In global terms, the proportion of aircraft operators—and more specifically those in the business aviation sector—monitoring and recording their carbon emissions remains relatively low. The European fleet is assessed to make up around 15% to 17% of the worldwide total, and the majority of these are counting carbon dioxide emissions—mainly since they are required to do so under the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS), for which the annual threshold is 1,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions.
Swiss-based sustainability specialist Azzera was founded with the objective of making it more straightforward to do the right thing, regardless of whether this action is mandated or voluntary. CEO and founder Puja Mahajan told AIN that operators worldwide increasingly want to account for their impact on the environment and demonstrate more resolve to mitigate it.
“We’re seeing more clients from outside Europe who are starting to look at reporting,” she said. The ICAO-led voluntary Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) program is part of this trend.
Azzera’s Celeste software was specifically created to help aircraft operators on the basis that “the first step is to understand your footprint.” The system calculates emissions for each flight and identifies offsetting options such as purchasing carbon credits through schemes that Azzera vets. It can also source sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for operators and record whether these were purchased in a specific location for a flight or remotely through book-and-claim.
New SAF Inventory Management System
On May 22, Azzera introduced an SAF inventory management and tracking feature. According to the company, the new functionality will help aircraft operators to manage and track their uplift of SAF and assess its contribution to emissions reduction.
Users can access SAF data and have a clear view of factors such as where SAF is purchased, and in some cases stored, and which routes were flown with it. It can also be used for book-and-trade transactions.
Business aircraft operators Metrojet, ASL Group, Elit'Avia, and Axis Aviation are already using the new capabilities.
“The average European operator has to deal with CORSIA, as well as the EU-ETS, the UK’s ETS, and Switzerland’s ETS,” said Mahajan, by way of explaining the complexity of requirements. “Celeste automates all of that and with its dashboards operators can see when they have exceeded the threshold for carbon emissions and need to buy credits and which flights are on a purely voluntary basis.”
Celeste can also flag errors, such as if fuel figures don’t make sense. Additionally, the tool is already fully integrated with the Skylabs operating software and is in the process of being integrated with Leon.
In its marketplace feature, Celeste presents options for carbon credit schemes, representing an array of schemes with different features. Azzera uses a 38-point process to assess the quality of projects supported by the money raised from the offsets and rates these with an impact score. It is now in talks with another offset ratings agency to pool data on programs.
According to Mahajan, who was formerly an executive with Bombardier, Comlux, and Elit’Avia, the price of carbon credits can vary significantly, largely based on the supply-to-demand ratio. For instance, well-regarded direct air capture credits are highly sought after and priced as high as $1,200 per tonne of CO2 emitted. By contrast, a wind energy project in Turkey is currently priced at just $2 per tonne.
Since May 2022, Azzera has facilitated more than 55,000 tonnes of carbon credits. It has tracked 97,300 flights, and measured more than 1.2 million tonnes of emissions, which it said represents 6% of business aviation's carbon footprint.
In April, the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), which helps leading companies to meet decarbonization goals as defined by the Paris Agreement on climate change, announced that it will permit them to meet targets through offsets from the unregulated carbon market for indirect emissions. The decision provoked internal dissent from professionals concerned that this could open the door to greenwashing.
A core objective for Azzera is to help business aviation companies ensure that their efforts to reduce their carbon impact are credible and transparent.
Meanwhile, aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney Canada earlier this month contracted Azzera to source carbon credits through its Carbon Offset Service. This is now available to operators of aircraft powered by the Canadian manufacturer's engines as part of its Eagle Service Plan or Fleet Management Program agreements.