The Ecological Airport of Galápagos has received the top certification for sustainable construction currently available.

The airport became the first in the world to be awarded the US Green Building Council’s Leed Gold certificate for a complete construction.

Corporación América, the international holding which conceived, constructed and currently operates Seymour Airport on Baltra island, was officially informed by the USGBC, the world’s leading authority for sustainable construction, on November 20, 2014.

The certificate was awarded for both the design and the construction of the airport which optimises the energy and water consumption and lighting, as well as for the use of ecological and recycled materials.

In other words, all the environmental strategies and features have been evaluated and certified.

Among these the following stand out:

·         The recovery of affected areas and the replanting of native flora

·         The reduction of energy consumption and the generation of clean energy

·         Sufficient natural lighting and ventilation in all sectors

·         The reduction of water consumption via treatment and renewed use

·         The recycling of over 80% of the materials from the old airport

One of the most impressive features is that the Ecological Airport of Galápagos functions 100% with renewable energy (solar and wind), 35% of which is generated by photo-voltaic panels installed along the approaches to the airport and the remaining 65% by windmills strategically located within the airport zone.

It is important that this success in airport construction was achieved within an eco-system as sensitive as the Galápagos Islands, part of humanity’s natural  heritage.

For more information see: www.usgbc.org

·         SUSTAINABLE DESIGN

·         RENEWABLE ENERGY

·         NATURAL LIGHTING AND VENTILATION

·         EFFICIENT AND RATIONAL USE OF WATER

·         SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS

·         SITE RECOVERY

“The Leed certificate for Baltra’s Seymour Airport demonstrates great leadership in sustainable construction,” said Rick Fedrizzi, the USGBC’s President, CEO and founder. “The urgency of our Council’s mission has challenged the industry to move faster and advance ahead of schedule and the Baltra Airport serves as an example of how far we can go.”