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

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.

Travel Impact Model and Emerald Skies

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, Travelport, and Trip.biz has access to the same flight emissions estimates.”

Cirium CEO Jeremy Bowen said in the earlier Skift story that the company doesn’t measure emissions based on averages or a generic A320, but on the actual aircraft as configured by the airline.

The company told me a week ago that while Cirium is an aviation analytics firm, Travalyst isn’t. “It is a consortium of companies dedicated dedicated to promoting sustainable tourism. Their goal is to facilitate sustainable best practices and provide travelers with sustainability information to facilitate eco-friendly travel choices during booking.”

Despite what Cirium sees as the disparate tacks of Cirium versus Travalyst, Cirium said “should the right project arise, we would welcome the opportunity to collaborate.”

Beyond Travalyst

Many travel industry entities working on sustainability don’t work with Travalyst.

For example, HRS uses World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance methodologies, and is a member of the Climate Pledge, but does not actively work with Travalyst on sustainability in hospitality, said HRS Chief Product Officer Martin Biermann.

“We’re not involved in these programs,” said Biermann, referring to Travalyst and the Travel Impact Model. “We’re not involved in flights or the air segment at all. We really focus on hotels and how hotels can provide the necessary data to report.”

The HRS Green Stay Initiative enables corporations and hotels to measure carbon footprint data at the property level. It is geared to help with reporting requirements, and gives companies the data they require to carry out a sustainable procurement strategy in hotel selections, according to HRS.

Biermann said, however, that HRS talks to Travalyst “continually,” and through a technology vendor it supplies data to Travalyst on hotel certifications.