Led by non-profit research organisation the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) and Google, a new independent advisory committee has been formed to oversee the Travel Impact Model (TIM), the methodology used for estimating flight emissions by Google Flights, Booking.com, Expedia and elsewhere in the travel industry. Made up of members from academia, airlines, NGOs and government agencies, the committee will oversee future changes to the TIM, including approval of updates to the model by incorporating the latest scientific knowledge in the field of flight emissions forecasting. The ICCT will serve as a technical secretariat to the committee and collate and conduct research on selected topics, plus commissioning studies where needed. Google, which began estimating and sharing air travel-related GHG emissions on Google Flights using the TIM in 2021, will continue to administer its technical implementation.

“Everyone should be able to find reliable, accurate emissions estimates no matter where they’re booking a flight, and we believe the TIM can provide this kind of trusted, universal standard,” said Kate Brandt, Chief Sustainability Officer at Google. “Together with the ICCT and the new advisory committee, we can empower travellers around the world to make more sustainable choices.”

To be widely adopted by consumers, the partners say emissions estimates should be:

• Accurate, as validated by real-world data;
• Precise in distinguishing between low and high emitting tickets;
• Comprehensive of the full climate impacts of aviation;
• Futureproof across new aircraft and fuels;
• Fully transparent in methods; and
• Provide consistent results, both across carriers and booking platforms.

Improvements in the Travel Impact Model are expected to incorporate non-CO2 climate pollutants like contrails and to credit sustainable aviation fuels and zero emission planes. ICCT said its research had shown passengers can reduce CO2 emissions per trip by up to 60% by choosing a lower-emitting itinerary due to differences including aircraft type, seating configuration, load factors and routing. As airlines begin to deploy new low-carbon technologies, even larger emission reductions will be possible, it added.

“Climate-conscious consumers understand that which flight you choose matters, but they want and need data to make informed decisions,” said Dr Rachel Muncrief, Executive Director of the ICCT. “We are delighted to partner with Google to help establish the TIM as the global standard for providing accurate, transparent and consistent emissions information to consumers at the point of booking.”

Google is a member of the Travalyst Coalition, through which travel and technological platforms collaborate pre-competitively to drive adoption of the TIM and maximise consumer access to this information. “Google and the ICCT will continue to leverage partnerships such as these to ensure the TIM is widely adopted across the travel industry,” said the two partners.

The advisory committee will do its work through an annual in-person assembly, quarterly virtual meetings and monthly work sessions. It intends sharing recommendations through its public website and provide progress updates at key aviation and climate meetings, including the Aviation Carbon 2023 conference in November.

Representatives on the committee include:

• Jill Blickstein, VP Sustainability, American Airlines
• Tim Johnson, Director, Aviation Environment Federation
• Jane Ashton, Sustainability Director, easyJet
• Achilleas Achilleos, Strategic Programme Officer, European Union Aviation Safety Agency (non-voting board observer)
• Kevin Welsh, Executive Director, Environment & Energy, US FAA (non-voting board observer)
• Dr Marc Stettler, Reader in Transport and the Environment, Imperial College London
• Dr Daniel Rutherford, Aviation Program Director, ICCT (non-voting Secretariat representative)
• Caroline Drischel, Head of Corporate Responsibility, Lufthansa Group
• Prof Steven Barrett, Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT
• Andrew Chen, Principal, Aviation Decarbonization, RMI
• Sally Davey, CEO, Travalyst

Image (Travalyst): Flight emissions information consumers see when searching on Google and other platforms

Christopher Surgenor

Editor

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Not-for-profit sustainable travel organisation Travalyst and its coalition of six top travel brands have announced that they have aligned on a shared framework to collect and display flight emissions data. This, say the partners, will allow consumers wanting to book a flight with lower emissions to more easily find the information they need. The framework consists of a set of shared principles and preferred methodology for estimating carbon emissions from air travel, which have been agreed and committed to by the Travalyst coalition partners, which include Skyscanner, Google, Booking.com, Trip.com Group, Tripadvisor and Visa. Travalyst, founded by Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, says moving towards travel industry-wide alignment in the decarbonisation of aviation is an important part of transforming the net positive impact of travel and tourism.

Skyscanner and Google will be the first two coalition travel distribution partners to implement the Travalyst aviation sustainability framework across their platforms for consumers, with the others confirming their intention to adopt and implement the model from 2022 onwards. Founding partner Skyscanner, which has been instrumental in the development of the framework, launched its Greener Choices model in 2019.

To support the coalition’s goal of greater industry adoption, Google has published a Travel Impact Model for emissions estimates that further details the Travalyst framework. Acting as a technology provider, Google said it will make it possible later this year for more platforms to easily display carbon estimates using the Travel Impact Model, with minimal technical requirements.

Travalyst said the focus of the new model is on bringing more immediate transparency around carbon emissions for flights and expects the collaboration will evolve over time “to reflect further factors impacting sustainable aviation”.

Commented CEO Sally Davey: “We know that one of the barriers to consumers making better choices is a lack of visibility and overly complicated information, leading to confusion. By delivering clear and consistent tools for collecting and reporting airline data, we are helping travellers and the industry to make more informed – and lower emitting – air travel choices.

“It is hugely significant that our partners have reached agreement on this framework and will be using the same data across all of their platforms.”

Last month, IATA launched the first airline industry-developed methodology for calculating CO2 emissions per passenger for a specific flight (see article).

IATA Director General Willie Walsh said the CO2 calculation would enable organisations and individuals to make informed choices about flying sustainably, including decisions on investing in voluntary carbon offsetting or the use of sustainable aviation fuels.

“We’re working closely with IATA and other key stakeholders to align our respective approaches to CO2 calculations,” Davey told GreenAir.

A report published in October 2021 by Skyscanner and market researchers YouGov, following a global survey of 6,000 air travellers, found people in general felt there was very little information regarding sustainability and what is available was very confusing.

Although sustainability is seen as a key issue and people are willing to make more sustainable travel choices, they believe the responsibility lies chiefly with governments and the travel industry. Many also did not believe carbon offsetting helps to reduce the effect of global travel and felt there was too little or confusing information on its benefits. Across all countries surveyed, cost remains a key and deciding factor when it comes to booking plane tickets.

However, Eva Stewart, Global Sector Head of Travel & Tourism, YouGov, said: “Large proportions of society across all researched countries show great awareness of sustainability issues and an ever-growing interest in travelling more sustainably. The research suggests that consumers will be prepared to buy sustainable travel offers if these are made readily and easily to them.”

Photo: Munich Airport