On World Environment Day, India's airports are emerging as global leaders in net-zero initiatives, with 66 airports already operating on 100% clean energy and two, Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru and Indira Gandhi International Airport Delhi, achieving the highest Level 5 certification for carbon emission reduction efforts from the Airport Carbon Accreditation Programme. Other major airports like Mumbai and Hyderabad have achieved carbon neutrality, while Kochi is recognized as the world's first fully solar-powered airport and Indore as a zero-waste airport, demonstrating significant progress driven by the Ministry of Civil Aviation's push for standardized carbon accounting and net-zero targets, and further aided by India's advantage of developing new, greenfield infrastructure that allows for the embedding of sustainability from the outset rather than expensive retrofitting.

On World Environment Day, India's airports are emerging as global leaders in net-zero initiatives, with 66 airports already operating on 100% clean energy and two, Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru and Indira Gandhi International Airport Delhi, achieving the highest Level 5 certification for carbon emission reduction efforts from the Airport Carbon Accreditation Programme. Other major airports like Mumbai and Hyderabad have achieved carbon neutrality, while Kochi is recognized as the world's first fully solar-powered airport and Indore as a zero-waste airport, demonstrating significant progress driven by the Ministry of Civil Aviation's push for standardized carbon accounting and net-zero targets, and further aided by India's advantage of developing new, greenfield infrastructure that allows for the embedding of sustainability from the outset rather than expensive retrofitting.

On World Environment Day, India's airports are emerging as global leaders in net-zero initiatives, with 66 airports already operating on 100% clean energy and two, Kempegowda International Airport Bengaluru and Indira Gandhi International Airport Delhi, achieving the highest Level 5 certification for carbon emission reduction efforts from the Airport Carbon Accreditation Programme. Other major airports like Mumbai and Hyderabad have achieved carbon neutrality, while Kochi is recognized as the world's first fully solar-powered airport and Indore as a zero-waste airport, demonstrating significant progress driven by the Ministry of Civil Aviation's push for standardized carbon accounting and net-zero targets, and further aided by India's advantage of developing new, greenfield infrastructure that allows for the embedding of sustainability from the outset rather than expensive retrofitting.

Aviation might be a deeply carbon-emitting business that is still aeons away from any semblance of sustainability. But on the ground, at least a clutch of airports are doing their bit for a cleaner tomorrow, and actually succeeding right today.

And the good news this World Environment Day? That line-up includes quite a few Indian airports as well.

As many as 66 Indian airports run cent per cent on clean energy, according to the Ministry of Civil Aviation. And this is a figure from two years ago, and could have gone up by now. Two out of them, Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport as well as Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport, are in fact amongst the elite 16 leading aerodromes that have achieved Level 5, the highest level of certification given out for carbon emissions-reducing efforts (except for one in Christchurch, New Zealand, all the other 13 are in Europe).

“This accomplishment underscores the growing momentum for airport climate action in the region and highlights the crucial role that airports can play in driving decarbonisation efforts in the aviation sector,” according to a statement by the Airport Carbon Accreditation Programme (ACAP).

Other airports like Mumbai and Hyderabad have achieved Level 4+ and higher Airports International Council (ACI) Accreditation and have become carbon neutral. The efforts are not restricted to the metros alone—Kochi is famous for becoming the world’s first airport fully powered by solar energy, while Indore grabbed headlines by becoming a zero-waste airport, with all waste generated being converted into compost or recycled.

Much of this has been due to consistent proactivity from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, nudging airports to standardise carbon accounting and reporting frameworks by making airport management map the carbon emissions at their airports and aim towards net zero emissions in a time-bound manner.

“(The Ministry) has taken initiatives for working towards carbon neutrality and has also advised developers of the upcoming Greenfield Airports and the respective State Governments to work towards achieving Carbon Neutrality & Net Zero, which inter alia includes use of green energy,” according to a statement. In fact, using clean energy and aiming for net zero is a major vision statement of the just-inaugurated Noida International Airport on the outskirts of the national capital.

India does have an advantage, considering that its airport infrastructure is newish and still evolving, compared to established ones, which would need to do expensive retrofitting to conform to sustainability targets. Sridhar L, assistant vice president & head (ESG) at Bangalore International Airport Limited, explained, “India is uniquely positioned within this transition because much of its infrastructure expansion continues to be greenfield-led. This creates an opportunity to embed sustainability into development at scale rather than retrofitting systems later.”

He added, “A decade ago, large-scale sustainable airport infrastructure in India was often viewed as aspirational. Today, it is increasingly becoming an operational imperative, with sustainability being integrated more deeply into airport infrastructure. From renewable energy and electric mobility to regenerative design and circular resource management, the sector is steadily moving towards more sustainable growth models.”

The intent is clear, with India’s airport ecosystem now focusing on this aspect as a standard. For example, Noida airport even ensured that the seating used in the terminal was low-carbon emission, with workstations being 66 per cent recyclable.

Bengaluru’s newish Terminal 2 is a flagbearer in the endeavour, having been built by integrating sustainability principles at every stage of planning, design, and construction. It was pre-certified LEED Platinum by the US Green Building Council (USGBC).

“All our future expansion projects, including Phase 2, will continue to follow the same sustainability-led approach as we scale capacity responsibly,” said Sridhar.

Challenges do remain, especially when it comes to scaling up sustainability efforts across all aspects of an airport’s functioning, instead of limiting it to a few ‘headline-grabbing’ examples. “This will require stronger policy coordination, improved access to green financing, and deeper integration of environmental considerations into planning and procurement frameworks,” Sridhar felt.

He added, “It also calls for a broader view that goes beyond operational and financial outcomes to include ecological and social dimensions. Ultimately, sustained progress will depend on collaborative ecosystems where governments, industry, investors, regulators, urban planners, and communities work together towards shared long-term sustainability goals.”

Note: World Environment Day falls on June 5 every year. In 2026, the theme is Climate action, according to the UN Environment Programme.

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