Visit March last, IATA at a conference on passenger service, unveiled a brand new new methodology for calculating CO2 emissions. This was the result of work undertaken not only with the transport companies - but also with the public authorities. 20 airlines In addition to aircraft manufacturers, organisations responsible for defining international standards and logistics service providers. The International Air Transport Association thus assumed the responsibility inherent in its status to face up to the challenge of standardisation, in the face of such a global issue to which individual solutions are all too often proposed.
The urgency of climate change has not escaped any of the business travel industry's stakeholders, and initiatives have multiplied in recent years and accelerated in recent months. The problem is that to effectively reduce or offset your carbon footprint, you need to be able to put a figure on it. Another problem is that each player has launched its own solution, based on its own criteria. The result is a myriad of thermometers with just as many units of measurement, with equally disparate levels of reliability... And so travel managers are moving blindly along the road to eco-responsibility.
It is therefore up to the most legitimate players to take charge of this issue, in order to provide travel managers and companies as a whole with the most relevant and objective tools. A major step has just been taken with IATA. On the occasion of its general meetingheld in Dubai, the International Air Transport Association has unveiled IATA CO2 Connect. This online tool aims to calculate CO2 emissions for all commercial passenger flights. This is based on raw data supplied by the airlines themselves, which is detailed enough to move away from existing theoretical data modelsas the project managers assure us. IATA CO2 Connect covers data from 881 airline operatorsfor 57 types of equipmentThis represents 98% of the active fleet today. This data therefore reflects the methodology developed a few weeks earlier, which includes, for example, a weighting of cabin classes and a multiplier effect to reflect the different configurations of the airlines, or their carbon offsetting measures and the integration of the SAF.
According to those in charge of the project, IATA CO2 Connect is aimed in particular at business travel agencies, airlines themselves, large companies and, within them, travel managers and travellers. The tool - which can be integrated via an API - will be supported by a leading launch partner, namely American Express Global Business Travel (Amex GBT). TMC, which has already launched a number of initiatives on this issue, will now be able to provide its customers with more precise information on flight emissions, thereby encouraging more responsible choices.
" Flying sustainably and reducing CO2 emissions is an absolute priority "IATA's Senior Vice President, Commercial Products and Services, Frédéric Léger, sums up. " The aviation sector is striving to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and travellers want to be more aware of their carbon footprint. With IATA CO2 Connect, individuals and business travel managers can get accurate, standardised calculations to make the most sustainable choices for their air travel, taking into account aircraft type, route and class of travel. It is important to note that the data can be consolidated for corporate reporting purposes. "says Frédéric Léger.
