The Manchester Board Mayor & Aldermen Special Committee on Airport Activities voted to approve a one‑sentence update to the airport carbon accreditation policy at a special meeting.

Aviation Director Tom Malafrost told the committee that Airports Council International returned the board’s previously approved policy statement because it did not include a clear commitment to future actions. "We commit to further demonstrate our dedication to reducing our carbon footprint by maintaining our carbon accreditation efforts," Malafrost said, reading the sentence the committee added to the statement.

The added sentence is intended to make clear that accreditation is ongoing rather than a one‑time achievement. Malafrost said maintaining accreditation will require recurring work such as quantifying and measuring emissions, adopting best practices, phasing out older equipment and moving to more energy‑efficient systems. He noted the airport has implemented solar panels and replaced oil‑fired equipment where possible as examples of past steps.

Committee members indicated no further questions. A motion to approve the updated policy was moved by Alderman Bergish and seconded by Alderman Vincent. The committee approved the update by voice vote. Chairman Sapienza noted a quorum was present; Alderman Theriault was absent for the meeting.

Malafrost said staff had proactively checked with ACI and was told that adding the single sentence would satisfy ACI’s requirement; the committee will resubmit the revised statement to ACI for final acceptance. With that business concluded, the committee adopted a motion to adjourn.