Many consumers want to have environmental information that they can trust about the impact of their flights. This was made clear in the consumer research we carried out in 2021.
We are working on standardising and improving the environmental information that could be provided to consumers when they are looking for and booking flights. This includes the method of calculating the CO2 emissions caused by aviation and how that information could be presented to consumers in a way that is accurate, understandable, standardised, comparable, accessible, and useful.
The overall aims of the project are:
- To provide consumers with environmental information to inform their travel choices; and
- To encourage industry to invest in reducing aviation emissions.
Consumers can currently find several different calculations of how much CO2 a flight might produce (and their individual share of that total), with little or no explanation of why a flight on one airline appears to have a significantly different amount of CO2 than another on the same route. There is also little explanation of what the information means in practice.
This work links to wider work by the UK government through its Jet Zero Strategy and is a key action in our Sustainability Strategy.
Project update
We published a Call for Evidence in early 2023 and we received over 120 responses from organisations and individuals.
In spring 2024 we are aiming to publish:
- A response to the Call for Evidence.
- Additional consumer research (being undertaken by the DfT) on the best ways to present information to consumers.
- Draft recommendations for further consultation.
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