Toolkit for greener air travel

Environmental aid

A UK university research group set up to help the aviation industry improve its environmental credentials has released a toolkit to encourage greener business travel.

The toolkit is one of the first outcomes of a £5 million government-funded knowledge transfer partnership called Omega.

Omega is led by three universities, Manchester Metropolitan, Cranfield and Cambridge, and involves six other universities, Oxford, Reading, Southampton, Sheffield, Leeds and Loughborough, along with government departments, British Airways, Rolls Royce, Airbus, Manchester Airport and non-governmental organisations such as the Aviation Environment Federation.

The toolkit, called Icarus, helps those who purchase and use business travel to make it more environmentally friendly and sustainable. It is available free of charge online for users to download.

The guide includes environmental travel policy guidelines, recommended CO2 measurement tools and a CO2 ready-reckoner. Icarus also provides a system of accreditation to recognise buyers who implement the toolkit and succeed in reducing carbon emissions.  Other awards recognise suppliers who make their travel products and services more environmentally friendly.

The aim is help companies with corporate social responsibility policies, and to encourage and help the travel industry to reduce carbon emissions. Omega says its support in developing the toolkit illustrates its broad approach to promoting sustainability for the aviation sector. Developing market and attitudinal measures to reduce emissions is just as important as exploring technological and operational approaches.

Other Omega projects cover areas such as carbon offsetting and emissions trading efforts, identifying low carbon technologies, biofuels, open rotor aircraft, projections for growth and implications for climate change and community reaction to green noise.