DNV certifies Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL), the owner and operator of the state-of-the-art Bengaluru International Airport, to ISO 14001 standard.
Bengaluru International Airport, India's largest and first greenfield airport, which started operations in May 2008, was recently certified by DNV to the internationally recognised ISO 14001 Environment Management System standard.
A very happy S. Nandakumar, Zonal Manager (South Zone), DNV India, says that, "This is indeed a milestone contract for us." Pointing out he says, "BIAL, with its contemporary airport design, sets a benchmark for future commercial development of airports in India. Moreover, it feels good to be associated with a company like BIAL, which has a strong continuing long-term commitment to Operational and Sustainable Performance”.
Aswin Kumar Krishnamoorthy, Lead Auditor of the BIAL project adds saying, "Many of our competitors had bid for this contract and despite huge competition, we secured the deal with BIAL because of our excellent project management capabilities and our competent and dedicated team of auditors. Besides this, DNV's strong brand name in the environment and safety verification space made it a lot easier.”
On receiving the certificate from DNV’s S. Nandakumar, an extremely proud CEO of BIAL, Marcel Hungerbuehler said, “We are extremely proud that our environmental management system complies with the stringent ISO 14001: 2004 certification standards,” further adding, "It was a very pleasant experience to work with DNV. Their goal oriented positive approach and the high set standard levels have added value to our operational efficiency. This certification and other proposals in pipeline will help us to fulfill our environmental commitment to the Government, public and all our stake holders and will definitely act as a bench mark for sustainability."
Furthermore, BIAL’s Chief Infrastructure Officer, Mr. Hari Kumar added saying, "We had targeted to achieve this accredition by May 2010. However, the team spirit demonstrated by our core team members and the valuable suggestions from DNV to refine our process for an improved performance, were the two key factors which made it possible 4months ahead of the schedule. We will be extremely happy to receive the support of DNV for our future projects too."
Looking ahead
In 2009, DNV extended its EMS certification capabilities in the aviation space by certifying Delhi International Airport to the environment management system standard. BIAL is the second airport in India to get their operations certified to the ISO 14001 standard…and we are positive that taking a cue from these two airports, others operating in this sector will follow suit,” says Nandakumar, further adding, “This contract will further help us consolidate our presence in the aviation sector and we see a huge potential for us in the Indian market.”
