GreenSky

A Solution for Aviation Emissions

Reporting and Compliance to EU-ETS

2
GreenSky: A Solution for Aviation Emissions Reporting and Compliance to EU-ETS

Overview
Climate change is a critical environmental issue gaining importance across
the globe. Governments are making considerable efforts to control the
impact of climate change by implementing appropriate environmental
measures. Today, there is a visible shift in the focus of organizations
towards sustainability development as part of corporate social
responsibility. In the light of worldwide contributions and efforts to
combat climate change and emission control, the aviation industry
assumes a lot of significance due to the nature of direct emissions into the
atmosphere caused by air travel. The entire aviation community
comprising of aircraft operators, aircraft manufacturers, fuel suppliers,
airport operators and air navigation service providers, is expending
considerable efforts in containing the level of atmospheric emissions.
Aircraft operators in particular are seeking to adopt measures to monitor,
report and verify the level of their emissions. Such measures can also be
attributed to the need for brand management, the worldwide cause for
green; or simply a need to comply with increasingly stringent
requirements being enforced through various mandates worldwide.

The case for Aviation Compliance

The European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) is a measure
undertaken by the European Union (EU) to reduce CO2 emissions by
allowing a certain amount of CO2 to be emitted or produced per year. The
European Commission considers aviation as one of the important sectors
to reduce carbon emissions. Hence, in order to mitigate the climate
impact, the commission has introduced a legislation to include aviation
under the purview of EU ETS [1]. The scheme covers any aircraft
operator, whether EU or foreign-based, operating international flights on
routes to, from or between EU airports [2]. Very light aircraft, military,
police, customs and rescue flights, flights on state and government
business and training or testing flights have been exempted [2].
This paper seeks to provide an automated solution approach to the
aviation industry, specifically aircraft operators, to monitor and report
carbon emissions in order to comply with EU ETS norms.

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GreenSky: A Solution for Aviation Emissions Reporting and Compliance to EU-ETS

Aviation Carbon Emission Reporting Process

Aircraft operators who wish to apply for free allowances must submit
their monitoring plan. The monitoring plan will outline the measures
taken to monitor and report tonne-kilometer data and emission data for
each flight, which will then be checked and approved by the competent
authority. In accordance with the monitoring plan, aircraft operators need
to Monitor Report & Verify (MRV) the tonne-kilometer and carbon
emission data for each flight and generate the aggregated data for
reporting. Once the aggregated data is available, the aircraft operator
needs to contact the accredited verifier, approved by regulators, to verify
the accuracy and correctness of the report. The verified tonne-kilometer
and emission report needs to be submitted to the competent authority of
their administering member state for free allowances.

Monitoring

Reporting

Verification

Challenges in Airline IT Process Automation to

Accommodate EU ETS Requirements
The aviation industry today, while recognizing the need for monitoring,
reporting and verification of their emissions, faces some ground realities
from the perspective of their IT systems and their ability to accommodate
stringent auditing and reporting requirements. Some of these challenges
can be described as under:
?
Complex IT landscape with disparate systems that makes it

difficult to unify data requirements across systems.

?
Heterogeneous fleets that cause issues with data access and fuel

gauge accuracy.
?
Cumbersome and error-prone processes for data collection,

processing and reporting.

?
Comprehensive needs for maintenance of audit trails with

supporting information and documentation.

?
Data archiving requirements.

2011, HCL Technologies. Reproduction Prohibited. This document is protected under Copyright by the Author, all rights reserved.

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GreenSky: A Solution for Aviation Emissions Reporting and Compliance to EU-ETS

HCLs GreenSky Solution

An automated monitoring, reporting and pre-verification solution
for airlines.
With strong domain expertise in carbon reporting, innovative green
solutions and offerings across verticals, HCL presents an end-to-end
solution -- GreenSky -- for automating EU ETS aviation compliance and
reporting. Through this solution, HCL brings a combination of aviation
EU ETS expertise, a comprehensive solution framework and a rapid
deployment methodology for airlines to achieve the most effective means
of compliance.
Figure 1 below depicts a high level overview of the timelines involved in
compliance to EU ETS, and how the industry is adopting measures to
comply with the same.
Submit TK
and
emissions
Monitoring
Plan

Monitor
TK and
emissions

Adoption of
technology

Aug
2009

Jan
2010

Exploration
TK Tonne Kilometer

Submit
verified
TK and
emissions
report for
2010

Submit
Each Member State
verified
will publish the
TK and
allocation
emissions
allowances to each
report for
operator
2011

Mar
2011

Dec
2011

Assessment
&
Evaluation

Mar
2012

Submit
verified
TK and
emissions
report for
2012

Mar
2013

Decision Making
HCL Proprietary & Confidential

Figure 1

GreenSky Solution Framework Diagram

Airline Systems

Fleet Master
ERP
Flight Planning
Euro
Control Data
MRO Apps
Payload Apps

EU ETS Data
Automation Layer

EU ETS Data
Integration Hub

EU ETS Data
StoreBased
on RDBMS

Regulatory
Docs

Airline Systems
GreenSky Solution
HCL Proprietary & Confidential

EU ETS

EU ETS
Controls Controls
Workbench Repository
Layer

Carbon Management Layer

Allowances and
Mitigation Workbench
Web Application Addon for Allowances
Management
EU ETS Process
Application Layer

EU ETS Process
Automation Web
Application Based on
Flex Technology

Business

EU ETS
Business Logic
Logic Engine Automation
Layer

Figure 2

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GreenSky: A Solution for Aviation Emissions Reporting and Compliance to EU-ETS

Solution Highlights
Business process automation to monitor and report tonne?
kilometer and carbon emissions.
?
Pre-verification services with accredited verifiers to identify and

address compliance gaps.

?
Robust and demonstrable EU ETS controlled environment with

inbuilt rules engine.

?
Comprehensive decision making tools (dashboards, statistical

reports) for effective senior management decision making.

?
Tracking data for audit trail requirements.
?
Budgeting and forecasting engine.

References
Note [1]: European Commission Climate Action, Inclusion of
?
Aviation in EU ETS
http://ec.europa.eu/clima/documentation/transport/aviation
/index_en.htm
?
Note [2]: European Commission Climate Action, Reducing

emission from Aviation Sector FAQ Section,

http://ec.europa.eu/clima/faq/transport/aviation/index_en.
htm

Author

Venkata Pani Ravi Chander

Venkata Pani Ravi Chander is part of the Vertical Solutions Group of
the Transportation Vertical @HCL. He currently works with multiple
customers across the globe in providing domain led solutions in the
areas of Airlines, Airports, Railways, Logistics, Ports and Cargo.
Contact us: ttlsolutions@hcl.com

2011, HCL Technologies. Reproduction Prohibited. This document is protected under Copyright by the Author, all rights reserved.

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GreenSky: A Solution for Aviation Emissions Reporting and Compliance to EU-ETS

ABOUT HCL
HCL Technologies
HCL Technologies is a leading global IT services company, working with
clients in the areas that impact and redefine the core of their businesses.
Since its inception into the global landscape after its IPO in 1999, HCL
focuses on transformational outsourcing, underlined by innovation and
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About HCL Enterprise

HCL is a $5.7 billion leading global technology and IT enterprise
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start-ups. A pioneer of modern computing, HCL is a global
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2011, HCL Technologies. Reproduction Prohibited. This document is protected under Copyright by the Author, all rights reserved.