Green Success Stories puts Gary Weinstein, Sustainability Manager at JFK International Air Terminal – Terminal 4 (JFKIAT), in the Green Spotlight. Gary shares his lifelong passion for protecting the environment and its inhabitants. He describes innovative efforts of making aviation more sustainable, including decarbonization, ESG, and even harvesting used cooking oil from airport restaurants and turning it into sustainable aviation fuel. He encourages readers to inspire others to assess and improve their own environmental impact.
Tell us a bit about your sustainability journey.
I have always had a passion for environmental preservation, for protecting mother nature and ecological species that can not protect themselves. This was engrained in me as a youth, when I would adopt dogs without homes and visit key environmental conservation sites such as the Everglades where I would learn about the environmental importance of natural land preservation on local habitats and economies. I was fortunate to build upon these experiences and develop a career in sustainability where I can influence multiple stakeholders on a daily basis.
Tell us a bit about the product or solution you offer.
When a lot of people think of the aviation sector, the first thing they think of is likely not sustainability. My goal is to change this perception. Being the Sustainability Manager at JFK International Air Terminal – Terminal 4 (JFKIAT), I have the opportunity to bring ESG initiatives that are at the forefront of the sustainability industry into the aviation space. Such accomplishments at JFK T4 include our reduction in carbon emissions and its associated decarbonization roadmap, installing multiple rain water harvesting stations to reuse rainwater, bringing in renewable energy technologies and investing in RECs, and establishing a robust donation platform to recirculate any no longer needed items such as furniture, materials, etc. to local non profits and communities.
Share a green success story with us – how have you helped customers or other businesses in the fight against climate change?
As part of the diligent waste management strategy at T4, under my team’s guidance, we have established a collection process to recycle all cooking oil from the many restaurants and lounges. This accumulated cooking oil gets recycled and turned into renewable diesel and becomes part of Sustainable Aviation Fuel. Sustainable Aviation Fuel is an alternative energy fuel source for planes as compared to typical jet fuel.
What would you do with $1 billion dollars?
Protect all natural biomes, particularly forests and aquatics as each serves as home to many unique forms of life.
What do you envision your industry looking like in ten years?
I envision the industry having a plethora of future sustainability advocates who have the same, if not greater, appetite as I do, toward making the world a more sustainable place.
What would you like readers to take away from this article?
If you are able to inspire one person to change their habits and consider the environmental/sustainable impacts on their decisions, then we can inspire the world.
How should readers get in touch with you and/or your organization?
Please feel free to reach out to me on linked in at Gary Weinstein, JFKIAT Sustainability Manager or email me at GWeinstein@JFKIAT.com
Kudos
Many thanks to Gary Weinstein and JFK International Airport. Green Success Stories is happy to support and highlight your efforts! We invite you the reader to do the same.
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