Airline industry leaders, academics will advise Google on emissions calculations

Google and the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) are creating an advisory committee that will oversee future updates to Google’s Travel Impact Model (TIM), its methodology for predicting the per-passenger CO2 emissions produced by an upcoming flight.

A Google spokesperson said the committee will oversee all future changes to the TIM and, as a neutral authority, will help to build public trust in Google’s flight emissions modeling.

“Everyone should be able to find reliable, accurate emissions estimates no matter where they’re booking a flight, and we believe the TIM can provide this kind of trusted, universal standard,” said Kate Brandt, chief sustainability officer at Google. 

“Together with the ICCT and the new advisory committee, we can empower travelers around the world to make more sustainable choices.”

Last August Google came under fire for excluding the impact of contrails from its flight emissions data. Unlike emissions that produce CO2, contrails – or condensation trails - affect the environment by trapping heat that radiates from the earth’s surface, similar to a natural cloud.

Now this new advisory committee will provide “strategic and technical input” on refining the TIM, including incorporating non-CO2 climate pollutants like contrails and accounting for the role of sustainable aviation fuels and zero emission planes. The ICCT will serve as technical secretariat, responsible for conducting research and commissioning studies as needed. 

Committee members include American Airline’s vice president of sustainability, Jill Blickstein, EasyJet sustainability director Jane Ashton, Lufthansa Group head of corporate responsibility Caroline Drischel, Travalyst CEO Sally Davey as well as representatives from the United States Federal Aviation Administration, Imperial College London, M.I.T and others.

The Google spokesperson said the group is intended to represent a broad set of viewpoints that can make science-based decisions. 

“Climate-conscious consumers understand that which flight you choose matters. But they want and need data to make informed decisions,” said Dr. Rachel Muncrief, the ICCT’s acting executive director. 

“We are delighted to partner with Google to help establish the TIM as the global standard for providing accurate, transparent, and consistent emissions information to consumers at the point of booking.”

The committee will convene for the first time in Zurich, Switzerland, this month, with regular virtual meetings to follow. It will share recommendations on a public website and provide updates at aviation and climate industry meetings. 

Google will continue to handle the technical implementation of the TIM, including managing API access and relevant data sources. 

In early June Google announced a pilot program with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) that includes a pilot with Lufthansa Group to gather “fuel burn” data from airlines and incorporate that into the TIM estimates for future flights along the same route. Google said the results of this pilot could factor into future updates the advisory committee recommends for the TIM. The EASA is also part of the advisory committee.

Google’s TIM powers the emissions estimates on Google Flights and, since April 2022, has been used by other members of the Travalyst coalition, including Booking.com, Expedia and Skyscanner.