Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised the Aviation Working Group (“AWG”) on the implementation and build of the AWG carbon calculator (“ACC”) which launches on 31 March 2021.

The ACC has been developed to provide accurate, reliable and consistent aircraft carbon dioxide emissions data to aviation industry participants.

Using original equipment manufacturer source data provided by Airbus, ATR, Boeing and Embraer, the ACC will generate and compare carbon dioxide emissions data for aircraft and aircraft portfolios. The source data is determined by and provided for operational aircraft models under consistent standards, assumptions and methodology, ensuring that it is both accurate and directly comparable.

All data, graphs and certificates are exportable, enabling ACC users to include them for internal committee meetings, corporate reporting, investor presentations and offering documents, and as evidence of compliance in green financing.

The AWG is a not-for-profit legal entity whose members comprise major aviation manufacturers, leasing companies and financial institutions that contribute to the development of policies, laws and regulations to facilitate advanced international aviation financing and leasing.

The launch of the ACC forms part of the AWG’s wider Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiative, on which WFW is one of two legal advisers alongside Clifford Chance (see here). WFW also advised the AWG on the launch of its Global Aircraft Trading System (“GATS”) in June 2020.

The WFW London Aviation team that advised the AWG was led by Global Aviation Sector Co-Head and Partner Jim Bell, working closely with Partner Patrick Moore and Associate Alex Clark.

Jim commented: “We are delighted to have been involved in the entire process of designing, implementing and launching this exciting project. We believe that the ACC will be a key resource for the aviation sector as the industry looks to augment its ESG credentials. Our intimate knowledge of and association with the AWG’s various ESG initiatives, underlines WFW’s commitment to sustainability and again highlights our capacity to find creative legal solutions to complex, industry-wide issues”.