The City of Airdrie is leading the way in environmental awareness with the 2013 Airdrie Regional Air Show July 13 and 14 at the Airdrie Airpark.
This year’s event will be carbon neutral thanks to a partnership with Avmax Group Ltd. Officials with the aviation company have committed to purchasing carbon credits to offset the predicted carbon footprint created by the show.
Al Jones, media spokesman for the air show, says this is the first show of its kind that has undertaken an initiative to be carbon neutral.
“I’ve looked around and haven’t been able to find any other air show that is doing something like this,” said Jones. “Airdrie as a city is very environmentally conscious, this is an idea that had been kicked around for a while.”
Carbon credits are certificates that represent the right to emit carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gasses. Avamax, an aviation company with over 600 employees globally specializes in regional aircraft and is the largest owner of Dash 8 aircraft in the world.
The company has secured the carbon credits through Calgary-based Blue Source Canada, a leading developer and marketer of green house gas emission reduction credits in Canada.
The sponsorship from Avmax will afford the city the ability to make up for the carbon footprint left due to fossil fuels that are burned by the aircrafts and vehicles driving to and from the event.
This credits will benefit a biomass energy project in Heffley Creek, British Columbia by way of financial assistance. The project reduces greenhouse gas emissions by replacing fossil fuels with renewable biomass.
The air show board purchased some carbon credits for the 2009 show as a trial run, but it wasn’t until Avmax stepped in as a sponsor this year that they were able to see the project through.
“We’re really happy that Avmax is on board with this,” said Jones.
Avmax is a major stakeholder in the Airdrie Airpark and have been involved with the air show since 2009.
Executive Vice President of Avmax Don Parkin was a volunteer with the first show and is proud to be a supporter.
“We (Avmax) have always been involved in aviation related events so it’s natural for us to lend our support,” said Parkin. “In the past we’ve sponsored the event by providing ground equipment or fuel; this year our sponsorship is being used to purchase the carbon credits.”
The cost of the credits could be upwards of thousands of dollars, but the total will not be known until final tallies on fuel consumption are known.
Jones and the air show committee will be taking care of everything they can on the ground floor of the show, taking measures such as hiring youth groups as clean-up crews and using a shuttle service to cut down on vehicle traffic. Air show spectators will be able to park their vehicles at either Ron Ebbesson Arena in Airdrie or at the CrossIron Mills mall in Balzac and take a free shuttle to the airpark.
“This will cut down on idling cars and emissions,” said Jones. “We’re putting out cardboard bins for the vendors as well and encouraging them to recycle all of their cardboard; last year’s air show we saw some vendors switch from Styrofoam plates to paper, I’m proud of how everyone has pulled together on this and really appreciate it.”
Visit www.airdrieairshow.com for information on tickets.
