Business aviation sustainability solutions provider Azzera has been selected to provide CORSIA-compliant carbon credits for Pratt & Whitney Canada’s (P&WC) Carbon Offset Service, which is available to operators of all aircraft powered by the manufacturer’s engines, including business jets, helicopters and regional and general aviation aircraft. Under the arrangement, Azzera says it will supply a portfolio of high-quality carbon credits rated through the company’s Impact Score, a quality assurance system based on official project registries such as Verra, Gold Standard and American Carbon Registry, and a proprietary rating system. Azzera has also added what it claims is an industry-first sustainable aviation fuel management module to its CELESTE software platform that enables aircraft operators to manage and track their SAF uplift and assess its contribution to emissions reduction. Both SAF uplift and book-and-claim are trackable through the functionality.

P&WC’s Carbon Offset Service is a flexible add-on to its Eagle Service Plan or Fleet Management Program engine maintenance agreements and aims to offer customers a straightforward way to offset the carbon footprint caused by the use of their aircraft.

Azzera says its Impact Score addresses concerns about the voluntary carbon markets regarding the validity and impact of carbon credits, “offering a tangible and auditable metric that mitigates the risk of greenwashing.”

Explained Puja Mahajan, the company’s CEO and co-founder: “The Azzera Impact Score ensures that the carbon credits provided are both high-quality and have verified and significant environmental impact. Working with customers such as Pratt & Whitney Canada, we are making it easier for aircraft operators to not only offset their emissions but also to understand and quantify the positive environmental impact of their contributions.”

Responded Irene Makris, VP Customer Service, Pratt & Whitney Canada: “We are committed to providing our customers a seamless way of offsetting aviation carbon emissions. Through our arrangement with Azzera, we provide our customers with a means to compensate for their aviation emissions and help them ensure the quality of their sustainability investment. We are focusing exclusively on CORSIA-eligible credits, adding an additional layer of due diligence to our Carbon Offset Service.”

Since its inception in May 2022, Azzera says it has facilitated the compensation of over 55,000 tonnes of carbon credits directly or indirectly through its advisory role, tracked 97,300 flights and measured more than 1.2 million tonnes of emissions, representing 6% of business aviation’s total carbon footprint.

The new SAF module aims to boost CELESTE’s emissions data collection and reporting capability, says the company. The digital platform integrates with flight scheduling software to access and process data for real-time emissions calculations. To simplify the calculations, emissions are segregated by carbon compliance market, including CORSIA and emissions trading systems such as the EU ETS, UK ETS and CH ETS. Beyond segregating emissions, the SAF module also allocates SAF uptake to specific missions, better preparing operators for the forthcoming ReFuelEU aviation mandates, which from 2025 requires all aviation fuel provided at EU airports to contain a minimum fraction of SAF.

“The European business aviation fleet makes up about 15% of the world’s total and the vast majority of Europe’s operators are counting emissions – the mandates are driving this – and increasingly operators worldwide are voluntarily monitoring emissions too,” said Mahajan.

With the SAF data stored in a single module, CELESTE users can optimise the system to increase visibility around their use of SAF as the module tracks where the SAF is purchased, how much is uplifted and which routes were flown. In addition, the system also facilitates SAF book-and-claim transactions for business aviation clients, aggregates SAF demand and provides SAF certificates directly to the operator on its platform interface.

Photo: Pratt & Whitney Canada’s PW800 powers the Gulfstream G500 business jet

Christopher Surgenor

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Sustainability standards body RSB has entered a strategic collaboration with Air bp to launch a pilot book and claim system that allows the jet fuel supplier’s customers to purchase sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) without a physical connection with the supply site. Book and claim is particularly relevant to the general and business aviation market where fuel volumes are smaller and typically purchased over a wide number of locations, while current SAF volumes and existing supply points remain limited. The new programme will enable Air bp to deliver SAF into the supply chain at one airport location and ‘book’ the carbon reduction associated with it into a registry. Then the customer at another location can ‘claim’ those carbon reductions by purchasing their traditional jet fuel along with the benefit of the lifecycle carbon reductions that have been registered in that registry, reports Susan van Dyk. The system can be used with jet fuel purchases in France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, subject to availability, with more locations possible in the future. According to RSB, the pilot scheme and concurrent stakeholder consultations to finalise a book and claim manual will ensure SAF transactions using the system are credible, traceable and avoid double counting. Certification will guarantee the net environmental effect is the same, no matter where SAF is purchased and used.

“Book and claim will be crucial,” said Elena Schmidt, interim Executive Director of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB), and “can help to bring the value of SAF to customers who would like to buy it or need the benefits from flying with SAF.”

A lack of availability, which is further limited to only a few locations, places SAF out of reach of many potential customers, explained Schmidt, and is a challenge to the expanded deployment of SAF. If SAF had to be physically available at every airport, additional costs would also be incurred in transportation, and associated emissions would increase. A book and claim system provides a solution to the logistical challenge of bringing SAF to market to allow customers to purchase SAF while decoupling environmental benefits from the physical product, which can be transferred separately via a dedicated registry. The principles of the system are illustrated below.

The pilot phase will run from Q3 2021 to Q1 2022 before the market launch of the certification system in Q2 2022 that will open it to wider market adoption. The first SAF transactions and pilot certificates will be issued during the pilot phase, and specifications for the post-pilot registry will be developed. In tandem, stakeholder consultations will take place and key issues will be addressed, including establishment of rules to prevent double-counting, recognition by voluntary GHG disclosure programmes such as the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), dealing with data confidentiality versus public availability, and alignment with other initiatives and recognition by other programmes. Lessons learnt and stakeholder comments will be integrated into the final certification requirements for the RSB Book & Claim Manual. Key mid-point results of the project will be presented during the 2021 RSB Annual Conference in November.

Air bp will be the first fuel supplier to register and make trades using the RSB book and claim solution. David Mosley from Air bp explained at a RSB seminar held in August that the company had received multiple requests for SAF from customers all over the world. He said book and claim will widen access of SAF to customers who are not located near current SAF production and several customers had requested a book and claim system, which had prompted the collaboration with RSB. “We hope this pilot will increase the appetite for SAF in the industry,” he added.

The minimum volume of book and claim SAF that can be purchased is 5,000USG/19,000 L/ 19m³/ 15MT. As well as giving a wider range of customers access to the benefits of SAF, book and claim will help Air bp to understand SAF demand. In the meantime, Air bp will continue to develop physical SAF supply chains based on demand.

The RSB book and claim is a chain of custody model in which the administrative record flow is not connected to the physical flow of material or product throughout the supply chain. The system includes a registry that guarantees full traceability and mitigates the risk of double counting. SAF suppliers, holding a registry account, will be able to record and trade SAF volumes in the registry, which will issue retirement certificates for airlines and corporate customers.

The system will allow aircraft operators to use the physical fuel in one location while claiming the environmental benefits in a different location to reduce their emissions. Alternatively, it enables the attribution of GHG emission reductions through SAF use to corporations to reduce their Scope 3 emissions.

Integration and alignment of the RSB system with other systems such as the World Economic Forum’s Clean Skies for Tomorrow (CST) SAF Certificate (SAFc) system for corporate travellers (see article) is a goal, and exploring how the RSB system will function under the European Commission’s recently released ReFuelEU proposal, which does not currently include a book and claim system, will be clarified in the near future.

The WEF CST SAFc framework is based on the same principle of separating SAF from its sustainability characteristics but has a different focus than the RSB book and claim system. It is an accounting tool that will allow SAF emissions reductions to be claimed by the traveller if they cover the higher cost of the fuel. It works within standard book and claim processes, allowing the actual SAF to be delivered to the airport nearest its production plant.

A rigorous SAF certificate system will be an essential component of other initiatives such as the Sustainable Aviation Buyers Alliance (SABA), comprised of corporations with significant air travel and freight footprints (i.e. Scope 3 emissions) who want to achieve net zero emissions (see article).

A question arises on how these different systems will be integrated to avoid situations like double counting and whether a joint registry should be established for all these systems. According to RSB’s Schmidt, alignment between initiatives is important and will need to be addressed. RSB believes it can contribute to the development process of other initiatives such as SABA since it has the proven ability to develop robust auditing frameworks and the rulebook on book and claim systems using its multi-stakeholder platform. RSB says it can also provide information for developing a credible registry and retirement certificates while also ensuring additional environmental benefits through the use of such credits and avoiding double counting.

The pilot scheme between RSB and Air bp will provide lessons learned to feed into other initiatives, said Schmidt. However, she pointed out, the RSB book and claim and the SAFc systems have different aspirations, and the specific alignment of the systems must be clarified. There are a lot of details that still need to be figured out, she added.

Another area of uncertainty is how the RSB book and claim system will function within the EU as the proposed ReFuelEU Aviation regulation does not currently include provision for such a system. The ReFuelEU Aviation proposal, released as part of the European Commission’s ‘Fit for 55’ climate package, includes a mandate on fuel suppliers to include SAF in aviation fuel supplied at EU airports (see article). The proposed regulation indicates explicitly a book and claim system is not included at this stage, although it is not excluded as a future possibility, provided that it be governed by robust rules ensuring the environmental integrity of the system. While SAF would initially not need to be supplied at every airport, fuel suppliers must provide at least a 2% blend of SAF at every airport – a fraction of the 20% proposed mandate by this date – from 2030-2035. The balance of the mandate can be met by supplying a higher share of SAF at select airports. According to Schmidt, this indicates that some type of certificate trading is implied and that the RSB book and claim system can provide a solution.

During its August seminar, RSB also announced the establishment of the EcoTransport Programme, a sustainability certification that allows transport companies to get a credible third-party RSB certification for their sourcing of fuels that are in compliance with the strong sustainability criteria of the RSB. For example, explained Schmidt, an airline could sell a branded ‘ecofly’ ticket to customers as opposed to a regular ticket. This product would carry RSB certification and allow the use of the RSB trademark. While book and claim allows SAF certified by other sustainability schemes, the EcoTransport certification will comply with stricter sustainability criteria. It goes beyond GHG reductions to provide assurance on key customer concerns around deforestation, food security, labour rights and supply chains, backed by RSB standards. The programme will not be limited to the aviation sector but could also be used by cargo shipping, for example.

Top photo and infographic: Air bp

Susan van Dyk

GreenAir Correspondent

www.svdconsulting.ca

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Rolls-Royce and Shell have signed a long-term agreement to progress the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in aircraft engines and support the aviation industry’s decarbonisation efforts. Under a memorandum of understanding (MoU), the two companies will expand on existing areas of cooperation, including the engine manufacturer’s new SAFinity service for the business aviation sector and for which Shell is the exclusive SAF supplier. They will also work together on demonstrating the use of 100% SAF as a full drop-in engine solution, building on Rolls-Royce’s ongoing ground test programme for which Shell has provided the SAF. Currently, SAF can only be blended up to a maximum 50% with conventional jet fuel and the two companies will explore opportunities to help progress the use of 100% SAF towards certification. Rolls-Royce has committed to making all of its civil aero-engines in production compatible with 100% SAF by 2023 and increasing the share of its R&D spend on lower and net zero carbon technologies from 50% to at least 75% by 2025.

Both Rolls-Royce and Shell have set respective targets to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and under the MoU they will collaborate on finding decarbonisation solutions, including both contributing technologies and expertise to help reduce operational emissions. Shell says it will assess opportunities to support Rolls-Royce in reducing travel emissions through the supply of SAF, while the engine manufacturer will lend its technical expertise to advise Shell in its new fuels development, as well as low-carbon energy alternatives for new aircraft and power systems.

The MoU also envisages the two partners working together to proactively engage industry bodies and forums to progress strategic policy issues, and address existing barriers associated with the aviation sector’s decarbonisation efforts.

“Being from different parts of the aviation value chain means Rolls-Royce and Shell bring complementary expertise, experiences and ideas to the table,” said Anna Mascolo, President, Shell Aviation. “Wide-ranging cooperation can drive new solutions that will help the aviation industry and our customers navigate a pathway to net zero.”

Added Paul Stein, Chief Technology Officer at Rolls-Royce: “We believe that working together on these aims can deliver benefits for both the development of new innovations as well as collaborating to find ways to unlock the net carbon emissions reduction potential of technology that is already in use today. SAFs will not only power large aircraft and business aviation but also hybrid-electric Urban Air Mobility and the forthcoming generation of hybrid fixed-wing city hoppers, which is why we place such importance on the ramp up of SAF adoption across the industry.”

The SAFinity service was unveiled in May at the virtual European business aviation convention EBACE Connect with launch customer Luxaviation Group, one of the world’s largest business aircraft operators. Catering initially for business aviation, customers can build in SAF purchase to their sustainability programmes that include investment in carbon offsetting projects, with a certain amount being spent on buying SAF from Shell.

“This will help increase demand and accelerate the availability and use of SAF in the aviation industry – with SAFinity, we simply want to stimulate the market,” a Rolls-Royce spokesperson told GreenAir. “For business aviation customers, who are really willing to support this journey, it’s about minimising their carbon footprint while also investing in the SAF infrastructure.

“The good thing is that this service works as book-and-claim, which means we are making sure the SAF is produced and used anywhere in the aviation system rather than having to ensure it’s at a certain airport or that a specific engine is safe to operate on SAF. We buy a certain amount of SAF and our supplier will make it available somewhere in the system.”

The Rolls-Royce commitment to having all its civil aero-engines in production compatible with 100% SAF, through testing, by 2023 also means two-thirds of the current fleet of Trent large engines and three-fifths of business jet engines will be SAF-ready within three years. This aligns with the UN Race to Zero breakthrough goal of 10% of all the fuel used in aviation being SAF by 2030, states the company. Engines for other sectors also have 2023 targets and achieving all 2023 targets now forms part of executive remuneration policy.

Top photo: Rolls-Royce has tested 100%SAF on its Pearl 700 business aviation engine that is being developed at Rolls-Royce’s Center for Business Aviation Engines in Dahlewitz, Germany

Sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) are seen as the key driver in decarbonising the airline industry but although responsible for just a small proportion of total aviation emissions, the business aviation sector is keen to play an important role in advancing the global uptake of SAF to support carbon reduction goals. It recently brought together SAF producers, aircraft manufacturers, business jet operators and policymakers to discuss the next steps to increase uptake at its first-ever European Business Aviation SAF Summit, reports Susan van Dyk. The sector is keen for policy support to incentivise the SAF value chain and make the production, purchase and use of SAF more accessible and affordable, with provision for a robust book-and-claim system to ensure all business aviation operators have the opportunity to benefit from the emission reductions afforded by SAF. The much-anticipated upcoming release of the ReFuelEU Aviation legislative proposal will aim to establish a regulatory framework to stimulate SAF production and uptake, with a blending mandate likely to be a policy cornerstone. The virtual Summit was notable for the first details emerging of how the mandate could be implemented.

In an opening keynote, EU Transport Commissioner Adina-Ioana Vălean said the use of SAF was one of the key ways the aviation sector could contribute to climate targets and must account for an increasing share of the fuel mix over time to reach more than 60% by 2050.

“Unfortunately, production is still at a very early stage and remains close to 0.5% of total jet fuel use,” she said. “I’m confident, however, that our upcoming ReFuelEU Aviation initiative will take us to the next level. I hope it will significantly boost both production and uptake of SAF by establishing a long-term regulatory framework at the European level and avoid reliance on national initiatives.

“Blending seems the best way to increase SAF production over time. We are currently looking at possible designs, with the aim of adopting legislative proposals before the summer. Targets will be binding on the one hand but on the other they must be realistic, initially modest but becoming more ambitious beyond 2030.”

Vălean suggested synthetic fuels, which include e-fuels, would become one of the main routes to decarbonising aviation. Measures would be needed to develop the market, including targeted financial support, help with fuel certification and ensuring fair competition, she said. Discussions must also accelerate in global fora like ICAO and convince “our third country aviation partners” that SAF was the right choice to ensure the sector had a sustainable future, she told the virtual conference.

“The cost for clean fuels must be shared as fairly as possible. Airlines and aircraft operators will probably end up paying a little more for their fuel but the increase should be modest,” she said. “The challenge is huge but we know what we need to do and we need to start now as 2030 is just around the corner.”

Filip Cornelis, Director of Aviation at the European Commission, said he believed a blending mandate to be the best option to address the “chicken and egg problem and help the demand and supply curves to meet somewhere.” A blending mandate across the EU would boost demand for SAF and maintain and create a level playing field for airlines and operators, he added. In designing the regulation, Cornelis indicated the Commission “wanted to be ambitious and realistic at the same time.”

The mandate is likely be in the form of a percentage blend that can then be gradually increased over time, with reports suggesting it would start with a modest target of 2% in 2025 and increasing more rapidly in five-year stages up to 2050. The requirement would also likely fall on fuel suppliers rather than airlines and other aircraft operators, and apply to all departing flights regardless of destination.

“We want to have the maximum scope and probably not limit ourselves to internal flights, but all flights that depart from European airports,” said Cornelis. When questioned about the potential political implications of covering international flights, he suggested that by supplying the blend at every airport, all flights would automatically uplift SAF and so maintain a level playing field.

Cornelis reported the Commission expects to implement a simple enforcement instrument without a take-up obligation on individual airlines. If the blend is supplied everywhere, the uptake by individual airlines would not need to be verified. Airlines and operators will need access to data on the amount and type of SAF uptake so that they can receive credits under the EU ETS and CORSIA, he said.

Nicolas Kroll, Head of Sustainability Projects at Luxaviation Group, welcomed a simple regulation design, as business aviation is made up of small operators and a minimum additional administrative burden would be preferred. He also pointed out that claiming of credits for SAF purchases has not been clear and regulations that simplify this process will be welcomed.

Regarding the types of eligible fuels, Cornelis indicated the ReFuelEU regulations would probably rely on the general sustainability framework of the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive. By 2050, Cornelis predicted high volumes of SAF will still be required in spite of technologies such as hydrogen aircraft, probably at blends higher than 50%. Most of these will have to be e-fuels, said Cornelis, and indicated a sub-mandate for e-fuels was being considered as this technology had a significant price handicap compared to other technologies. Without a sub-mandate, e-fuels may not be able to enter the market in any significant way, whereas In the long-term, the bulk of SAF is expected to come from these fuels as they can provide very high emission reductions, he said.

Andrew Murphy, Aviation Director at Transport & Environment, welcomed the ReFuelEU initiative, stating “the sooner the regulations are there, the sooner we can begin to unlock the investment needed to bring these fuels up.” Murphy believes that e-fuels, also known as power-to-liquid, is the only technology that can be sufficiently scaled up to provide the large volumes of SAF required for decarbonisation without requiring land use.

Arvid Loken, Senior Advisor, Carbon Reduction Programme at airport operator Avinor, provided insight into the practical implementation of Norway’s 0.5% SAF mandate, which came into effect from January 2020. The mandate is applicable to domestic and international flights as the obligation is on the fuel supplier. Designed to be flexible and allow cooperation between fuel suppliers, the supplier can source the SAF at any location and provide the whole volume at one airport during any period of time, he said.

Business aviation members stressed the importance of including a book-and-claim system in the regulations, particularly as physical production and supply of SAF was still at an early stage. As John-Angus Smith, Managing Director EMEA region at Signature Aviation explained, it will allow customers “to purchase SAF where it is not available while the fuel is dispensed elsewhere.”

Production of SAF that is locally inserted into the fuel supply reduces logistics and increases sustainability, he said. Book-and-claim is a “virtual purchase and claim of sustainability” and the credit is taken at a different location by the buyer, he explained. “So it fills the local availability gap and will enable, in our view, the expansion of the market.”

This would be a “double win” for the sector, believes Smith, as the operator can lower its footprint but also help the overall sector meet its goals. “It is a physical reduction of emissions even though it is a virtual purchase and that is why it is such an important tool for us as an industry going forward,” he said.

MEP Jan-Christoph Oetjen, who is Vice-Chair of the Committee on Transport and Tourism, argued SAF was not only key in decarbonising aviation but could also reduce its non-CO2 climate impact effects. “Aviation decarbonisation is an important part of the Green Deal and the clear commitment from the business aviation sector is very important to achieve these goals,” he said.

To coincide with the Summit, a coalition of business aviation partners focused on increasing awareness and utilization of SAF within the sector released a commitment detailing its vision and proposed strategy for SAF uptake.

Photo: Signature Aviation

Susan van Dyk

GreenAir Correspondent
www.svdconsulting.ca

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Boston-based 4AIR has become the first private aviation stakeholder to make a trade on IATA’s Aviation Carbon Exchange, the platform for airlines and aircraft operators to trade carbon offsets to reduce their CO2 emissions or meet obligations under ICAO’s CORSIA international offsetting scheme. The transaction was made with environmental commodity company ClimeCo to purchase offsets on behalf of 4AIR client PrivateFly to help the charter and jet card provider meet an offsetting commitment in relation to its 2020 operations. The 15,000 offsets purchased will support a renewable energy project in India that generates enough solar energy to displace more than 1.5 MWh of electricity annually. 4AIR operates a rating programme that allows anyone in private aviation – from companies and individuals who own aircraft, fractional shares or jet cards to those who charter flights – to reduce their carbon footprint. As a Silver Member of the programme, PrivateFly will offset emissions from its operations and all flights in 2021 at 300% of its carbon footprint to account for both CO2 emissions and non-CO2 pollutants.

The Aviation Carbon Exchange was developed by IATA and Xpansiv CBL Holding Group and integrates CBL Markets’ trading platform with IATA’s settlement systems. The exchange is open to all IATA and non-IATA airlines and aircraft operators, and accessible to carbon market participants wanting to list emission reductions that are CORSIA compliant, as well as for voluntary offsetting purposes.

“Energy consumption is the biggest source of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. By investing in carbon offset projects, the transition from fossil fuels to clean sources of energy becomes more attainable,” commented Michael Schneider, IATA’s Assistant Director, Aviation Environment. “We are pleased that 4AIR is participating in the Aviation Carbon Exchange, enabling business aviation companies from all over the world to do their part in supporting sustainability within the aviation industry.”

Added Rene Velasquez, CBL’s Head of Global Carbon Markets: “This first-trade announcement is proof of broad support for decarbonisation across the aviation spectrum. In addition to aviation’s effort to reduce emissions by investing in the latest aircraft technology and by improving operational fuel efficiency, the Aviation Carbon Exchange provides a clear, intuitive path to address aviation’s environmental impact.”

Said Kennedy Ricci, 4AIR’s President: “The Aviation Carbon Exchange is a phenomenal step for increased transparency and simplicity in the process of acquiring carbon offsets. 4AIR is uniquely positioned to aggregate private flight hours from users and operators all over the world to buy offsets on the Aviation Carbon Exchange at a larger scale. We can help the private aviation community support verified projects worldwide, making it easy for them to meet sustainability goals.”

4AIR formally launched in January having been incubated by business aviation and investment company Directional Aviation. Through a rating system, it seeks to provide a solution to address climate impacts from private aviation. A company or individual makes a commitment to a specific level of the 4AIR framework and can be applied to existing sustainability efforts or offered as a turnkey full-service programme.

The framework has benchmarks that are aligned with industry-wide goals and consistent with international standards, says4AIR, with four levels each with specific, science-based goals, independently verified results and progressively greater impacts on sustainability:

• Bronze: Carbon-Neutral – Allows participants to be carbon neutral by offsetting all CO2 emissions with verified carbon offset credits.
• Silver: Emissions-Neutral – 4AIR measures two-thirds of an aircraft’s environmental impact comes from non-CO2 warming pollutants so a 3x multiplier is applied to the carbon emissions required to be offset.
• Gold: Emissions Reduction – Allows participants to go beyond emissions neutrality to actually reducing emissions by at least 5% through solutions such as operational improvements, low-emitting aircraft and the use of sustainable aviation fuel.
• Platinum: Climate Champion – Allows participants to support new technology in aviation with a contribution to the Aviation Climate Fund, a nonprofit aimed at supporting R&D in aviation sustainability, with contributions based on the participant’s carbon footprint.

Participants earn a 4AIR rating by making a commitment to a specific level. At the end of each year, 4AIR certifies the accomplishment of each company or individual based upon relevant flight data, such as actual fuel consumption, in order to audit the previous year’s commitment and retire final carbon offset credits earned, and those that achieve or surpass the level they had committed to would be eligible for the coming year.

All carbon credits are quantified and verified by leading bodies including Verified Carbon Standard (Verra), American Carbon Registry, Climate Action Reserve and The Gold Standard.

Last month, 4AIR announced it would be providing carbon-neutral validation of Clay Lacy Aviation facilities for 2020, as well as offering a sustainability rating to the company’s aircraft.

“4AIR starts where other environmental programmes end – with carbon neutrality – and continues on up to emission reductions and supporting the future of environmentally-friendly aviation,” said Ricci. “We don’t want to merely neutralise the impact of private aviation but instead make it part of the solution for long-term sustainability.”

Nancy Bsales, 4AIR’s Chief Operating Officer, who has previous experience with Rocky Mountain Institute and The Good Traveler passenger carbon offsetting initiative founded by San Diego International Airport, said: “Aviation directly represents 2% of global CO2 emissions but the true impact on climate is closer to 5% when considering all emissions and non-CO2 impacts. The industry has made sweeping commitments to sustainability by 2050 and 4AIR’s programmes can help private aviation participants to do their part.”

Photo: 4AIR