Techo International Airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, represents an ambitious attempt to combine large-scale aviation infrastructure with environmental responsibility, cultural identity and passenger-focused design.
Designed by Foster + Partners, the airport draws inspiration from Cambodia’s architectural heritage while incorporating renewable energy, biophilic design and a flexible development strategy. The result is intended to be more than a transport hub: it aims to become a modern national gateway and a prominent example of how future airports can reduce their environmental impact.
One of the airport’s most distinctive features is its expansive roof canopy, supported by branching structural columns resembling trees.
The design creates a sense of lightness despite the scale of the terminal, while providing shelter from Cambodia’s tropical climate. Its modular structure also supports future expansion, allowing the airport to grow as passenger demand increases.
Rather than treating the terminal as a purely functional building, the design seeks to give arriving and departing passengers a strong sense of place. The architecture combines contemporary engineering with references to Cambodia’s culture, landscape and architectural traditions.
Biophilic design is central to the passenger experience.
Mature trees and planted areas are integrated throughout the terminal, softening the scale of the building and creating a stronger connection between the interior and the surrounding landscape.
This approach can deliver more than visual appeal. Natural elements may help make large public spaces feel calmer, more welcoming and easier to navigate. In an airport environment, where passengers may be tired, anxious or unfamiliar with their surroundings, thoughtful planting and natural light can make a meaningful difference to the overall experience.
For facilities teams, however, these features also create important operational considerations. Irrigation, drainage, plant health, pest management and interior environmental conditions must all be carefully managed if the landscaping is to remain attractive and sustainable over the long term.
A major part of the airport’s sustainability strategy is the proposed use of an extensive onsite photovoltaic farm.
The solar installation is expected to supply a significant proportion of the airport’s electricity, reducing reliance on conventional energy sources and supporting lower operational emissions.
Airports are highly energy-intensive environments. Lighting, baggage systems, air-conditioning, security technology, retail areas and passenger services all require substantial and continuous power.
Integrating renewable generation into the development therefore represents an important step towards improving the environmental performance of the estate.
The greatest benefit will come when renewable energy is combined with efficient building systems, intelligent controls and careful demand management. Solar power alone cannot make an airport sustainable; it must form part of a wider strategy covering energy use, water, waste, transport, maintenance and asset lifecycle planning.
The airport’s development is structured in phases.
The initial configuration includes a central head house and aerofoil-shaped wings, with capacity for approximately 13 million passengers each year. A later expansion is intended to increase total capacity to around 30 million passengers annually.
This phased model allows infrastructure to grow alongside demand rather than requiring the entire future estate to be constructed at once.
From a facilities and asset-management perspective, this can offer several advantages:
The challenge will be ensuring that each phase integrates effectively with the existing terminal without creating inconsistent systems, duplicated infrastructure or disruption to live airport operations.
Techo International Airport reflects a much broader movement across global business.
Organisations are under increasing pressure from customers, employees, investors and regulators to demonstrate meaningful environmental action. Sustainability is no longer treated solely as a corporate responsibility initiative; it has become closely connected to operational efficiency, reputation, investment and long-term resilience.
This shift is visible across industries as varied as entertainment, fashion, sport, property and transport.
Inspired by Techo International Airport’s environmental ambitions, we looked at several other organisations pursuing significant sustainability programmes.
Disney operates a vast international estate spanning theme parks, resorts, offices, studios, retail operations and production facilities.
Its environmental ambitions include reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, improving energy efficiency and limiting waste sent to landfill. Water conservation is also an important part of its strategy, particularly across large resort and theme-park destinations.
Initiatives may include:
For an organisation of Disney’s scale, even incremental improvements can have a substantial overall impact.
The facilities and operational teams managing its properties play a central role in translating high-level environmental commitments into practical day-to-day performance.
Nike’s environmental approach extends beyond the buildings it occupies.
The company has incorporated recycled and lower-impact materials into parts of its product range while also working to reduce the environmental impact of manufacturing and its wider supply chain.
Its initiatives include the use of recycled polyester, renewable energy and supplier environmental standards.
This demonstrates an important principle: meaningful sustainability cannot be limited to an organisation’s direct operations.
For global businesses, environmental performance is also influenced by:
Facilities Management remains part of that picture, particularly through energy use, workplace operations and estate performance, but the greatest progress often requires coordinated action across the entire organisation.
Formula 1 has committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2030.
The programme extends beyond the racing itself to the wider championship operation, including logistics, facilities, energy use and event delivery.
Reducing Formula 1’s environmental impact is especially complex because the sport operates across multiple countries and depends upon extensive international travel, freight and temporary infrastructure.
Its strategy also seeks to create a positive legacy in host communities and support the natural environment.
The programme demonstrates how sustainability can become a catalyst for innovation, encouraging advances in:
Given Formula 1’s visibility, its environmental commitments may also influence audiences, partners and the wider motorsport industry.
Large sustainability commitments attract attention, but their success depends on operational delivery.
Facilities professionals are often responsible for implementing many of the practical measures that determine whether environmental targets are achieved.
These may include:
The challenge is not simply installing new technology. It is ensuring that systems are commissioned correctly, maintained effectively and operated in a way that delivers measurable performance over many years.
Techo International Airport demonstrates the potential of integrating sustainability into a major infrastructure project from the beginning.
Its renewable-energy plans, biophilic terminal environment and phased development strategy offer a vision of an airport that seeks to balance capacity, passenger experience and environmental responsibility.
However, the true measure of success will come during operation.
The airport will need strong facilities leadership, accurate performance data and long-term investment to ensure its sustainability features continue delivering the intended benefits.
The same principle applies to Disney, Nike, Formula 1 and every organisation pursuing ambitious environmental targets.
Sustainability is not achieved through one building, announcement or technology. It is the result of thousands of operational decisions made consistently over time.
When architectural ambition is supported by effective Facilities Management, responsible procurement and measurable environmental performance, organisations can turn sustainability from a promise into a lasting operational reality.
