A more cost-effective EU ETS management

Getting ready for the EU ETS

Key findings for more efficient EU ETS preparation

Between June and October of 2009, SITA's experts from the ETS Advisory Team have supported a number of airlines in assessing their readiness for the EU ETS and helped them prepare their monitoring plans.

SITA is currently deploying Aircraft Emissions Manager at a number of airlines.

For airlines that are still unsure about their EU ETS strategy, SITA has offered a data safeguard promotion. It allows airlines to send their fuel and payload data to SITA. This data will be stored by SITA for free until June 2010. The goal of the safeguard is to ensure no data is lost and thus no carbon certificate is lost.

The operational and financial impact is often underestimated

EU ETS is not simply about getting the IT department to prepare a set of standard management reports but also about covering financial, operational, legal and many other preparations. With SITA's assistance they have realized the need to assess the impact of this far-reaching legislation across their route planning, marketing, legal, purchasing, hedging strategies, flight operations, fuel processes, passenger and cargo operations, and more.

On the financial side, some airlines are not aware their future cost of carbon could be 10% or more of their fuel costs. Therefore, SITA helps them with a financial model to more accurately estimate this.

Rethinking the commercial and marketing strategy

SITA raised awareness to develop a strategy to properly calculate and consider maximizing tonne-kilometres in 2010 to the potential benefit of the carrier. In some cases airlines have brought forward plans to increase frequencies or start new routes to the EU. Moreover, some are reconsidering marketing strategies such as changing baggage allowances.

A risk assessment highlighting weaknesses

An independent risk assessment can be delivered in critical areas of ETS implementation. For some airlines, SITA has proposed a revision of purchasing and leasing contracts to help avoid potential ETS errors and liabilities, and included recommendations for an improved ETS organization and the appropriate allocation of ETS process ownership.

Smart IT solutions can considerably ease the process

The new SITA Aircraft Emissions Manager (AEM) will smooth the compliance process while avoiding the headache. It will enable airlines to focus more on their core business of running an airline. The AEM will help them on an ongoing basis effectively manage the complexities of ETS compliance, not just the EU scheme but also other regional or global ones. Furthermore, many airlines are planning the introduction of fuel data into ACARS messages to take ETS automation to the next level.

Optimize EU ETS implementation

Airlines can benefit from SITA specialists in optimizing EU ETS implementation. We can help you optimize:

The payload method (Tier 1 or Tier 2)
The fuel method (method A or B)
Your data collection processes
Your operational processes, if needed
Etc.

> More key findings from the SITA advisory team

_{The summaries and examples on this page are intended solely for informational purposes. No legal advice is being given, nor should any be construed. Please consult your own legal counsel} _{for any such advice.}