Incorporating Sustainability Goals into Landside and Airside Facilities Design, Construction and Operation  

Clay Lacy Aviation is an experienced operator of private jets. When establishing their fixed-base operator facilities at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, they wanted to incorporate the latest in sustainable design to support both CLA and JWA sustainability goals. 

The FBO and hangars project, which is targeting an Envision® Gold verification, includes ramp space, four hangars that include Orange County Sheriff’s Department office and hangar space within Hangar 3, FBO building, single-story office buildings attached to hangars, relocation of the vehicle service road, automobile parking, helicopter landing pads, and a wash rack. HDR is facilitating the Envision process and documentation preparation to submit the project for Envision verification.

Working Together

As the facilitator for the Envision process, HDR collaborated closely across the team, working with the owner, designer and contractor during design and construction. By listening to discussions as design evolved our experts could both document and provide feedback on choices being made to improve project sustainability. Decisions are documented for the Envision verification submission, covering factors ranging from improving community quality of life to preventing surface and groundwater contamination.

HDR facilitated an interactive Envision workshop with project team members to define the project boundary and perform an assessment to identify a low- and high-end targeted level of achievement for each of the 64 potential Envision credits. Results of that workshop formed the basis for a Sustainability Management Plan that articulated sustainability goals and objectives and defined how the team will review performance toward achieving goals.

HDR developed a Risk and Resiliency Review Report to facilitate a comprehensive climate change vulnerability assessment. This included a multihazard risk and resilience evaluation which identified climate-related and human-induced risks and highlighted mitigation strategies that are part of the project’s design and construction. For example, on-site solar generation reduces grid dependency; use of low flow fixtures, low-irrigation/native plantings and waterless aircraft cleaning reduces water dependency; and supplying sustainable aviation fuel and supporting new electric aviation technologies reduces the use of fossil fuels for aircraft operation and reduces greenhouse gas emissions. 

Corporate Commitment to Sustainability

CLA’s corporate commitment to sustainability – which supports Envision verification – includes reducing its scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions and providing more sustainable solutions for its customers in alignment with its corporate values of Strive for Excellence, Thoughtfully Better, and Do the Right Thing. Actions the company has taken to reduce its carbon footprint and use of natural resources include transitioning ground service equipment to electric or renewable diesel, sourcing 100% of its electricity from renewable sources, implementation of a three-bin waste management system, significantly reducing use of single-use-plastics and purchasing carbon offsets for emissions that cannot be eliminated. 

In the community, Clay Lacy Aviation provides scholarships to local community college students, promoting the JWA Fly Friendly Program which educates jet operators and recognizes their voluntary efforts to safely reduce measurable noise levels and impacts on the environment, and partnerships to advance the adoption of electric aircraft. For their clients, the company has made commitments to supplying sustainable aviation fuel, and providing multilevel carbon offset programs that allow jet users to offset their carbon footprint by funding projects that are good for the environment, and it is installing EV auto charging infrastructure.

CLA’s facilities throughout the U.S. have been certified carbon neutral since 2019. They were the first company certified to NATA’s Sustainability Standard for Aviation Businesses and to be independently rated Facility Green Level by 4AIR. In 2021, the company also joined the EPA’s Green Power Partnership. Against this backdrop it makes sense to examine the five categories of Envision – Quality of Life, Leadership, Resource Allocation, Natural World, and Climate & Risk – as design, construction and operating decisions are made to shape their new facilities.

Producing Results

Examples of choices that CLA, designers and builders have made together that will promote sustainability include:

• Construction waste diversion through recycling, composting, and reuse 
• Dry aircraft wash to reduce water consumption and help eliminate contaminants
• Energy monitoring using ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager
• Electric vehicle charging and provisioning for charging electric ground service equipment and electric aircraft 
• Hangars including solar installation and facilitywide use of 100% renewable electricity, either from on-site solar and/or by participating in Southern California Edison’s Green Rate program

The project will submit for verification in 2024.