Our approach to navigating sustainable aviation

By Harry Armstrong

In today's fast-evolving aerospace sector, environmental sustainability is the greatest strategic challenge we face. As the UK’s aerospace regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority is well aware of aviation’s profound impact on our environment.??

To address this challenge, we need to fully understand aviation’s current environmental footprint and facilitate a transformation of the industry - not just with new technologies and systems, but also with new ways of thinking and acting.??

While safety remains our primary focus, we have a vital role driving the sector towards environmental sustainability. We are committed to leading — not by spearheading every initiative, but by using our regulatory authority and broader influence, especially internationally, to help industry make environmental improvements.??

Empowering consumers with sustainability information??

There are four critical areas of our sustainability work: Customer Sustainability Information, Environmental Reporting, The Hydrogen Challenge, and Airspace Modernisation.???

As the regulator, we have a duty to publish information and advice relating to the environmental effects of civil aviation in the UK. And we know that consumers want more information on the environmental impact of their flights.??

That’s why we’ve worked on proposals on how we think environmental information should be provided to consumers, enabling them to make informed travel choices.???

Today, we’ve launched our consultation to help consumers receive accurate, understandable, standardised, and accessible environmental information when planning and booking flights. Our consultation sets out nine draft principles:?

Accessible: Information should be available wherever flights to, from, or within the UK are sold.??

Transparent: Methodologies and assumptions must be clear.??

Accountable and Accurate: Publishers must ensure the information is up-to-date and sourced credibly.??

Specific: Data should be as specific as possible to the passenger's flight choice.??

Timely: Information should reflect any operational changes.??

Consistent: Environmental information should be uniform across all platforms.??

Standardised: Minimum standards for measuring and reporting must be met.??

Comparable: Metrics should use standard units, such as kg CO2 per passenger journey.??

Continuous Improvement: Information should drive improvements in sustainability performance.??

Our goal is to complement, not duplicate, existing international efforts and we invite stakeholders to engage with us during this consultation to refine and implement these principles effectively.??

Advancing environmental reporting??

Later this year, we will also consult on our broader approach to environmental reporting. Our inaugural Aviation Environmental Review in 2023 marked a significant first step, providing reliable information on aviation's environmental performance.??

Moving forward, we want to enhance and expand our environmental reporting, making the UK Civil Aviation Authority a trusted source of environmental data.???

Robust reporting on the sector’s performance will continue to be a fundamental tool to drive better environmental outcomes. This consultation will cover proposals for how we improve -or example, including biodiversity impacts, adaptation strategies, and whole-life carbon assessment. ?

The Hydrogen Challenge??

Zero-emission flight technologies, particularly hydrogen, are fundamental in delivering the sector’s sustainable transition.???

Through our Hydrogen Challenge we’ve been running over the last year, we are developing policy recommendations, stakeholder working groups, and have set up a regulatory sandbox with participants including Cranfield Aerospace Solutions, Exeter Airport Consortium, and ZeroAvia.??

Realising the ambition of hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft by 2035 requires a long-term sandboxing and pre-certification program. We are developing a multi-year program to ensure we have the expertise to enable exciting new innovation while maintaining safety standards.??

Modernising airspace for a sustainable future??

Our Airspace Modernisation Strategy, refreshed in 2023, aims to integrate new airspace users and upgrade the UK's structured air corridors. This strategy balances environmental, capacity, and access benefits, with the potential to enhance aircraft efficiency, reduce carbon emissions, and improve air quality and noise levels.??

The program's complexity demands careful balancing of stakeholder interests. However, the benefits of modernised airspace are immense, contributing significantly to our sustainability goals.??

Collaboration and ambition??

Achieving our sustainability goals relies on close collaboration with stakeholders across and beyond the aviation sector, here and abroad.??

We are determined to make sustainability a core part of our mission. Together, we can pilot the aviation sector towards a sustainable future.???