I have never been in Frankfurt, Germany….well not really…but I have been in the Frankfurt International Airport which is technically in Frankfurt so maybe I can count it…If the airport is anything like the city, Frankfurt must be clean, green and easy to negotiate…in other words, Frankfurt International Airport is a sustainable place that presents it’s sustainable initiatives well to its employees and to the traveling public.
To a traveler, the airport feels like two distinct places with the same mindset. The international terminal (read non-EU) is a glitzy, new looking place filled with light and air. The local EU terminal areas are being modernized but are clearly designed for utility, not glitz. They may look different but they appear to be managed the same way. Frankfurt International Airport is big. Very big. One challenge they had was how to get employees around to tasks like cleaning and for supervisors/management to get around to do check-ups and to respond to situations. Solution: bicycles for management and ride-on motorized carts for the cleaning staff.
Cleaning
These aren’t just any old cleaning carts
. These carts are stocked with every cleaning implement the cleaners might need and are designed to fit them; buckets, mops, brooms and supplies in neat, tidy spots. And the
carts reinforce the training that the cleaners go through with signs about appearance,
attitude, and use of the tools and with diagrams about how to keep the carts stocked and loaded. Every staff person I came in contact with was professional and courteous and every cart I encountered was perfectly organized and neat.
So why is this sustainable? In the People, Profit, Planet mantra a big part of managing our businesses is People; in this case employees and the people who encounter them and their work Frankfurt Airport clearly cares about the airport’s appearance and about it’s employees. The carts also reduce the waste of time, materials and tools; neat, easy to locate and difficult to lose. PLUS the fun factor. How cool to be able to ride on your cleaning cart up and down the ramps at the airport. The things that I want to ride around the airport are the bikes that the supervisors and managers ride. 
Talk about fun factor. Complete with baskets, headlights and cute little bells, these bicycles speed up response time, reduce wear and tear to aging knees, can negotiate anywhere in the airport and use people power to move – that is way more sustainable than a charging station and helps the staff stay I shape at the same time!
Frankfurt still uses electric carts to move folk around who need assistance. I am hoping that next time I am back these megacarts will be pedal powered too.
Greenhouses
As the shuttle bus took us from our airplane parked out on the apron to the gate we passed gate after gate, plane after plane, hanger after hanger – the ‘tour’ provided a look at the size of the airport and went by some very curious things. One thing that surprised me was the size of the greenhouse complex – actually I was more surprised that there were greenhouses at all. Turns out that Frankfurt International has more than 430,000sf of green roof and gardens on various buildings and that the greenhouses are used by airport specialists to support the plantings. A tour of this facility would be fascinating.
Waste Management
Waste management in any big public space is tough 
because you have to not only get staff cooperation but you have to clearly inform the traveling public AND have them cooperate. Lots of places have tons of signs. Frankfurt International does not. Their approach is that separating your individual waste is simply the way to live and do business. Receptacles are available everywhere so no one area ever gets overloaded. A visual inspection of about 30, clearly labeled, neat and clean receptacles on two separate days showed that people were for the most part sorting their waste into: paper, plastic, packaging and non- recyclable. It helps that the vendors in the airport sell products packaged in recyclable materials.
Frankfurt International could reduce plastic recycling waste by providing water bottle refill stations in the airport. As is increasingly prevalent in airports around the world, Frankfurt is focusing on water reduction. In the international terminal there are dual flush toilets, hands free, timed sinks, and timed shower heads. Surprisingly the urinals were not waterless; this seems odd for new renovation/ construction. The airport is also using less water in cleaning by starting with electro-static mops, low water use motorized floor cleaners and as a last resort, wet mops.
Daylighting
Daylighting is something designers are implementing everywhere but one rarely sees it in action. I arrived in Frankfurt with the sun and walked Terminal A as it rose. As the ceiling sensors detected enough light to read, the lights went out allowing the sun to light the terminal. It felt like magic as I strode along turning lights off in my wake! This interest in saving electricity though is a bit of a problem for the traveling public.
The lack of outlets and the few-and-far-between charging stations makes it difficult to keep the myriad of electronics one carries today operational. Perhaps a few solar panel on the roof might offset the increased demand from a few more stations. This would fit well with the City of Frankfurt’s 100% Renewable Energy Goal and 100% reduction of carbon emissions by 2050. 
The Frankfurt area has clearly embraced alternative energy. While flying in I counted at least 200 large and small windmills and could see the glint of rooftop and field mounted solar arrays throughout the immediate area.
When next you are flying through Frankfurt, don’t just sit around charging your phone while you are waiting for your connection. Take yourself on a sustainability tour of this huge, fascinating airport.
