Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport officials announced today that the Airport is the first in the United States to receive ISO 50001:2001 accreditation.  The award, given in December by the International Organization for Standardization, an independent, non-governmental organization, validates ATL’s Energy Management System and recognizes that the system meets the organization’s requirements. 

“Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport continues to be a national and international leader. Achievements like this demonstrate our commitment to sustainability and to excellence,” said Mayor Kasim Reed. “Hartsfield-Jackson became the first airport in the world to reach the milestone of 100 million passengers in 2015, and has now become the first airport in the country to earn ISO sustainability certification. I congratulate everyone involved in earning this designation.”

ATL embarked on a comprehensive audit of energy usage at the entire facility, and then began the process of implementing recommendations obtained through the audit.  The ISO certification determined that key components of the energy management system are present and functioning.  Those components include the involvement of top management, facility-wide training, procurement, design, operations and maintenance divisions with the Department of Aviation.

“Hartsfield-Jackson has long been known as the world’s most traveled and most efficient airport,” said Airport General Manager Miguel Southwell.  “This certification puts us one step closer to our next substantial goal - becoming the world’s most sustainable airport.” 

“Achieving this level of ISO accreditation is a critical step towards Atlanta’s goal of becoming a top-tier sustainable city,” said Stephanie Stuckey Benfield, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability.  “This builds on several recent sustainability milestones we’ve reached with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, including retrofitting the airport with LED lighting and moving forward with an energy and water efficiency audit of airport facilities as part of our energy savings performance contracting program.”

Initial studies of systems that have obtained ISO 50001 certification show energy costs savings of between 8 percent and 33 percent.  The U.S. Department of Energy says energy costs can be reduced by as much as ten percent within 19 months of achieving ISO 50001 certification.