While the aviation industry gained a new CO2 calculator, a new class of independent carbon certifiers emerged.
A new report from Oxford University calls Sabre Holding's air emissions carbon calculator the most detailed aviation carbon calculator. The study indicates that the Southlake, Texas-based company's CO2 calculator enables the calculations of emissions from a single flight, depending on carrier, plane type and seating configuration.
The report "Calculating the Carbon Dioxide Emissions of Flights," conducted by the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford is a comprehensive study on air emissions calculation methodology to date. It includes comparisons of data and methodology with existing calculation protocols and corporate emissions reporting formats.
The carbon calculator powers four CO2 reports available through Sabre's Traveler Security and Data Suite (TSDS). Users can view the total volume of carbon emissions produced for air, car and hotel travel across a date range or specific destinations traveled.
Carbon calculators, including those from BeGreen, the Center for Sustainable Innovation, Intelex and Rackspace, are now available for several industries.
In other carbon verification news,CSA America Inc., a developer of standards, codes and personnel certification programs, also recently announced the first class of verifiers officially certified under its Greenhouse Gas Personnel Certification program. The program is designed for individuals who perform third-party greenhouse gas (GHG) verification services in regulatory and voluntary markets.
The development of the voluntary certification was led by the Cleveland, Ohio-based company together with industry stakeholders including The Climate Registry, California Climate Action Registry, California Air Resources Board, Chicago Climate Exchange, and other North American organizations.
The GHG Verifier certification is designed to complement accreditation programs for verification bodies, including American National Standard Institute's Greenhouse Gas Accreditation Program. A database of certified GHG verifiers is accessible to the public on CSA America's website.
