Leadership & Collaboration – This entire project is informed and guided by the Airport Authority’s organizational sustainability policy, which is upheld by a comprehensive Sustainability Management Program that addresses goals and initiatives related to clean transportation, climate resilience, zero waste, biodiversity, sustainable energy, water stewardship, and carbon neutrality. Each year, SAN publishes an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Report (previously a Sustainability Report) to demonstrate its commitment to continuous improvement and transparency in social, economic, and environmental performance. For this project, the Airport Authority established specific sustainability goals that were mapped to corresponding Envision credits by the project team using a Sustainability and Envision Recommendations table. This table has served as the foundation for tracking and monitoring sustainability progress throughout project delivery.

The project team began virtually every meeting – across disciplines and working groups – with a discussion about sustainability. The project involved extensive collaboration, including outreach and coordination with key groups involved in airport construction, operations, and maintenance. These stakeholders actively participated in design sessions, updates, and review processes, ensuring their perspectives and needs were considered throughout all project phases and its useful life. The project team also held cross-team meetings to discuss sustainability goals and mutual initiatives with stakeholders from across the New T1 program. These interdisciplinary discussions covered the specificities of concurrent projects and their individual rating system goals, such as LEED for the new Terminal, Envision for the T1 Landside project, and Parksmart for the Parking Plaza. By incorporating a broader group in sustainability discussions, the project team significantly enhanced the value and interdisciplinary nature of its sustainability goals.

Stormwater Management – A new and improved stormwater drainage system will provide for better capture, treatment, and reuse of runoff, which will improve water quality in the San Diego Bay Watershed area. The project team analyzed the site’s existing stormwater drainage systems to better understand the volume and flow of water relative to the project site, and incorporated considerations for sea level rise and 100-year storm events. A new stormwater drainage system was designed to include a 0.9-million-gallon underground storage cistern and five infield infiltration basins that will serve to capture, treat, and reuse stormwater. This upgrade is expected to reduce stormwater runoff into the San Diego Bay by at least 80% and significantly reduce potable water consumption. The project’s multi-pronged approach not only addresses immediate stormwater management needs but also aligns with and advances SAN’s long-term goals for sustainable water management.

Address Climate Change Vulnerability – The project team conducted a comprehensive assessment of the project’s vulnerability to climate change using the Authority’s Climate Resilience Plan (CRP). The CRP notes that portions of this project site are vulnerable to temporary flooding and recommends improved drainage strategies to mitigate impacts and avoid disruption of operations. These considerations were incorporated into the design and construction plans for the Airside Improvements Project, and the above-noted stormwater drainage system improvements will help to alleviate concerns about future flooding on this site. The project integrated vulnerability assessment findings into comprehensive resilience objectives, and implemented specific resilience measures such as resilient pavement design, flood-resilient techniques, and off-grid backup power generation.

Reduce Construction Waste – The project team developed a Construction Waste Management Plan (CWMP) for the project that is aligned with the Airport Authority’s Zero Waste Plan (ZWP). The ZWP only allows landfilling as a last resort for waste streams with no other options, and so the CWMP requires the contractor and all subcontractors to reduce, collect, manage, and recycle project construction demolition waste. A waste diversion target has been set for the project to achieve a minimum 50% diversion from landfill through recycling materials, salvaging materials for reuse, and donating materials to approved non-profits. The CWMP also requires the contractor to complete a “construction and demolition waste management tracker” to provide a monthly summary of project waste diverted from the landfill.

Ecological Preservation – The project team worked with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the San Diego Natural History Museum to identify any potential areas of high ecological value in and around the project boundary and determined 14 acres of habitat on-site is seasonally occupied by the California Least Tern (CLT). Several measures were taken to avoid disturbance of these seasonal nesting areas, including reconfiguring taxiway designs, relocating storm drainage systems, defining construction buffers to protect the habitat, and phasing construction to limit impacts during the peak nesting season. Thus, the CLT nesting habitat is protected by two buffer zones: an 800-ft zone where construction is prohibited from April 1st to September 15th, and a 1,200-ft zone where construction is allowed during nesting season but subject to biologist monitoring, potential work stoppage, and restrictions on major equipment use.