Chch airport goes carbon zero 

Christchurch International Airport has been flying its green credentials becoming the first carbon neutral airport company in the Southern Hemisphere.

It is only the second airport in the world to go carbon neutral.

At a meeting in Christchurch the company received its carbon zero certificate from Landcare Research which chief executive Rene Bakx says comes after a detailed measurement and analysis process.

"We are the gateway for the best of the South Island, and, with an agreed focus on tourism and sustainability, the decision to work towards this goal was a straightforward one for the company to take," he says.

He says the status has been achieved by the reduction and offsetting of greenhouse emissions by the airport company operations. Emissions from planes are not included in the calculations.

Prime Minister Helen Clark has congratulated New Zealand's second largest airport for securing the certification.

"The high value visitors we seek to attract are increasingly conscious of their environmental footprint. For many of them we are a long haul destination. We don't want to be ruled out of consideration as a destination because it is seen as unsustainable to be here at all," she says.

"New Zealand as a country, and tourism as an industry, must go the extra mile to prove sustainability credentials. Being clean and green and 100% pure is priceless positioning and we must keep it."

To get the certification the airport company reduced and offset all its greenhouse gas emissions with waste recycling programmes.  It converted heating systems from diesel and used old road materials for runway maintenance.

Tourism New Zealand has also welcomed the news.

"This is exactly the sort of leadership we want to see from operators and just the kind of thing that supports the 100% Pure New Zealand brand," chief executive George Hickton says.

Tourism minister Damien O'Connor hopes the new status will attract more overseas visitors.

He says New Zealand will have to show in more and more ways that we are truly focused on environmental sustainability.

The airport received 5.5 million passengers in 2006-2007.