Page 46 - Security Today, September 2017

Green Airport Cameras
The real process in environmental technology is happening inside the terminals
BTy E. Anthony Incorvati
he environmental impact of air travel is no secret. While designing more fuel-efficient aircraft and other conservation measures to reduce CO2 emission are on the drawing boards, the real progress is happening in the greening of airport terminals around the country.
Since 2006, the leading organization in green building technology, the U.S. Green Building Council, has been awarding LEED (Leader- ship in Energy and Environmental Design) certification to airports for the design and retrofitting of their terminals using sustainable green technology.
Some of the more notable airports receiving recognition for their sustainability efforts include:
Logan International Airport. Extensive redesign of their Terminal A included new roofing as well as new paving to reduce heat island effect and storm water runoff. They added new systems for water con- servation and waste recycling as well solar trees on a parking garage roof and a wind turbine on the roof of its main building to offset power consumption.
Oakland International Airport. An innovative system of perimeter swales filters pollutant from runoff before the water is channeled in San Francisco Bay.
Mineta San Jose International Airport. They earned their certifi- cation by focusing on water conservation and installing smart heat- ing, cooling, and lighting systems.
San Francisco International Airport. Its many eco-conscious proj- ects include systems for waste recycling and composting, natural lighting and water conservation, air infiltration and ventilation, as well as extensive use of recycled materials.
Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. The new international terminal incor- porates multiple energy-saving systems, including lighting controls and rainwater harvesting.
Sacramento International Airport. Site development for its new Terminal B includes nine acres of groundwater-irrigated natural hab- itat reclaimed from parking lots.
Nowadays you can see this commitment to going green beginning to branch out beyond terminal buildings and tarmacs. Today you’ll find airports participating in sustainability initiatives like composting organic waste from airport restaurants, replacing older ground-trans- port vehicles with hybrid and electric fleets, participating in bio-fuel
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production, even using goats and sheep to graze the landscape.
Making a Green Commitment
One green initiative that’s been flying under the radar is the effort to bring video cameras into alignment with airports’ eco-friendly goals. This has spurred camera manufacturers to address ways they, too, can minimize the environmental impact of their products, packaging and partnership decisions. As a result, leading manufacturers have al- ready begun using recycled material, reducing the number of product parts, choosing low-weight components, minimizing material waste, optimizing packaging, improving product energy consumption effi- ciency, streamlining logistics flows and even opting for more environ- mentally-friendly transport partners.
Smarter, Safer Material Choices
Perhaps the most significant shift is in the choice of raw materials. Typically, video cameras contain a long list of materials from alumi- num, zinc and stainless steel to a number of chemicals, minerals and synthetics. To minimize environmental impact, green manufacturers are choosing to use recycled instead of new produced plastic and eliminating substances that are harmful for people and the environ- ment. This includes toxins such as halogen and PVC which are com- monly used in outdoor cables as well as cameras and bromine which is mainly found printed circuit board and transistors.
As the list of restricted substances continues to grow, green manu- facturers are working with materials suppliers to replace them with greener alternatives.
Compact packaging. In addition to making products smaller, green camera manufacturers are optimizing the packing boxes to correspond more closely to the size of the products. Smaller packag- ing not only lowers the carbon emissions per dispatched unit, it also lowers the transport costs for those products. In addition, manufac- turers are opting for biodegradable packaging wherever possible to minimize long-term impact on the environment.
Lower energy consumption. Energy consumption represents a 60 to 80 percent of the camera’s total environmental impact. Green manufacturers are introducing ways to improve energy efficiency without compromising camera functionality. This includes advanced compression technology which significantly reduces bandwidth and
AIRPORT SECURITY
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