Green skies ahead

By: Susan Levitte, Marketing Communications Manager, Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport

The aviation industry isn’t typically top of mind for sustainability initiatives. The primary industry focus is always safety which requires consistent use of products and principles that are known for their success. But this doesn’t mean that the industry doesn’t care about sustainability, it means innovation is required to adapt.

Green Bay has a long history of aviation innovation. According to the Delta Air Lines Flight Museum Staff, Northwest Airways started flying from Green Bay on December 15, 1928. Those first flights at Blesch field offered passengers the opportunity to reach Chicago in four hours. It likely felt like time travel even when passengers were required to hold the mail bags in flight.

Today, airlines work closely with aircraft manufacturers to create planes that burn less fuel while carrying more passengers. Green Bay Austin Straubel International Airport (GRB) is seeing this trend, as larger planes are replacing 50passenger models on American, Delta and United. The benefits of a more comfortable trip, less fuel burn, easier staffing, and more seats will help the continued growth of GRB. Passengers of GRB’s two low-cost carriers, Sun Country and Frontier, may not realize that the aircraft flown are part of these airlines business sustainability practices.

Airbus A321 NEO aircraft.

• GRB added the first solar powered electric vehicle charging station, offering a local company the chance to prove its technology while delivering a sustainable passenger amenity.

• Changing light bulbs throughout the terminal to LED options saw immediate results in energy cost savings.

• Recently, GRB became the first airport in the world to receive the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) Standard. This certification is important as GRB continues to implement management practices on airport-owned land, focusing on water runoff, airfield de-icing and other practices, with the goal of maintaining the best possible water quality.

• GRB was awarded an Honorable Mention by the Chicago Department of Aviation at the 2022 Airports Going Green Conference.

Future sustainable projects include installing HVAC equipment that incorporates smart technology, using less energy to keep spaces comfortable.

“It’s an exciting time in the industry,” explained Airport Director Marty Piette, A.A.E. “Technologies that weren’t affordable to airports our size in the past, are becoming attainable and helping meet expectations when it comes to sustainability in travel.”

With GRB passenger travel and cargo arrivals nearing 2019 pre-pandemic levels, meeting the sustainability expectations of airlines, corporations and leisure passengers is more important than ever before. That’s why it will remain a focus as the airport looks to the next 95 years.