Platinum Award to KIX Seaweed Bed Project at Green Airports Recognition 2024

Kansai Airports is pleased to announce that our project “Creating a rich seaweed bed and blue carbon” at Kansai International Airport (KIX) received the Platinum Award, the highest award, in the ACI Green Airports Recognition 2024, an event organized by ACI Asia-Pacific & Middle East^*.

The Green Airports Recognition is an open call for projects related to the sustainability in the environmental field for airports in the Asia-Pacific and Middle East region, and awards are given to airports that have achieved outstanding results. The theme for 2024 was "Biodiversity and NatureBased Solutions”. We set our eyes on the project of creation and conservation of seaweed beds which we have been working on continuously since the construction of the airport and made an entry to the contest as a project that contributes to the conservation of biodiversity at the airport and in the region and to the reduction of CO2 emissions through our seaweed beds.

Our Representative Director & CEO Yoshiyuki Yamaya attended the ceremony and received the award at the ACI Asia Pacific Middle East Regional Assembly in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia held on Wednesday, May 22.

Kansai Airports Group will continue to promote company-wide efforts to reduce environmental impact and contribute to the realization of a sustainable society through the operation of airports, which are public infrastructure.

Creation of seaweed bed environment at KIX
As an offshore airport, KIX has been actively working to create a seaweed bed environment that provides a habitat for marine life in harmony with the marine environment since the development plan of the airport. The gently sloping rubble mound seawalls used for most of the seawalls allow light to reach a wide area, making it easy for seaweed to grow. Our efforts to plant seaweed and preserving it by continuously monitoring the status have resulted in the creation of a rich seaweed bed environment, leading to the diversity of the marine ecosystem.

Drawing of the sloping rubble mound seawalls