The European Commission has launched a public consultation into the new EU Flight Emissions Label, which aims to provide airline passengers with “trustworthy and harmonised environmental information” about flights.

The initiative, which the EU hopes will be available for “voluntary use” by airlines from 2025, is designed to provide “standardised information” on the CO2 footprint of flights in the EU.

How to measure the carbon emissions from flights and other modes of transport has become a major issue as the corporate travel industry attempts to make business trips more sustainable.

BT4Europe, the European network of business travel associations, has been calling for “standardised, accurate and comparable” data on carbon emissions from travel since its formation two years.

The problems of finding the right methodology to accurately measure emissions from business travel have also been explored as part of BTN Europe’s new Navigating towards net zero report.

The EU’s Flight Emissions Label (FEL) will set out a “reliable and harmonised” methodology for calculating flight emissions, which accounts for factors such as aircraft type, average passenger numbers and the volume of freight, as well as the aviation fuel used.

“As of 2025, airlines operating flights within the EU or departing from the EU will be able to voluntarily join this label,” said the European Commission in a statement.

“When booking flights online, a dedicated FEL logo will be displayed alongside the flight emissions data, helping passengers to make informed decisions and protect them from misleading greenwashing claims.

“Also, a dedicated webpage will be created allowing the public to compare emission levels from different airlines competing on the same route, as well as a ranking of those with the lowest emissions per route.”

The current consultation on this initiative is due to run until 22 October with formal adoption of the policy scheduled by the end of the year.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) will “play a key role” in implementing the FEL scheme. EASA will be responsible for collecting information from airlines, verifying the submitted flight performance data and estimating emissions, in accordance with the ISO 14083:2023 standard, which covers the quantifying and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from transport services.

Wopke Hoekstra, who is the EU’s commissioner for climate action and transport, added: “Clear, verified information is fundamental to better inform our choices for travel. As passengers, the future EU Flight Emissions Label will make it easier for all of us to have verified information regarding the CO2 emissions linked to our flights before we purchase our tickets.

“It will also ensure a level playing field among airlines competing on the same routes, and reward those that choose to invest in cleaner fuels and more efficient operations by making this visible to passengers when they buy a ticket.”