Raleigh-Durham Airport Earns Platinum Sustainability Award

RDU has received the Envision Platinum Award from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure for integrating sustainable practices into its Park Economy 3 (PE3) Expansion project. The PE3 project will expand the public surface parking lot near the intersection of Aviation Parkway and National Guard Drive from 3,820 to 11,000 spaces.

The Envision framework evaluates civil infrastructure projects across a range of sustainability indicators. Platinum is the highest level of recognition.

“Being recognized with the Platinum Award reinforces RDU’s commitment to designing and building sustainable infrastructure as we create an airport for the future,” said Michael Landguth, president and CEO of the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority. “I would like to extend my gratitude to the many members of Team RDU and our business partners whose innovation and creativity led to this prestigious honor.”

Among the sustainable practices contributing to the award are:

• The inclusion of solar panels that will offset energy consumption.
• Efforts to minimize impacts on the surrounding land.
• Construction of a submerged gravel wetland stormwater management system that is the first of its kind in North Carolina.
• The creation of 1,400 jobs associated with the project and an estimated economic impact of $288 million.
• Implementation of meaningful proactive stakeholder engagement as part of the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority’s newly initiated environmental review process.

The Park Economy 3 Expansion is the third project in North Carolina to earn Envision verification and the first in the state to achieve Platinum status. It is also the first airport project in North Carolina to receive the award.

RDU is also pursuing Envision verification for the signature project in its Vision 2040 capital program – the replacement of Runway 5L/23R.