PACE, Fexco’s carbon emissions calculator, expands services to Airport and Corporate Travel Sectors

PACE, Fexco’s sustainability data and analytics product suite, today launched PACE Data Services. This new product suite provides insights for the airport and corporate travel sectors to measure, manage and mitigate their emissions.

Built on PACE’s data platform, a global benchmark for the aviation industry, the service aligns with carbon reduction regulations by using live flight tracking data to monitor over 99% of commercial flights and analyse over 370,000 routes. PACE’s suite of data and analytics is already relied upon by most of the aviation finance sector and the largest financial institutions in the world, like JP Morgan and SMBC.

PACE Data Services will provide airports with a cohesive and precise view of their flight-related emissions. This data will be critical to enabling airports to better manage and mitigate their emissions. In fact, Heathrow’s most recent sustainability report for 2023 stated that 99% of its emissions came from Scope 3 emission reduction targets[1].

In the corporate travel sector, PACE’s data will enable more informed decision-making when it comes to both booking travel and providing more accurate reporting of corporate travel emissions. Recent research from Deloitte shows one in three companies is seeking guidance from travel management companies to reduce their carbon footprint.

In one use case alone, which would have a significant impact on decision-making for corporate travel management, PACE data reveals considerable variations in CO2 emissions per occupied seat—up to 50%—on the same popular transatlantic route across different aircraft. These differences are primarily due to factors such as aircraft seat configuration and aircraft type.

This new offering from PACE enables both these sectors to comply with evolving regulatory frameworks, such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). These regulations require the provision of accurate, independently verified, and robust reports on their plans and progress in reducing emissions.

Since its launch in 2022, PACE has become the only Irish company to meet stringent independent aviation measurement standards, including the recent Pegasus Guidelines

“This new service builds on PACE’s rapid growth, driven by demand to address carbon emissions across the aviation value chain,” said Cathal Foley, CEO of PACE. “This will enable airports and corporate travellers to better understand how we fly better while continuing to support ambitious growth strategies. PACE’s vision is to be the global leader in the spaces we operate and deploy our data to enable meaningful change.”

“We are an island and so the aviation sector is a vital part of Ireland’s economy, both as a contributor and an enabler of economic growth. But aviation, like all sectors, will have to transition to a new low-carbon future. It is very exciting to see an Irish company positioned to help transform this sector by utilising its exceptional data and analytics to inform better conversations across the aviation value chain. Measurement is critical to understanding the real impact of carbon reduction measures and claims,” said Minister Eamon Ryan, TD, Minister for the Environment, Climate, Communications and Transport. “Ireland has globally acknowledged aviation expertise, and it is fitting that a successful Irish multinational like Fexco is leading the way in meaningfully enabling the sector to make better decisions on its journey to net zero emissions.”

To find out more, visit the PACE website.

NTA commences market consultation process for zero-emission ramp-accessible coaches

The National Transport Authority (NTA) has today commenced a market consultation process ahead of one or more procurement competitions for zero-emissions and/or ramp-accessible coaches.

Information obtained from interested parties that participate in this market consultation exercise will be used by the NTA for the purpose of informing the planned procurement(s).

It will also allow the NTA to progress actions within the Irish Government’s Climate Action Plan 2023 and National Sustainable Mobility Policy, relating to the development of a strategy for the transition of long-distance PSO and commercial bus services to low-emission technologies.

As part of its national statutory function to provide bus infrastructure and fleet, the NTA has, since 2017 procured new buses and coaches for use by its contracted bus operators in the provision of Public Service Obligation (PSO) bus services.

Since July 2019, the NTA has also, in line with Irish Government policy, purchased only low and zero-emission urban buses, and from 2023 onwards all urban buses purchased by the NTA will be zero-emission.

In addition, there have been significant advances in the design of new coaches purchased by the NTA in recent years, most notably ramp-accessible single-deck coaches incorporating a low-floor area within which a permanent wheelchair space is located.

However, it has proven challenging to procure coaches with lower exhaust and CO2 emissions than the EURO VI coaches that represent the NTA’s most recent purchases.

The NTA is therefore seeking to commence one or more procurement process(es) for zero-emission and/or ramp-accessible coaches.

”Zero-emission” means a coach that qualifies as a zero-emission heavy duty vehicle in accordance with the definition contained within DIRECTIVE (EU) 2019/1161.

Ramp-accessible” means a coach with a permanent wheelchair space within a low-floor area into which access from the exterior of the coach is effected solely via an integral folding ramp at a passenger doorway, such ramp being able to be traversed by the wheelchair without any mechanical lifting or raising of the wheelchair being necessary.

These zero-emission and/or ramp-accessible coaches are envisaged as the successors to the ramp-accessible single-deck and double-deck coaches procured by the NTA in recent years.

They are also potential future replacements for the traditional high-floor single-deck coaches operating longer-distance journeys.  However, for this potential application it will be essential to improve accessibility for persons with reduced mobility while also maintaining the established luggage capacity and passenger comfort requirements of long-distance coach travel.

For more information see:

https://irl.eu-supply.com/ctm/Supplier/PublicPurchase/235892/0/0?returnUrl=ctm/Supplier/publictenders&b=ETENDERS_SIMPLE