Google, Travalyst and Cirium in Talks on How to Measure Airline Emissions

17.07.2024 - 15:47 / skift.com / prince Harry / Dennis Schaal

Google, a key partner in the Prince Harry-founded Travalyst coalition, has been a leading authority on measuring airline emissions.

Google’s Travel Impact Model, published in 2022 and developed in partnership with the International Council on Clean Transportation, has enabled Travalyst partners ranging from Booking.com to Expedia and Skyscanner to publish flight emissions estimates. Google Flights, as well as Amadeus, Sabre, Travelport, and Trip.com Group, all Travalyst partners, also use it.

But two months ago, Cirium, an aviation analytics company, launched a new system that seemingly fills gaps in measuring airline emissions and fuel burn. Its Emerald Sky methodology, geared for business travel firms, airlines, and aircraft financing companies, is said to measure emissions and fuel burn down to the seat level, according to a recent Skift story.

Cirium subsequently told Skift that it and Google/Travalyst have not been working together. “Cirium and Travalyst are fundamentally different organizations,” although “highly complementary,” it said.

But a few days later, Dan Rutherford, aviation program director at the International Council on Clean Transportation, told Skift that the two groups were in talks.

“We’re in discussions now with Cirium about their model,” Rutherford said. “Their model looks robust, with their methodology accounting for two factors that lead most emissions models to underestimate fuel burn: variations in aircraft empty weights, and degradation over time. Since the TIM Advisory Committee has agreed to investigate both in its second year, we look forward to learning more about how Emerald Sky takes these into account.”

The International Council on Clean Transportation heads the advisory committee for Google’s Travel Impact Model, and members include representatives from American Airlines, easyJet, Lufthansa Group, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, the FAA, Travalyst, and academic institutions such as MIT and the Imperial College of London.

Using the Google-developed Travel Impact Model, online travel brands such as Google Flights can help travelers assess the emissions impact before they book. For example, a listing could show that selecting a JetBlue Heathrow-JFK flight on August 21 generates emissions 13% higher than the average on that route, and that opting for a Lufthansa/Condor flight comes with emissions 9% lower than the average.

“Clear and credible sustainability information is essential for informed decision-making,” said Sally Davey, Travalyst CEO. “Consistency builds trust, which is why we have scaled the TIM across the Travalyst coalition. Now, anyone booking travel on platforms including Amadeus, Booking.com, Expedia.com, Google, Sabre, Skyscanner,