Aviation Sustainability and the Environment, CAPA 01-Oct-2020

We are delighted to welcome the global industrial technology company as our latest Programme Partner.Gabriela Matic

Today, we're excited to announce that global industrial technology company Rolls-Royce will join the ATI Boeing Accelerator as partner for our upcoming cohort.

Now in its second year, the ATI Boeing Accelerator recently opened applications to invest into sustainability-enabling startups that will benefit the UK aerospace industry across three key areas of focus: Industry 4.0, Lifecycle and Resilience, and Energy.

Rolls-Royce engaged with cohort one startups and, following successful involvement, has committed to the ATI Boeing Accelerator as a partner, providing resources such as mentors, access to supply chain and network, as well as potential for paid projects with the cohort startups.

Having worked alongside the ATI, Boeing and GKN Aerospace, we've seen how much startups appreciate the access to top-class resources that these companies offer and we are incredibly excited about the opportunities that our next cohort will receive through our partnership with Rolls-Royce.

We're delighted to have Rolls-Royce join the programme and, as a result, we have extended our application period until 4th October 2020.

We asked Alistair Donaldson, Transformation Exec - Head of Innovation and Service Design at Rolls-Royce, about the partnership and he said:

"Our engagement with the first programme cohort was very positive and I am very pleased to be building on this as we announce our partnership agreement. We are passionate about startup engagement and streamlining the ways corporates and early stage companies build value together. The programme, put together by ATI, is outstanding in terms of quality of cohort participants and focuses on tangible outcomes; investment, adoption and job creation. The broader energy transition and sustainability agenda present a huge opportunity for the UK Aerospace Industry, we very much look forward to working with the successful applicants, and building on relationships with ATIand industry stakeholders."

Nour Eid, Senior Technologist and ATI Boeing Accelerator Programme Lead at the Aerospace Technology Institute also commented:

"Feedback from our first cohort showed that one of the most important aspects of our accelerator programme was direct access to our partners - Boeing and GKN Aerospace. We're excited to have Rolls-Royce join us as a partner for our next cohort. We're looking forward to working closely with colleagues from Rolls-Royce, who will be providing expertise and insights into the world of aero engines and will support our startups as they develop their technologies in aerospace."

ICAO Council president: COVID-19 an opportunity to 'build back commercial aviation greener'

ICAO Council president Salvatore Sciacchitano, speaking to the Air Transport Action Group 2020 Global Sustainable Aviation Forum, stated (29-Sep-2020) that the ICAO Council and Secretariat will continued to move forward on the key objectives of ICAO's environmental work programme despite the impact of the coronavirus on the aviation sector.

Mr Sciacchitano said the industry and its leaders must "recognise the opportunity this crisis provides to build back commercial aviation greener, and more sustainably, including in terms of its overall role in the social and climate impacts of international travel and tourism".

The ICAO Council president also stated that in order to achieve this higher degree of sustainability, it would require "the vision and strong commitment of everyone attending this summit today, and a heavy reliance on innovation going forward". [more - original PR]

Original report: ICAO Council President encourages solidarity and a focus on building back more sustainably at ATAG 2020 Global Forum

​In his virtual remarks to industry leaders attending the Air Transport Action Group's (ATAG's) 2020 Global Sustainable Aviation Forum today, ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano drew attention to how COVID-19's impacts on global mobility had tragically impacted the lives of the hundreds of millions of economically vulnerable men and women around the world, with further negative effects on intercultural exchange and the peace and economic prosperity of many developing and developed societies. He assured his audience that the ICAO Council and Secretariat will continued to move forward on the key objectives of the Environmental work programme States have assigned them, and on tackling even the most challenging diplomatic aspects of the pandemic's impacts on that programme - as the Council recently achieved with the CORSIA baseline adjustments

Montréal, 29 September 2020 - In his virtual remarks to industry leaders attending the Air Transport Action Group's (ATAG's) 2020 Global Sustainable Aviation Forum today, ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano drew attention to how COVID-19's impacts on global mobility had tragically impacted the lives of the hundreds of millions of economically vulnerable men and women around the world, with further negative effects on intercultural exchange and the peace and economic prosperity of many developing and developed societies.

"Given the importance of air travel to so many of our fundamental collective aspirations, and to every global citizen's quality of life, aviation leaders have a great responsibility upon them today as we confront the existential threats of the ongoing pandemic," he emphasized.

"Health and safety, and the fundamental economic viability of operators must be assured, and as medical conditions permit we must also work better together to see that traffic recovery proceeds on the basis of continuously improving international alignment," he continued. "But we must also recognize the opportunity this crisis provides to build back commercial aviation greener, and more sustainably, including in terms of its overall role in the social and climate impacts of international travel and tourism."

The ICAO Council President also drew the leaders' attention to the fact that, to achieve this higher degree of sustainability, it would require "the vision and strong commitment of everyone attending this summit today, and a heavy reliance on innovation going forward."

He underscored that ICAO is placing a strong focus on innovation Organization-wide, and noted the green aviation innovations recently explored at the CO2 Emissions Stocktaking event ICAO conducted earlier this month.

"I was very much encouraged to see the level of excitement on hand there for what could be possible for our sector going forward," Sciacchitano noted, "and particularly so by the announcement there by the oneworld alliance on its new commitment to net-zero aviation emissions by 2050."

Alongside the upcoming ICAO Seminar on Aviation Green Recovery this November, Mr. Sciacchitano drew attention to how these latest events were providing an important platform for exchanging ideas, and that the insights and perspectives emerging from the ATAG forum would be appreciated by ICAO's global audience.

He also noted, where aviation and the UN Sustainable Development Goals are concerned, that the inter-relationships between aviation, tourism, and the natural environment and civil societies are complex and symbiotic, and "not simply a matter of carbon emissions from commercial jets."

In concluding, Mr. Sciacchitano assured his audience that the ICAO Council and Secretariat will continued to move forward on the key objectives of the Environmental work programme States have assigned them, and on "tackling even the most challenging diplomatic aspects of the pandemic's impacts on that programme - as the Council recently achieved with the CORSIA baseline adjustments."

"All of us must recognize today that this is a time not only for strong leadership and commitment, but also deeper collaboration and progress founded in the solidarity called for in the Council's CART Report," he said. "Fortunately, there is no other global community more capable in those capacities than our own."

Geneva - Despite the current crisis facing the global aviation industry, its commitment to pursuing sustainability remains strong, particularly as the sector starts to recover. Speaking at the Global Sustainable Aviation Forum, industry leaders reiterated that long-term climate action should be a priority alongside economic recovery in the coming years.

Executive Director of the cross-industry Air Transport Action Group, Michael Gill said: "Air transport is in the midst of the deepest shock in its history. We expect a reduction of up to 4.8 million jobs in the sector by the end of the year and a massive hit to our ability to connect the world. However, as we plan for the recovery of air connectivity, we also must prioritise our environmental progress.

"Our sector has a long-term climate change goal to cut CO2 emissions in half by 2050. With the right help from governments, the energy sector and technologists, we expect that global aviation will be able to hit net zero emissions a decade or so later. Some parts of the world will be able to meet this point earlier and a number of individual companies have already set goals along these lines. To achieve this will require a transition in our energy source from fossil fuel to sustainable aviation fuel, the acceleration of research and development of electric, hybrid and potentially hydrogen aircraft. It will also require a commitment to collaboration going even beyond our current levels. We have the next decade to set the scene for sustainable global connectivity for the next 30-40 years."

Speaking about the need to focus on sustainability as part of the industry's long-term recovery from Covid-19, the Director General of Airports Council International, Luis Felipe de Oliveira, said: "The recovery of the aviation industry will be a key driver of the global economic recovery. To ensure that aviation can continue to provide the economic and social benefits, it is crucial that we pursue a green recovery and lay the foundation for a prosperous and sustainable industry for the long term. Airports are central to the interconnected and interdependent aviation ecosystem. Airports and their partners in the aviation industry need the support of appropriate regulation and government policies to facilitate a green recovery and push for real change."

Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation Director General Simon Hocquard said: "Meeting our ambitious sustainability goals continues to be of paramount importance and will only happen if everyone in the aviation system plays their part. From implementing new operational procedures to adopting the latest technologies, the ATM industry has an important role to play in improving the efficiency of aviation in the near term, before new electric aircraft technologies or zero carbon fuels come on stream."

Alexandre de Juniac, Director General and CEO of the International Air Transport Association, said: "COVID-19 has devastated the aviation industry. But we are working hard to re-connect the world safely and sustainably. We're committed to pushing ourselves, our partners, and governments to achieve our carbon targets in a green recovery. But this is not the time for more environmental taxes that punish people for reconnecting with family or who contribute to economic recovery with business travel. For aviation, the keys to combatting climate change remain investments in carbon offsetting, sustainable fuels, and radical green technologies."

Chair of the International Coordinating Council of Aerospace Industries Associations, Eric Fanning, said: "Manufacturers invest billions of dollars a year to make the next generation of airplanes even more fuel efficient, but disruption from COVID-19 will make it difficult to maintain this level of investment in research and development. Moving forward, government and industry leaders must find new ways to collaborate on funding and developing innovative technologies that will address climate change."