What makes their work truly original is its evolving nature. Left intentionally unfinished when it was first installed in June 2022, this monumental artwork – 3375 m² in size and installed on the Orly 4 facade just above you – will be gradually coloured in over time as our environmental projects continue to progress.
With each action taken by Paris Aéroport to cut its carbon footprint, optimize its activities, and preserve biodiversity, another fragment of the fresco will be coloured in to reflect the changing face of a new airport, more sustainable and environmentally responsible than in the past.
Geothermal Heating
Since 2010, Paris-Orly Airport has had its own geothermal well, which uses water collected at a depth of 1,800 metres and a temperature of 74 °C to supply its heating circuits. Geothermal energy is a high-performance, renewable energy with a low carbon footprint that enables the Paris-Orly site to prevent an average of 6,500 tonnes of CO2 from being emitted per year.
Reuse of Rainwater
Paris-Orly has the largest airport rainwater treatment system in Europe. Today, this reclaimed water supplies the sanitary facilities at Orly 1 and 2, with an annual saving of more than 75,000 m3 of drinking water. The rainwater reuse system will be extended to Orly 3 in the autumn of 2022, and to Orly 4 by the end of 2023.
Aeronautical Meadows
More than 30% of the airside surface areas of the Paris-Orly site are meadows that are treated without phytosanitary products. They are a haven of biodiversity where more than 200 species of plants and 100 species of birds have already found shelter. This initiative to develop biodiversity has been rewarded with two labels: the EcoJardin label, awarded to an airport for the first time, and the Level-3 Aerobio label, awarded by the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle [French National Museum of Natural History].
Filtering Marsh
Rainfall on the runway takes with it the products used for snow removal and de-icing of the runways. Inaugurated in 2014, a filtering marsh helps to naturally depollute the water thanks to the oxygenating action of its 34,000 reeds, in addition to the settling ponds and the biological action of their bacteria.
Greening of Access Roads
To promote biodiversity at the Paris-Orly site, major greening activities will be carried out: reforestation of embankments and access roads, planting of micro-forests, and reseeding of meadows with local species.
Renaturalisation of the Site
Paris-Orly is committed to returning all areas that are no longer being used to nature. As a result, 3,500 m2 will be de-artificialised in 2022, and then 24,000 m2 in 2023.
Electrification of Vehicles
Every year, nearly 2,000 ambulances are dispatched from Paris-Orly. An emergency fleet is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to serve the hub. Paris-Orly is the first European airport to test an electric ambulance for its emergency response in order to reduce its CO2 emissions. This trial is part of an effort to electrify all of the airport’s vehicles.
Supply of Sanitary Facilities with Rainwater
Reclaimed rainwater will supply the sanitary facilities of Orly 3, representing almost 45,000 m3 of water per year. By 2025, almost a quarter of the hub’s annual consumption will come from reclaimed rainwater.
Improved Efficiency of Waste Heat
Waste heat is the heat released by the process of incinerating residual waste that could not be recovered. This recovered heat is captured at the incineration plant in Rungis and already contributes to heating Paris-Orly, but the supply facilities will be renovated and optimised in early 2023. This work should reduce the CO2 footprint by 6,000 tonnes per year.
Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
To promote low-carbon mobility at Paris-Orly, charging stations will gradually be installed for all electric vehicles, both landside and airside.
Power Supply for Aircraft on the Ground
Auxiliary Power Units, or APUs, are engines that enable aircraft to be heated or cooled while on the ground, amongst other things. To avoid consuming kerosene and to limit CO2 emissions, Paris-Orly will provide another source of energy – electricity – to operate the heating and air conditioning of parked aircraft.
Electric Tarmac
To optimise electricity consumption, ground and assistance machines and vehicles will be replaced with generations that consume less energy and pollute less. Charging stations will allow all these ground vehicles to be easily recharged with electricity.
Arrival of Metro Line 14
With the support of Paris-Orly, the Société du Grand Paris [Greater Paris Transport Authority] is extending metro line 14 to reach Paris in just 14 minutes. Once the work is completed, the airport will have a multimodal station, allowing passengers, hub employees and local residents to make unrestricted use of soft mobility to access the airport.
Development of the Network of Cycle Paths and Lanes
The airport’s network of cycle paths and lanes will be extended to strengthen the local transport and soft mobility network for passengers, staff and local residents. These new paths and lanes, as well as secure bicycle parking, will help users to cross the site easily and safely.
Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA 4+)
Airport Carbon Accreditation assesses and recognises efforts made by airports to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. It comprises four levels of accreditation: mapping, reduction, optimisation and neutrality. Paris-Orly is already ACA 3 accredited, and its goal is to achieve the highest level of this accreditation by 2024.
Installation of Photovoltaic Panels
Photovoltaic panels capturing solar energy will be installed on some of the runway buildings to enable electric vehicles to be recharged and to generate low-carbon energy.