IATA and Smart Freight Centre to work on CO2 emission calculations

This is an important step for the global air transport sector to advance its decarbonisation efforts.

The two organisations will focus efforts on developing the cargo component of IATA’s CO2 Connect offering, which successfully launched its passenger version in 2022. The IATA CO2 Connect platform uses primary industry data to power highly accurate carbon calculations. The collaboration with the SFC Clean Air Transport Program will promote a common methodology in CO2 emission calculations and ensure accurate and consistent CO2 calculations are distributed to the industry’s biggest shippers and freight forwarders in air cargo, supporting them with pre-shipment and reporting purposes. 

“Our partnership with the Smart Freight Center will help us to accelerate the development of CO2 Connect for air cargo as the most authoritative tool for carbon calculations. This is important for airlines, shippers and their customers who all need accurate calculations based on real data to support their contributions to global decarbonisation efforts,” said Frederic Leger, IATA’s senior vice president for commercial products & services, at IATA’s World Cargo Symposium (WCS) in Hong Kong.  

"A key milestone has been reached and this has been a long time in the making. The need for unified emissions data is stronger than ever and this milestone will enable cargo transport service purchasers to make well-founded, long-term decisions. Transparency is key to drive decarbonisation investments and activities, encouraging collaborative and synergetic action throughout the value chain. Our partnership with IATA will enable effective collaboration by building trust and exchanging information across the value chain which, in turn, will help in accelerating our ongoing efforts in decarbonising the aviation industry," said Andrea Schoen, SFC Director of the Clean Air Transport programme.

Pilot Project

IATA and SFC are working with Kuehne+Nagel as a pilot customer for IATA CO2 Connect for Cargo to ensure that the tool meets the needs and requirements of freight forwarders and their customers.

“As a freight forwarder, we can attest to the value that this collaboration will bring to the industry and to our customers.” said Fabiano Piccinno, Global Head of Sustainability Air Logistics at Kuehne+Nagel. “We’re happy to bring our expertise to the table and we look forward to seeing this project paving the way for future sustainable solutions in aviation.”

About SFC Clean Air Transport Programme

The SFC Clean Air Transport program comprises over 50 members, including airlines, freight forwarders, shippers and fuel providers. It engages in collaborative actions to support aviation’s decarbonisation efforts.