Green champion

We report on the latest sustainability success of New Zealand’s Christchurch Airport.

Christchurch Airport (CHC) has received a Platinum award in ACI Asia-Pacific & Middle East’s Green Airports Recognition 2025 programme, the accolade recognising the airport’s leadership in building a clean energy future through its solar farm Kōwhai Park.

The airport was one of only four to receive Platinum recognition, its award celebrating the airport’s role in establishing a major joint venture between Contact Energy and Lightsource bp to develop Kōwhai Park solar farm, currently under construction on the airport campus.

With 300,000 panels across 230 hectares, the project will generate enough renewable energy to power the equivalent of 36,000 homes.

Kōwhai Park is the cornerstone of the airport’s wider ambition to create a clean energy hub that supports decarbonisation across the region and helps others meet their sustainability goals.

CHC’s chief executive, Justin Watson, believes that ACI’s recognition reflects the airport’s long-term commitment to sustainability.

“Kōwhai Park shows what’s possible when you combine vision with the right partners,” he enthused. “Contact Energy and Lightsource bp bring world-class expertise, and this partnership is creating something we can all be proud of.”

Construction started in early June with the first piles to hold the solar panels being placed in the ground. Kōwhai Park’s first stage is just the beginning of a long-term plan to support renewable energy projects such as green hydrogen and storage technologies.

Other sustainability achievements celebrated by CHC in the last year include the arrival of New Zealand’s first fully electric fire truck and reaching Level 5 status in ACI’s Airport Carbon Accreditation programme.

The gateway’s sustainable transition leader, Claire Waghorn, enthuses: “We’re building a future where safety and sustainability go hand-in-hand.”

The airport’s commitment to people, planet and place, for example, reaches far beyond energy generation. It includes real and measurable action across climate, biodiversity, circularity, water conservation and sustainability leadership.

In terms of resource recovery, for instance, the airport’s award-winning sorting station processes waste generated in the domestic terminal, which has significantly reduced the waste sent to landfill.

The airport precinct is also home to one of the South Island’s biggest EV charging hubs, and the airport’s entire corporate fleet is electric.

The Green Recognition 2025 award, says CHC, is another milestone on its journey to keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible for sustainable aviation.