SAN DIEGO – Feb. 29, 2016 – Paul Manasjan, Environmental Affairs Director at San Diego International Airport, has won the Peer Recognition for Outstanding Individual Contribution and Leadership Award from Airports Council International - North America (ACI-NA).

Manasjan has served as the Chair of ACI-NA’s Sustainability Working Group, in which he has:

• Facilitated the exchange of information and best practices on sustainability initiatives,
• Expanded the Sustainability Working Group, and,
• Championed an effort to elevate sustainability within ACI-NA.

“Paul has long been an innovator in the field of sustainability, which has emerged as a global environmental theme and a major business imperative for the 21st century,” said Thella F. Bowens, SAN’s President/CEO. “Sustainable business practices are a key factor in successfully carrying out the mission of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.”

 Manasjan has worked for the Airport Authority since its inception in 2003. His department manages all of SAN’s sustainability programs and initiatives, including air and water quality, Brownfield redevelopment, sustainable development, waste reduction and recycling, wildlife preservation, greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategies, climate resilience and sustainability tracking and reporting.

Under Manasjan’s guidance, the Airport Authority in 2008 adopted one of the first sustainability policies for a major airport in the U.S.  This formalized the Airport Authority’s commitment to an environmentally sustainable future for the airport and the region.

Other sustainability “firsts” for SAN include:

• First commercial airport terminal (Terminal 2) certified LEED Platinum by the United States Green Building Council,
• First airport in the U.S. to publish a Global Reporting Initiative-rated Sustainability Report,
• First airport in the U.S. to sign the Climate Declaration – a business leader call to action that urges policymakers to seize the economic opportunity of addressing climate change.

The ACI-NA represents local, regional and state governing bodies that own and operate commercial airports in the United States and Canada. ACI-NA member airports enplane more than 95 percent of the domestic and virtually all the international airline passenger and cargo traffic in North America. 

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