Quito, November 7 (teleSUR-RHC)-- The International Council of Airports has awarded Mariscal Sucre International Airport a certificate for its minimal environmental footprint.

With this certificate, the airport commits itself to compile data on its daily operations, including the number of vehicles working in the terminal, how much energy is wasted, how air conditioning is used, and how the garbage is processed, among other things.

The international airport opened in February 2013, some 18 kilometers outside the Ecuadorean capital.

Based on data already compiled, the council found the airport's carbon footprint is 5,300 tons of carbon per year, for some 7.5 million passengers. This figure can be compared to the 6,000 annual tons of carbon generated by the airport in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for roughly 2.5 million passengers.

Quiport, the company that manages Sucre airport, engages in a number of practices aimed at mitigating its carbon emissions from, garbage recycling to helping plant trees for those cut down to build the airport.