIGIBILITY FOR AIRPORT PROJECT AWARDS

Any ACI-NA member airport is eligible for award consideration. The award applicant may be comprised of an individual, group of individuals, an airport owner(s), a tenant, a consultant, or combination thereof. Non-ACI-NA members may support applicants in the awards selection process, but the lead applicant must be an ACI-NA member airport. Applicants who have previously submitted an entry(ies), but did not receive an award, may resubmit that same entry in succeeding years without prejudice.

Please Note: ACI-NA strongly recommend that applicants submit award applications for completed or implemented projects/programs.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Award applications must be submitted electronically in PDF, as a single PDF file (excluding any payment information). Application narratives must be double-spaced and may not exceed 10 pages including all text, graphics, and photos. The entry form and letters of support do not count toward the 10-page limit. Entry form and accompanying payment information may be e-mailed, faxed, or mailed to the address below, but must be received by the deadline.

Applications should be a single pdf file and must include the following:

Completed official ACI-NA Environmental Achievement Award entry form.
Entry fee for airport project award nominations only ($85) – there is no fee for nominees of the individual award.
Two-page (max) application executive summary, signed and dated by the lead applicant representative; include in the executive summary clear information on how the project meets the selection criteria. The executive summary will count towards the 10-page maximum for the application narrative.
Narrative fully describing the project, program, or initiative and how it meets the selection criteria above (ten pages maximum).
At least one letter of support from an entity(ies) other than the applicant(s). For the individual award, the letter of support may come from the primary nominator (i.e. person other than the individual being nominated for recognition)

ENTRY FEE

The fee for entry is $85 for each airport project award entered. There is no fee for individual nominations. Please see the entry form for payment options and address for checks.

SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS

Applications must be submitted to ACI-NA by 5 PM ET on Friday, August 4. Late applications will not be transmitted to or considered by the judges. Winners will be notified by Wednesday, August 30 with formal recognition at the 2023 ACI-NA Annual Conference in Long Beach, CA from September 30 – October 3.

To submit your entry, you must have an ACI-NA member login. Your member login is also what is used to update your membership profile, access Centerlines Connect (ACI-NA's online discussion forum) and register online for ACI-NA events/webinars. If you do not have a login, you may create an account. Please note that this is a different login than what you may have used to submit award entries in previous years.

Electronic nominations and supporting materials are required. If any portion of your nomination package cannot be submitted electronically please contact Melinda Pagliarello at mpagliarello@airportscouncil.org to discuss alternatives. E-mail applications and supporting documentation to Melinda Pagliarello.

Click here to download these instructions as a PDF>>

Click here to submit your entry now>>

INDIVIDUAL AWARD

The Peer Recognition for Outstanding Individual Contribution & Leadership Award recognizes an individual ACI-NA Environmental Committee member, either an airport or consultant to receive special acknowledgment for making extraordinary contributions to the ACI-NA Environmental Committee, aid in reaching ACI-NA environmental goals, committee objectives, and advancement of environmental performance of the aviation industry. The annual award would provide a special member “thank you” and encourage continued contribution to ACI-NA and the aviation industry.

Click here to download these instructions as a PDF>>

ENTRY FEE

There is no fee for individual nominations.

SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS

Applications must be submitted to ACI-NA by 5 PM ET on Friday, August 4. Late applications will not be transmitted to or considered by the judges.

For questions, please contact Melinda Pagliarello at mpagliarello@airportscouncil.org.